The robust report, sponsored by the MTA, city Department of Transportation, state Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, parses through two project alternatives — one that involves creating the program and another that would instill no changes to the area below 60th Street in Manhattan.
Any of the seven tolling scenarios — which are differentiated by varying exemptions for different groups and vehicles — are expected to cause cascading impacts on Staten Island, including effects on truck traffic and public transportation ridership, according to the document.
"The environmental assessment focuses on the project alternative — should we build it, should we not? What does it look like if we do?" explained a senior MTA official who discussed the assessment with reporters.
Each scenario, which are layered within the project alternative to create the congestion pricing program, discusses exemptions and other caveats that would shift the approximate toll rate for drivers of personal vehicles.
A base scenario, for example, that limits cars motorcycles and commercial vans to one toll per day but does not cap any other vehicle type would result in an approximate toll of $9 for E-ZPass users during peak hours, which would stretch between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekends.
On the other hand, a scenario that would give credits towards the congestion pricing tolls for cars that traveled through tunnels or bridges leading to Manhattan would result in the peak toll spiking to $23 dollars for those with E-ZPass.
There is no additional credit option for drivers who cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge before moving into the city, said the senior MTA official.
While each scenario is expected to reduce traffic entering the Manhattan CBD and offer overall benefits in congestion reduction, the shifts could affect traffic patterns outside of the area, said the assessment.
Trucks, which are not capable of using different transit modes to travel through the district, "would divert to routes on highways in Staten Island and in the South Bronx," according to the document.
One option, labeled "Scenario G," charges the same toll rate for cars and trucks and would significantly reduce truck diversions in the South Bronx and Staten Island, the MTA said.
The city Department of Transportation is expected to expand its network of real-time monitors tracking particulate pollution to gain insight on the effects of congestion pricing on air quality; however, officials were not able to confirm if sensors would be added on Staten Island.
In Manhattan, where the project would reduce car congestion, the approach "lends itself to beneficial effects on air quality and quality of life," the report noted.
Ferry ridership would also increase between 2.5% and 3.5% compared to 2019 levels under any tolling scenario, the analysis noted. The transportation option has suffered significant setbacks and service reductions in recent months as a longstanding contract dispute has stymied worker attendance.
Meanwhile, Staten Island express bus routes that travel through Brooklyn would see a 3.7% to 4.5% increase in ridership while routes that travel through New Jersey would experience between a 1% and 2.8% rise in ridership.
Staten Island express buses have recently been lagging in key performance indicators, the Advance/SILive.com reported, as borough residents endure more cancellations and longer wait times than other boroughs.
Parking at commuter stations outside the Manhattan CBD is expected to increase in demand. However, the MTA said no mitigation measures would be needed to combat the increase.
"Any one location we didn't find was going to be overburdened," said the senior MTA official.
The money generated by the program, which could surpass $1 billion each year, would be used to support MTA capital projects by garnering $15 billion worth of bonds.
The environmental impact assessment will be eligible for public comment through early September. The co-sponsors of the project will then respond to concerns before a final finding is reached.
Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore), who has been a vocal opponent of congestion pricing and formerly served on the state assembly's MTA Capital Review Board, pointed to London — where congestion pricing went into effect in 2003 — as a cautionary tale for New York City.
"Anyone can Google the changes London Mayor Sadiq Khan is making to congestion pricing in the UK because it hasn't worked there," said Borelli. "Only abject morons would be taking a system that is failing both to reduce congestion and generate adequate revenue and duplicate it here and think it's going to work."
Borelli equivocated moving forward with congestion pricing with "early flight experiments where the town idiot strapped wings to his arms and jumped off a mountain."
MTA officials said in March the implementation of the plan was expected by the end of 2023.
©2022 Staten Island Advance, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
