Manhattan congestion charge plan scrapped

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday branded state law makers as cowards after they shelved his controversial plans for a Manhattan congestion charge scheme.

The scheme, which would have been the first of its kind in the US, would have charged car drivers $8 for entering the island south of 60th Street between 6am and 6pm on a weekday. Lorry drivers would have been charged $21.

The Mayor's office said the scheme would curb congestion on Manhattan's often grid-locked roads by six per cent and raise millions of dollars of revenues for new public transport projects.

However, earlier this week the state assembly in Albany voted to block the plan after a concerted campaign from critics arguing the proposals would damage local businesses and unfairly penalise poorer commuters.

Mayor Bloomberg issued a blistering condemnation of the decision issuing a statement accusing the members of the assembly of a "special type of cowardice" .

"It takes true leadership and courage to embrace new concepts and ideas and to be willing to try something. Unfortunately, both are lacking in the Assembly today," he said. “If that wasn’t shameful enough, it takes a special type of cowardice for elected officials to refuse to stand up and vote their conscience – on an issue that has been debated, and amended significantly to resolve many outstanding issues, for more than a year."

In related news, Bloomberg today issued a tender for developers to install 2MW of solar panels on City-owned buildings as part of its PlaNYC initiative to overhaul much of New York's infrastructure. Under the terms of any deal the City will enter into a 20-year power purchaser agreement with the developer for the electricity the panels generate.

Speaking in his keynote address at Newsweek’s 2nd Annual Global Environmental Leadership Conference, Mayor Bloomberg said the initiative would help New York meet its target of curbing emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.

"New York City is moving ahead vigorously on our PlaNYC agenda, especially in the all-important area of reducing our reliance on the carbon-based fuels that contribute to global warming," he said. "Increasing the use of renewable energy, like solar power, is a key strategy in that effort."