Congestion Mitigation Strategies: Alternatives to the City

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Congestion Mitigation StrategiesAlternatives to
the Citys plan New York City Traffic Congestion
Mitigation Commission December 10, 2007
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Overview of presentation and research
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Parking Increase the cost of parking in the CBD
The current market for parking in the CBD

• Includes public employees using placards
• Source 2007 survey of 1,600 drivers in the
  Manhattan CBD

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Parking Policy options studied

• Three options with VMT impact
• Eliminating resident exemption for parking tax or
  raise parking tax
• Increase rates for metered on-street parking
• Introduce overnight on-street parking fee
• Reduce use of parking placards by public
  employees
• Three options have essentially no VMT impact
• Parking freeze
• Tax off-street parking as income
• Parking cash-out

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Parking Eliminate Manhattan resident parking
tax exemption

• Option Charge Manhattan residents the same
  parking tax (18?) as other parkers.
• Currently residents receive an exemption that
  reduces their parking tax to 10?.
• Applies to Manhattan residents that currently
  receive exemption
• VMT Impact
• 0.05 reduction
• Revenue 22 million

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Parking Raise the parking tax

• Option Raise parking tax to 28? or 38? for all
  parkers
• Applies to All parkers who pay to park
  off-street
• VMT Impact
• 0.2 (if tax rises to 28?)
• 0.3 (if tax rises to 38?)
• Parking garage operators might absorb the cost of
  the tax, resulting in smaller VMT reduction
• Revenue 71 million (28?) or 120 million
  (38?)

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Parking Raise the parking tax

• Recap

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Parking Increase rates for on-street parking

• Option Increase the price of all metered parking
  spaces in the CBD. Prices could be determined by
  time of day or location.
• Applies to on-street, metered parking in the CBD
• VMT Impact
• 0.5 VMT reduction
• Revenue 17 million

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Parking Introduce overnight on-street parking
fee

• Option Implement a 2 fee for overnight
  on-street parking in the CBD during the week.
• Applies to on-street, metered and unmetered
  parking in the CBD
• VMT Impact
• 0.4 VMT reduction (most of this reduction would
  take place at night)
• Revenue 7 million

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Parking Reduce use of parking placards by
public employees

• Option Remove free on-street parking for
  government employees currently commuting to
  Manhattan jobs
• Applies to on-street parking for government
  employees with placards
• VMT Impact
• 0.10 VMT reduction for 3,000 placards
• 0.17 VMT reduction for 5,000 placards
• 0.33 VMT reduction for 10,000 placards
• Revenue 0

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Taxi Additional taxi stands to reduce cruising

• Option Require that passengers be picked up at
  designated taxi stands
• Applies to all medallion (yellow) taxis
• VMT impact
• VMT may rise or fall depending on how far taxis
  travel back to a taxi stand after discharging a
  passenger, so VMT cannot be estimated reliably
• Revenue 0

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Taxi Apply surcharge to taxi and livery fares

• Option Apply 1 or 2 fare surcharges for taxi
  and for-hire-vehicle travel within Manhattan
  south of 86th Street
• Applies to Medallion taxis, black cars,
  neighborhood car services and limousines
• VMT impact
• 1 Surcharge 0.3 reduction
• 2 Surcharge 0.6 reduction
• Revenue
• 1 surcharge 70 million
• 2 surcharge 140 million

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License Plate Rationing

• Option Prohibits vehicles from entering based on
  license plate
• Applies to all passenger vehicles
• VMT impact
• 3.1 reduction (restriction applied 1 in 10
  days)
• 6.2 reduction (restriction applied 1 in 5 days)
  
• Revenue 0.
• Will reduce MTA and PA toll revenues that
  subsidize transit

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Required Carpooling

• Option Prohibit single-occupant vehicles (SOVs)
  from entering Manhattan south of 60th Street
  weekdays, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
• Applies to SOVs. Does not apply to taxis,
  commercial vehicles, and motorcycles
• VMT Impact
• Given that SOVs comprise 59 of vehicles entering
  CBD, expect VMT reduction, though magnitude is
  unclear
• Revenue 0.
• Will reduce MTA and PA toll revenues that
  subsidize transit

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Creation of High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes

• Option Create HOT lanes for passenger cars on
  major crossings into Manhattan and highways
  leading to Manhattan CBD
• Applies to all vehicles
• VMT impact
• 0, unless a substantial number of general travel
  lanes are reallocated to buses, ridesharing
  vehicles and/or goods movement
• Revenue Uncertain