Problem Statement
New York City is home to millions of Americans; as the city grows in population New York's aging transportation infrastructure is leading to the overcrowding of roads, specifically in areas like Manhattan south of Central Park. In 2007, New York officials began discussing how to solve the city's traffic problem not just for today but for the future of New York. New York has limited space and increasing "space available to expand the existing road network, and highway expansion would likely result in more traffic" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 37). To combat overcrowded roads, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed ideas that would increase public transit; however, these ideas cost far too much money. So Mayor Bloomberg attempted to pass a fee that would charge any car entering Manhattan’s central business district. This law not only tackles congestion on roads but effectively pays for all transportation infrastructure upgrades.
However, despite the concerns of growing traffic congestion, Mayor Bloomberg's fee found lots of pushback from fellow politicians and residents and failed to pass. While the law would lower traffic and pollution, opposing opponents argued that the law would unfairly target the middle class and that while public transportation would be invested in to support New Yorkers' needs, eventually it would take too long of a time. As such, Mayor Bloomberg's proposed law died before ever receiving the state's approval.
Ecological Sustainability
New York is one of the biggest cities in America, populated by millions of US citizens. Living in a city densely populated with such a reliance on cars, New York is a bad emitter of air pollutants, and science has already shown the negative health effects people can suffer from motor vehicles. New York "cars and trucks are responsible for 20 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions and most of the ozone in the city" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 39). Mayor Bloomberg's proposed law was not only to deal with traffic but also for the overall health of the air quality in New York City in the fight against global warming. Seeing the quantity of pollutants emitted has raised much concern for the health of residents. "The NYC Health Department estimates that fine particulate matter “pollution in New York City is responsible, annually, for 3,200 premature deaths" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 39). New York is one of the most affluent cities in all of America. Not only would reducing O₂ pollutants help protect the health of the local environment and citizens in and around New York and help them thrive, but such a move would also send a message of commitment to environmentally friendly policies that protect the health of future generations.
Ethnic Identity
One of the biggest problems Mayor Bloomberg faced when presenting his fee law to the public was the opposition to tolling bridges over the East River, for many "New Yorkers consider those bridges to be an extension of Manhattan’s street grid into Queens. and Brooklyn" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 40). Many longtime residents of New York considered these bridge extensions as they were raised thinking this way; as such Bloomberg's law came into direct conflict with their understanding of the city. Past being a New Yorker as an American citizen, it is deeply ingrained in the American culture and value of freedom. Limiting a place where someone can travel freely by making someone pay to access a road comes as a direct attack on an American's freedom, as "mobility is almost synonymous with freedom" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 46).
Fact Oriented
New York City is one of America's most important cities, serving as one of Americas economic hubs for many important businesspeople. On average, "commuters in the New York City metro region spent the longest average commute time, at 34.9 minutes—well above the national average of 25.5 minutes" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 37) clearly not nearly efficient enough for most citizens. When looking at environmental health concerns recently, it was" found that a high-risk zone of about 500 to 1,500 feet... you face much greater risks than someone who lives farther away. The soot and fumes from cars, trucks, and buses are linked to asthma, lung and heart disease, and cancer (American Cancer Society 2013). Statistically proving the higher health risk for people who live inner city of New York. While there was a massive push for tolls from Mayor Bloomberg in 2007, there have previously been at least 3 attempts for similar tolls that never passed in New York by Mayor John Lindsay in 1973 and again by Mayor Ed Koch in 1980/1987. There have been many attempts in the past for tolls however, there is a trend of these proposed laws falling short of ever being passed.
Growth Economic Oriented
Traffic reduction through toll laws has been put into place most notably in London, Stockholm, and Singapore. Following the introduction of these laws, "cost-benefit analyses for the London and Stockholm initiatives have found that the “combined benefits to motorists, public transport users, and the environment exceed system setup and operating costs” (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 41). While there are necessarily no statistics showing the profit numbers for the tolls, it was found that there were no financial losses in London. Mayor Bloomberg's toll supported economic expansion "to generate funding for mass transit" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 37) for public transportation seen in buses and their train system. As seen by the rising issue of overcrowding in New York streets, perhaps diversifying the city's transportation options could prove economically profitable.
Conflict Negotiation
Mayor Bloomberg's toll back in 2007 lay in the hands of the courts whether or not it would be passed. As such, politicians with varying opinions from different interest groups came together to discuss the validity of this toll. However, just like many other times before Mayor Bloomberg's proposed law could not be agreed upon in the courts and was shut down by opposers who outweighed supporters. While there had been no compromise for both parties to agree upon, there were discussions and negotiations on both sides vouching for their beliefs.
Work Cited
Cohen, S., Wannemacher, J., & Weisbecker, P. (2014). Understanding environmental policy (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
Scribbr. Scribbr, https://www.scribbr.com/. Accessed 09 May 2025. (for grammar)
"summarize Cohen, S., Wannemacher, J., & Weisbecker, P. (2014). Understanding environmental policy (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. "Congestion Pricing – Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?" prompt. ChatGPT, OpenAI, 9 May. 2025, chat.openai.com/chat.
New York City is home to millions of Americans; as the city grows in population New York's aging transportation infrastructure is leading to the overcrowding of roads, specifically in areas like Manhattan south of Central Park. In 2007, New York officials began discussing how to solve the city's traffic problem not just for today but for the future of New York. New York has limited space and increasing "space available to expand the existing road network, and highway expansion would likely result in more traffic" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 37). To combat overcrowded roads, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed ideas that would increase public transit; however, these ideas cost far too much money. So Mayor Bloomberg attempted to pass a fee that would charge any car entering Manhattan’s central business district. This law not only tackles congestion on roads but effectively pays for all transportation infrastructure upgrades.
However, despite the concerns of growing traffic congestion, Mayor Bloomberg's fee found lots of pushback from fellow politicians and residents and failed to pass. While the law would lower traffic and pollution, opposing opponents argued that the law would unfairly target the middle class and that while public transportation would be invested in to support New Yorkers' needs, eventually it would take too long of a time. As such, Mayor Bloomberg's proposed law died before ever receiving the state's approval.
Ecological Sustainability
New York is one of the biggest cities in America, populated by millions of US citizens. Living in a city densely populated with such a reliance on cars, New York is a bad emitter of air pollutants, and science has already shown the negative health effects people can suffer from motor vehicles. New York "cars and trucks are responsible for 20 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions and most of the ozone in the city" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 39). Mayor Bloomberg's proposed law was not only to deal with traffic but also for the overall health of the air quality in New York City in the fight against global warming. Seeing the quantity of pollutants emitted has raised much concern for the health of residents. "The NYC Health Department estimates that fine particulate matter “pollution in New York City is responsible, annually, for 3,200 premature deaths" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 39). New York is one of the most affluent cities in all of America. Not only would reducing O₂ pollutants help protect the health of the local environment and citizens in and around New York and help them thrive, but such a move would also send a message of commitment to environmentally friendly policies that protect the health of future generations.
Ethnic Identity
One of the biggest problems Mayor Bloomberg faced when presenting his fee law to the public was the opposition to tolling bridges over the East River, for many "New Yorkers consider those bridges to be an extension of Manhattan’s street grid into Queens. and Brooklyn" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 40). Many longtime residents of New York considered these bridge extensions as they were raised thinking this way; as such Bloomberg's law came into direct conflict with their understanding of the city. Past being a New Yorker as an American citizen, it is deeply ingrained in the American culture and value of freedom. Limiting a place where someone can travel freely by making someone pay to access a road comes as a direct attack on an American's freedom, as "mobility is almost synonymous with freedom" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 46).
Fact Oriented
New York City is one of America's most important cities, serving as one of Americas economic hubs for many important businesspeople. On average, "commuters in the New York City metro region spent the longest average commute time, at 34.9 minutes—well above the national average of 25.5 minutes" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 37) clearly not nearly efficient enough for most citizens. When looking at environmental health concerns recently, it was" found that a high-risk zone of about 500 to 1,500 feet... you face much greater risks than someone who lives farther away. The soot and fumes from cars, trucks, and buses are linked to asthma, lung and heart disease, and cancer (American Cancer Society 2013). Statistically proving the higher health risk for people who live inner city of New York. While there was a massive push for tolls from Mayor Bloomberg in 2007, there have previously been at least 3 attempts for similar tolls that never passed in New York by Mayor John Lindsay in 1973 and again by Mayor Ed Koch in 1980/1987. There have been many attempts in the past for tolls however, there is a trend of these proposed laws falling short of ever being passed.
Growth Economic Oriented
Traffic reduction through toll laws has been put into place most notably in London, Stockholm, and Singapore. Following the introduction of these laws, "cost-benefit analyses for the London and Stockholm initiatives have found that the “combined benefits to motorists, public transport users, and the environment exceed system setup and operating costs” (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 41). While there are necessarily no statistics showing the profit numbers for the tolls, it was found that there were no financial losses in London. Mayor Bloomberg's toll supported economic expansion "to generate funding for mass transit" (Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?, 37) for public transportation seen in buses and their train system. As seen by the rising issue of overcrowding in New York streets, perhaps diversifying the city's transportation options could prove economically profitable.
Conflict Negotiation
Mayor Bloomberg's toll back in 2007 lay in the hands of the courts whether or not it would be passed. As such, politicians with varying opinions from different interest groups came together to discuss the validity of this toll. However, just like many other times before Mayor Bloomberg's proposed law could not be agreed upon in the courts and was shut down by opposers who outweighed supporters. While there had been no compromise for both parties to agree upon, there were discussions and negotiations on both sides vouching for their beliefs.
Work Cited
Cohen, S., Wannemacher, J., & Weisbecker, P. (2014). Understanding environmental policy (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
Scribbr. Scribbr, https://www.scribbr.com/. Accessed 09 May 2025. (for grammar)
"summarize Cohen, S., Wannemacher, J., & Weisbecker, P. (2014). Understanding environmental policy (2nd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. "Congestion Pricing – Why can’t NYC get a congestion charge?" prompt. ChatGPT, OpenAI, 9 May. 2025, chat.openai.com/chat.
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