Nick's Endorsed Comments

Proposed Move NY Fair Plan Legislation | Closed Proposal

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Nick
1

The toll cordon zone must extend into the FDR and West Side Highway to reduce the incentive for drivers to utilize them for circumnavigation, adding to pollution in densely populated communites. Currently, many drivers jam up Bronx highways and local streets to utilize the free Third Ave/Willis Ave Bridges in an attempt to dodge tolls on the Tri-boro and Henry Hudson bridges and access the FDR/West Side Highway. This excess congestion creates a dangerous situation where collisions are commonplace, pollution has reached dangerous levels, and the populations most affected are also the most socioeconomically vulnerable. These drivers should utilize higher capacity options and avoid the core of the city entirely.

A variable tolling scheme is most effective at discouraging driving into the city's core. The costs to enter via automobile should be most expensive during times of peak congestion, high levels of air pollution and emergency situations. An app and online website could keep up to date information on the current cost along with recently implemented digital signage along highways.

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Nick
2

The MoveNY plan should provide a more robust parking reform plan. We need a residential parking permit system which requires NYC registration and is priced high enough to discourage ownership in core areas. We need variable parking which adjust to demand, real time information on available spaces and we need more metered spots to increase turnover. Additionally, parking should be priced much higher than it currently is, especially in prime central areas of the city. And we should allocate parking for fixed car share services (e.g. car2go), bike share (more Citi Bike), motorcycles/scooters/bicycle corrals and significantly more loading zones.

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Nick
3

Most Manhattan CBD workers commute via mass transportation, even from the suburbs.It will take time to expand and improve mass transportation, but we need to start somewhere. Tolling automobile trips which enter the Manhattan CBD provides a new revenue source, one which could facilitate substantial projects.

The status quo does not work and is only going to get worse. The alternative is ever worsening commutes for everyone, increased travel times, pollution, road maintenance expenditure, and more collisions. The MoveNY plan is inevitable.

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Nick
4

Actually, there's a substantial population surrounding commuter rail stations within NYC. Commuter rail in NYC should be priced equal to the subway and buses, with transfers included.I would propose that immediate funding for Select Bus Service supersede Express buses.

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5

Manhattan residents should be discouraged from automobile ownership. The borough is too densely populated to even support the current automotive volume. Manhattan residents also have excellent mass transportation options, considering our subway and metropolitan commuter rail system radiates out from Midtown.

If your friends must drive, they can either pay the toll. Alternatively, they can take mass transportation, a car share service, or bike.

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Nick
6

Could not respond to your comment at April 14, 2016 - 6:05pm directly Oldbob so I will post it here. I do in fact own a car and a motorcycle, though I typically bicycle or take the subway to work/school in Manhattan (a place I especially avoid by automobile).

The previous law required new constructions to provide a certain amount of parking space per number of units, it's called a parking minimum. The law was retracted in Manhattan south of Harlem, downtown Brooklyn, and more recently a half mile from subway stations across most of the city. It was found that providing parking encourages people to own an automobile, something the city wants to discourage and cannot support. Additionally, parking minimums costs developers despite low demand. Money spent on parking could instead be allocated towards residential or commercial units. More parking is no good for the city.Though I agree that NYC requires more mid-block crossing for pedestrians, I highly disagree that distracted pedestrians are a serious issue in NYC. Virtually all pedestrians do indeed look before crossing, even if just a glance of the eye. A much greater issue is distracted and reckless drivers who are traveling at speed, controlling large heavy objects in a congested area. Most pedestrians who are killed or serious injured in NYC in crosswalks with the right of way. This has been proven through through the quantitative collection of traffic collision statistics.

Times Square doesn't need fences either, its a highly pedestrian oriented area. The city needs congestion pricing to reduce traffic volumes and we need further traffic calming citywide.

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7

Most New Yorkers (including the middle class) do not drive into the Manhattan CBD district on a regular basis.The middle class instead suffers from slow buses, pollution, and increased prevalence of collisions due to congestion.Tolls would reduce congestion in the core and along all paths into the core.

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Nick
8

@HaanCenter (04/01/16/3:42PM),

The dangers of mass transportation in NYC are highly exaggerated. You are more likely to be seriously injured or killed driving a personally owned automobile in this city. Fear of people is irrational, and NYC is the wrong place to live if you feel that way.

I'm not going to support an existing system which negatively impacts millions so that one person could drive into Manhattan for free from time to time for recreation. Think about all the people who are injured and killed due to excess congestion (especially the over-represented children, seniors, and people of color). Think about the people suffering from respiratory illness due to emission from these vehicles. Think about the vast majority of New Yorkers who do travel via mass transportation into the core and would benefit from increased funding. Think about those who commute between the Bronx<->Queens, SI<->Brooklyn who have more limited mass transportation options and would benefit from lower tolls and mass transportation improvements along those routes. Think about the people who need to access the core on a regular basis and benefit from reduced congestion.

NYC Congestion | Closed Proposal

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Nick
1

It is important for NYC to automate traffic enforcement via technology like cameras and reconfigure streets to enhance safety and compliance. This is the most efficent way.

Automobiles are by far the biggest danger on the roads and contribute to congestion. Drivers should always be the focus of enforcement.