The Plan That Could Finally Free New York City From Traffic Congestion

There's a reason for New York City's ongoing flirtation with road pricing: the city is set up perfectly for it. It has a clear core business area (Manhattan) accessible by limited entryways (bridges and tunnels) that would be easy to price for traffic reductions (via tolls or cordons). Its overwhelming traffic oozes into and out of town each morning from all sides at the speed of … ooze. Its expansive transit system is in perpetual need of revenue and further expansion.

Oh, and its current system of handling commuter traffic is completely busted. If you can even call it a system. Three different entities manage the bridges and tunnels surrounding Manhattan — Port Authority, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the city — with no concerted effort to reduce traffic. Case in point: the four city-owned bridges over the East River are free, but the two MTA-owned tunnels beside them cost commuters $15 cash round trip, leading to rampant "bridge shopping."