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Congestion=Good?!?

Friday, November 2, 2007, 04:41pm
Submitted by Jonathan Sills

Andrew Wolf asks in today's New York Sun that the Mayor allow us to "enjoy congestion." In In Praise of Congestion he notes that in driving into the city he is contributing to the economy both in purchasing whatever he came into the city for and by paying the various tolls and parking fees, and that many like him might be dissuaded from entering the city if a congestion charge were imposed. Thus, the city, by being greedy, would be cutting off its nose to spite its face.

All of which might be quite logical, but he rather ruins it by throwing in a peculiar non sequitur. He admits that the stores he frequents have no parallels nearer to his home, and therefore, he will continue to shop in the city until such a time as "Mr. Zabar... open(s) a branch of his magnificent market" in Scarsdale, and then he wonders if the mayor should really be impeding "commerce among those of us who can point their cars in any direction?" Clearly, he is not amongst those who can point their cars any which way they like unless he is prepared to forgo his favorite Zabar's products.

Mr. Wolf's stance, while clearly anti-congestion pricing, and ignoring many of the city's environmental goals, is atypical of critics of the plan, in that it does not call the proposed tariff unfair or a "regressive-tax." It also raises an interesting, if facile, point about density. Jacobsian urban planning wisdom calls for density and busy streets, which traffic congestion certainly provides -- of course, traffic congestion also provides air and noise pollution, and danger to pedestrians and cyclists -- but is there a way to "enjoy congestion"? I.e. is there a sense that busyness and, to a degree, congestion, is symptomatic of a lively, vibrant city with a robust economy, or is it always a negative aspect of city life?
Comments welcome.

For a detailed assessment of the Mayor's congestion pricing proposal, visit streetsblog.org or The City Fix.

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