13$ B-a-year Traffic Jam

By JUSTIN ROCKET SILVERMAN
December 5, 2006

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There is a fine line between busy city streets that indicate a vibrant economy and gridlocked avenues that strangle commerce. New York City, a leading business coalition said yesterday, has "passed that tipping point," and is losing $13 billion a year to unrelenting traffic congestion.

"This is not just about frustration over how long it takes to get around," said Kathryn S. Wylde, chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, a pro-business trade organization.

The group released yesterday a report on the negative impact congestion has on the city's economy. The report found that productivity lost to congestion means there are as many as 52,000 fewer jobs in the region. The losses come from an inability to move goods, services and people cheaply and efficiently.

The bulk of the gridlock is found in Manhattan south of 60th Street. Although 600,000 people live in the area, another 3.6 million come there every weekday. About 1.2 million drive in and half those cars carry only one person.

"Our streets have value," Wylde said. "And one third of the people who come into Manhattan are taking a bigger piece of that value by driving cars and trucks instead of taking public transportation."

Among the partnership's recommendations are an expanded study of congestion pricing, which would charge drivers who head downtown during peak daytime hours. The money collected would be used to fund new and better public transportation systems, further reducing the need of commuters to drive, the partnership said.

Wylde called on the city to seek federal funding to pay for traffic studies. She said she hoped to meet with Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff in the coming days to go over the report's findings. The mayor's office has expressed guarded support for congestion pricing in the past, but lately has been quoted saying such a plan is not on the agenda.