Graham i know you're a huge bloomberg fan but i want to ask your take on this $8 fee issue for Manhattan he spoke about over the weekend.

There are millions of cars and trucks in Manhattan, and on some days total gridlock in midtown.

The citizens who live in the outer boros and New Jersey who already pay a toll (NJ is $6.00 to get through the tunnels, a fee which has nothing to do with the Mayor of NY at all) will not actually pay $8.00, but have the $6.00 deducted from the total, same with the outer boros.

The idea is actually one which helps the environment because when there is gridlock, all those cars are basically idling
with nowhere to go,adds to mega polution.

What Bloomberg wants is more bicycle lanes, more walking lanes.

Manhattan is very small, and if you are fit, one can walk from the east side all the way to the most west street,
and walk from 90th street to the Village, or take public transportation

Would I personally want to spend more? No, and of course neither would a person who could not afford it, however, most who cannot afford it don't bring their cars in, as there is almost no free parking during the day in Midtown manhattan or in the financial district(where the WTC used to be/Wall Street), and parking is already $30.00 average for the entire day

There are other ways around this- one can arrive in the city before the cut-off point (which is 6am) and that will still be free.

What is interesting is- this is another idea where Michael Bloomberg is doing things that need to be done, although at first glance it is not the most popular. However, if one actually lives in Manhattan itself, most Manhattan-ites don't own cars at all for day to day use, and do use the subway, which in spite of its reputation, (like the post office) works the vast majority of time, and is the quickest way to get to any location.
Bloomberg still can be found on the Subway himself on a lot of days from his home to City Hall in the downtown area.
(and he doesn't do that as a publicty thing, just does it because it is the quickest way and it is what he did for years, long before he was mayor, and was just a business man.)

This won't affect cab driverswho have to get into the city to get their cabs, and others will also most likely get waivers from that (or have their job pay for that cost, which in essence is just another parking fee).


In the past people have toyed with the idea of making Manhattan from say 96th street down to 28th, then the financial district too, total mall area with no passenger cars at all.
Would be a PITA for me personally, but it's an interesting idea, and eventually people are going to have to do something as there is just no room.

One of the other problems is complete lack of parking the last few years as there has been a real estate boom, land owners have been tearing down all the parking lots and building tall buildings, and also, there are few gas stations anymore, same reason- land is too valuable to waste on those things for their owners. (Sort of the opposite of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi, song).

If gas prices rise another dollar or two, and there still is as much traffic, just using the cost of gas and parking will mean it is way more than $8.00 bucks.
Right now, I figure it costs me to drive from my house to the city, through the day, even if I put it in parking meters where there are some, at least $20-$30.00. If I garage it, it is another 10-30. That includes toll, gas, and on top of that wear and tear.

Now, in a campaign for president, is this a good thing?
On one hand, no

On the other, this is someone who sees something needs to be done, and puts ideas out there. But, unlike polished politicians, and those on the take, he does get things accomplished. The voters and other politicians would ultimately be the ones that would need to pass an idea like this, so if it happened, it would be discussed and not done in the dead of night.

BTW-this is a way where the people who use cars are directly responsible for that cost. Unlike most times where the people who use train and bus subsidize those costs in higher train and bus fares. (Who commute on public transportation not cars). A system second to none, even if outsiders don't know that.