A federal judge in New Jersey on Thursday ruled in a ruling that could set a precedent in a legal battle to block New York City’s congestion pricing, starting in mid-June when the controversial $15 toll goes into effect. He also said that it would be handed down earlier.
Judge Leo Gordon will seek to rule in time at the end of a two-day hearing before new fees are imposed on drivers entering midtown Manhattan below 60th Street. I promised.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Gordon told New Jersey attorneys, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Federal Highway Administration, “We’re going to do this in enough time for you to understand what’s going to happen next.” Ta.
“I don’t know if it’s May 1st, May 15th, May 30th, June 1st, June 10th,” Gordon said. If not, he added, he would let his lawyer know.
The case is one of five challenging congestion pricing, and Gordon’s decision could set a precedent for those cases.
New York is the first state in the nation to come up with such a plan, which could affect the likelihood of similar proposals being made across the country in the future.
Lawyers for New Jersey argue that the MTA’s plan, finalized just last week, doesn’t adequately consider the impact on residents of the Garden State, forcing Gordon to increase tolls (scheduled to take effect June 15). ) to apply the brakes.
From Wednesday to Thursday, Garden State representative Randy Mastro urged Gordon to overturn FHWA’s finding that the MTA’s toll plan would not have a “significant” impact on the environment.
“Far too many communities in New Jersey will suffer from environmental problems. We want to stop this and urge the Federal Highway Administration and the MTA to do just that.” [the environmental review] The right way,” Mastro said in his closing argument.
What you need to know about congestion charges
- These rates apply during peak hours: 5 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 9 PM on weekends. At other times, rates drop to $2.75 for cars, $6 for light trucks, $9 for large trucks, and $1.75 for motorcycles. Other charges remain unchanged.
- Emergency vehicles, school buses, special government vehicles, and vehicles carrying people with disabilities are exempt.
- Drivers who use the toll tunnel to enter Manhattan will receive a $5 discount.
Mastro said Jersey would bear the brunt of increased traffic congestion and pollution from the Manhattan toll.
He also repeatedly criticized the MTA’s plan for not providing mitigation measures or allocating mitigation funds to neighboring countries.
MTA attorneys promised that while a specific amount may not be set aside for New Jersey’s mitigation, the MTA intends to fund and plan for any mitigation needed in the future.
They also plan to raise $15 billion in funding for the MTA, a toll that is desperately needed to ease traffic congestion, reduce greenhouse gases, and improve a deeply troubled transportation system. It was argued that this was essential to cover the costs of the project.
“This is an important project for the region,” MTA attorney Mark Chartock said in closing arguments.
He disputed Mr. Mastro’s assertion that only the Big Apple would benefit from the project, saying it would “benefit the entire region.”
Mr Chertok said there was no “conspiracy theory” to exclude Jersey from the mitigation plan.
Mastro pointed out Wednesday that while the MTA report allocates mitigation funds to parts of New York, not a dime is allocated to the Garden State, for example to mitigate environmental impacts on the Bronx. He pointed out that $35 million had been allocated to the
Mastro also claimed that the FHWA simply “rubber stamped” the MTA’s proposal and “moved forward” with the project without conducting the “adverse environmental impact review” required by law.
He argued that an entirely new review was warranted because the environmental impact study only considered impacts to four cities in two Jersey counties: Bergen and Hudson.
FHWA attorneys promised to conduct a supplemental study in light of last week’s final MTA plan.
But Mastro said the initial review was so problematic that Gordon should throw out the whole thing and order the MTA to start over.
Mr Chartock on Wednesday called for the Jersey government to start from scratch with a review of its congestion pricing plan, accusing the government of trying to “delay, delay, delay” the plan.
