NYC-WTC_000230636

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

REWSDAY, MONDAY OCTOBER 1, 2001

f VIEWPOINTS

Giuliani Puts Brakes on Car Culture but they deliver only 30 percent of commutara — than it will inconvenience. By Charles Komanoff just SUI lanes' worth. T^e details may need tinkering, but the basic UDY GIULIANI has had a lot of surprises That’s five lanes wasted by solo drivers — the policy ia sound under ^nermar conditions as well equivalent, say, of closing both the Queens Mid- as in emergencies. town TVuuel^^rdffieffiocVyn Bridge: Radic trsf- Second, upgrade the alternatives. For gtartera; simple and flexible car-pooling via real-time com­ puter matching; universal von and bus service ofButoiuobiles in New York City Following the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, road within a short walk of home; more off-peak trahi- and subway service; bikeable routes to train ata- tions and between "■ ———- towns. cumstancea, the waste­ For the long haul, gion’s chronic traffic congestion, once and for nil fulness of solo driving we'll need to biuld new With one stroke, Giuliani has eliminntori grid­ became untenable. strategic roil lines and lock's No. 1 culprit: the si^le-occupant vehicle. There is one thing connectors, such as the It wasn't easy. The “right to drive’ — any­ about Rudy Giuliani Second Avenue Subway where, anytime — is ingrained in contemporary that his harshest crit­ and an East-Side termi­ culture. In life’s frantic scramble and struggle, a ics would concede: He nal for the bong Island vehicle of one's own has come to he seen not as an isn't afraid to act. And Rail Road. indulgence but a refuge; not as a luxury but a nec­ oct he did. By sacrific­ Third, start the transi­ essary convenience. ing the luxury of solo tion to variable, But with more and more cars on the road, “con­ driving, he enabled the non stop tolling on all venience” has lengthened from minutes to hours, people and firms that dty bridges, Itunnels making solo commuting very inconvenient — in­ really needed to make and highways. deed, a luxury we cannot afford to provide. it Ecroaa — needed it It will take The numbers make this clear. enough to double up or study and experimental Single-occupant vehicles make up more than take transit — to do bo. don to establish the half of Manhattan-bound morning traffic but they Despite dire head- exact shape of such a transport fewer than a third of all highway com- 0" «'•“"»«•"«•“ •""fc i^e muters. In other words, a minority of solo drivers is taking up an absolute majority of road space. stroke seems' to have ultimate gridlock-bust- The resulting congestion ensnares everyone been accepted. And it is working. Traffic tie-ups er. After the Port Authority switched its Hudson from car-poolers and bus riders to the solo drivers eased not just on Thursday, a Jewish holiday, but River crossings to time-of-day pricing, a signifi­ themselves. Vans carrying tradespeople and Friday as well, prompting the mayor to extend cant number of trips moved out of the peak hours. trucks laden with goods the city needs to keep its the ban into this week. And tolls can be collected electronically, without oconomy going have been eupeciolly hard hit. Eventually, one hojKs, the police checks win slowing cars — indeed, without toll plazas alto­ Think of all eight croasinga into Manhattan as lessen, in effect restoring missing road capacity. gether. a 20-lane highway. Single-occupant vehicles, ac­ What should Giuliani or the next mayor do? Road pricing is also a way — perhaps the only counting for 53 percent of traffic, occupy 11 lanea Three things. way — to finance the ombitious new rail and rood First, don't go back to the status quo. Keep the infrastructure for making commuting easier and car-pwl rule. All the evidence indicates that keep­ better. Charles Samanoffa a trustee of the Tri-State ing single-occupant vehicles off the roads during Mayor Giuliani has been clear-sighted and Transportation Campaign, o non-profit group. busy times of day will benefit many more people brave enough to do the right thing. through time savings and travel predictability Now it's up to us to build on his vision.

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