Motorists entering the heart of Manhattan will be tolled under the nation’s first congestion pricing program, beginning on the last Sunday in June.
“Starting June 30, 2024, vehicles entering the Congestion Relief Zone in Manhattan — local streets and avenues at or below 60 Street — will be charged a toll,” the MTA announced on its website Friday.
MTA board members confirmed that was the target date for the agency to implement the controversial program.
“That’s the target date, pending disposition of the current lawsuits,” said Gerard Bringmann, a nonvoting MTA board member.
Nassau County representative David Mack, an MTA board member, also told Newsday Friday that June 30 is the tentative start date.
The new tolls are expected to charge most drivers $15 for driving south of 60th Street during peak hours. MTA officials had previously acknowledged that several pending lawsuits could delay the plan but all the infrastructure to begin charging drivers is complete.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approved the Central Business District Tolling Program 11-1 last month, making New York the first city in the nation to undertake a tolling initiative intended to reduce traffic and improve air quality while raising about $1 billion annually for the agency. The money raised will be used to modernize the system.
While the new tolls have been applauded by transit and environmental advocates, it has been met with resistance by some residents and officials, mostly from suburban areas like Long Island.
Mack, a real estate developer from Great Neck, was the only MTA board member who voted against it last month, believing the plan will cause companies to flee the region.
Congestion pricing has been exceedingly unpopular on Long Island, with 72% of registered voters rejecting the plan in a Newsday/Siena College poll.
Danny Pearlstein, spokesman for Riders Alliance, a transit advocacy group, is looking forward to the start date.
“Congestion pricing will be a win-win-win for all New Yorkers, commuters and visitors and bring better public transit, cleaner air, and freer moving traffic,” Pearlstein said in a statement. “It cannot happen soon enough.”
