Traffic Stunts NY Area Growth, Costs $13 bln - Study

By JOAN GRALLA
December 4, 2006

http://today.reuters.com/news/...
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Traffic delays endured by the New York metropolitan area's commuters, tourists and truckers stunt growth and cost some $13 billion a year in lost jobs and lost production, a new study said on Monday.

"The level of traffic in the city and much of the metro Region has crossed the dividing line that separates economically efficient traffic flow from destructive, excess congestion," said a report by the Partnership for New York City, adding this was its most important finding.

The business lobbyists also ruled out solving the problem by adding new roads or widening highways.

"The historic response to heavy traffic — building new highways and road capacity — is not an option any longer, since there is simply not room for the tri-state region to build its way out of the problem," it said.

The Partnership has in the past backed so-called congestion pricing — enticing motorists to ride mass transit by charging higher tolls during peak hours.

But the group was criticized for being too aggressive in its advocacy. Its new report held that the group is not taking a public position, but only calling on city officials to get federal aid for a broader study of the problem.

A spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg had no immediate comment. In recent years, the Republican mayor has not backed a policy switch toward congestion pricing, which could prove unpopular with outer borough residents, though he toyed with it in during his first term.

The Partnership outlined the benefits of a number of strategies, including congestion pricing, more ferries, improved truck loading docks, high occupancy vehicle lanes and rapid bus service.

In the next 25 years, New York City is expected to add one million residents, boosting its population to over 9 million, and creating 725,000 jobs, the Partnership said.

"During the same period, Manhattan-bound traffic is projected to increase by at least 20 percent, which would bring the city and the metro region to a standstill," it said.

Almost two-thirds of all workers in this region — whose $901 billion economy is one of the nation's largest — commute by car, the report said.

One of New York City's biggest hurdles to eliminating trucking traffic is its lack of a freight rail tunnel, which means many of its businesses, particularly in Manhattan, must rely on truck deliveries.

While the frequent delays hit construction, manufacturing and food industries hard, white-collar firms, including Wall Street banks and brokerages, also suffer, the study said.

"The costs for industries that involve a high degree of client interface is particularly high," the study said, estimating that slashing traffic jams by one-third would save $500 million.