Congestion Pricing

"The Congestion Mitigation Commission issued its final recommendation last week. After hundreds of hours of testimony and dozens of public meetings, the jointly appointed panel of experts voted 13-yes, 2-no, 1-abstain and 1-absent in favor of congestion pricing as the best way to reduce car and truck traffic and improve mass transit.
Now the [New York] City Council and then both houses of state government must review the plan and vote on it before March 31st or else risk losing $354 million in federal transit aid.

In brief, the plan that will be voted on would raise a half-billion dollars annually for transit by charging motorists $8 to travel into Manhattan south of 60th street between 6 am and 6 pm on weekdays. Trucks would pay $21 to enter the charging zone. The money raised by the charge would go into a "dedicated transit account" for funding the MTA capital plan, which is scheduled to be released before the end of March (the sooner, the better).

To ease concerns about potential parking problems in the charging zone and on its perimeters, the commission recommended an increase in meter rates inside the area and residential parking programs for the neighborhoods on the zone's periphery. Funds raised by these programs would go to "additional transit, pedestrian, bicycle, and parking management improvements." For an in depth look at the commission's report check out Streetsblog's coverage here."
article from transalt.org

I think this is great. Let's be serious. No one in traffic likes traffic. No one walking likes getting hit by cars while crossing the street. Most people enjoy riding bicycles. Our doctors tell us we need to walk more. Rushing all the time causes more stress.
If someone almost hits you while driving, you scream at them. You find it completely unreasonable. If someone bumps into you while walking, you apologize to them.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Oh- no, it was my fault. I'm sorry."
How often does that happen after a traffic accident?

I haven't started my car in at least two months. (It's a manual. I'm not that worried about it.) I ride my bike, and my leg muscles are bulging. I walk, and I know where restaurants and little shops are that I otherwise would've flown past in my car. I ride the bus, and I've learned the layout of my city better. Riding the bus also allows me to read while in transit. Total up how much money you spend on gas in two months, and that's how much I've saved. I never have to worry about parking or parking tickets. Car maintenance is never on my mind, and I've found a bicycle co-op where I do any repairs my bike needs for practically nothing- not to mention all the nice people I've met there.

The longer I do this the more reasonable it becomes. After two months, I know how to get anywhere I need to go without ever getting in a car. I visit my girlfriend on weekends or go to doctor appointments by train. I look up from that book I've been meaning to read for months or from a movie on my laptop and I see people in cars. They always look angry and frustrated.

Politicians scream about dependency on foreign oil. They talk about alternative fuels. They don't say the easiest thing.
Walk.
Do you even know how much a bus costs in your area?
How thick is that layer of dust on your bike?
The research on biofuels is still years away from a viable alternative.

I've research it. The best biofuel I could find is a bagel and a glass of juice. I can bike 60 or 70 miles on just that.
When they figure out how to run a car on orange juice, call me.