Bloomberg's Master Plan

[Lowerdeck]

I know there aren't many members here from the NYC area (surprisingly), considering we got dozens from Providence and smaller cities. But anyway, Mayor Bloomberg is trying to get $536M in federal funding to help the city of New York combat traffic and reduce vehicle emissions. This is part of a plan which includes improvements to the subway lines, having parks with 10 minutes of every point in the city, and more.

So, anyone got thoughts?

[JerseyBoy]

I don't agree with jacking up the prices on MTA. That's basically the spine of NY and I would hate to see it outprice the lower-income residents of the city.

[Lowerdeck]

If you boost the prices of the MTA, people will begin driving as a cheaper alternative. And I don't think anyone (besides big oil/auto) wants that. And knowing some neighborhoods, people would be robbing each other for bus and subway fares.

[lammius]

The goal of the plan is to make NYC a sustainable city for the future. Lower Manhattan is gridlocked and overwhelmed by automobiles. The congestion pricing scheme will help ease that, especially on trips coming from the East River crossings and northern Manhattan/Bronx/Westchester (although the scheme isn't perfect). The parks plan is great, the plan to plant 1,000,000 new trees is great, and the arrival of "green buildings" is a great indicator of an attempt to make NYC function with less impact on the natural environment.

Go to the PLANYC website for information http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/home/home.shtml