Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 735 posts

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#201

Post by tekla »

SecretDreams wrote: post #196
david-gpu wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear that noise pollution in Manhattan has gotten better since congestion pricing started. Cities aren't loud; cars are loud.

> Cities aren't loud; cars are loud. EVs have entered the chat Still, I'd always prefer less cars and more transit.

The engine noises in cities are generally not a huge problem outside of trucks (or POS cars modified to make noise).

The issue that people apparently think that the horn makes the red light turn green faster or will magic away the car blocking the box.

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#202

Post by danbmil99 »

epistasis wrote: post #137
timewizard wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you have children or did you live alone?

As someone with children, I can not imagine the bliss of living in Manhattan and being able to do things without needing a car. Car-centric urban planning is hell with kids. You have to load them up into the car for any small trip. You can't walk or bike anywhere because cars make it so dangerous. My only regret about living in the US is this car hellscape that is so hard to avoid. It's mandated by law, not chosen by…

One word: baby carriages up and down stairs

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#203

Post by AngryData »

zzzeek wrote: post #10
maerF0x0 wrote: post #7

Not to settle on "It's bad" but their so called "results" seems completely obvious. The congestion policy is disincentivizing/suppressing people's preferred method by making it unaffordable to some, and unappealing to some. We already know that we can use policy to push people away from their preferred to a less preferred method. The items listed in green are mostly obvious as people seek alternatives. It's like high…

there should be a meat tax, btw. I eat a ton of steak but it's costing the ecosystem dearly

A consumption tax isn't going to make meat suppliers any more conscious of environmental effects from poor processes though, if any thing it will push them further away from it to try and lower prices more.

Also steak is a terrible example, cows eat alfalfa which is a nitrogen fixating crop and reduces artificial fertilizer usage that doesn't require pesticides and is basically free to grow anywhere it rains. And we don't grow alfalfa in arid places to feed US people meat, we grow it in arid places because it is near the ports and container ships need some sort of cheap bulk weight to send back to China as ballast.

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#204

Post by duxup »

This is one of those things that I struggle to have a strong opinion on from a personal experience standpoint as I can't imagine wanting to drive in Manhattan...

I find transit and traffic to be a complex topic and sometime I see changes to a road locally and "yeah that makes sense to do taht there" but the next street over "no way". The New York City dynamic, I've zero clue how that plays out...

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#205

Post by 0_____0 »

mathgeek wrote: post #174
crote wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It works really well in quite a few other cities, actually. Car infrastructure takes up a huge amount of space and is incredibly hostile to any kind of mixed use. Having near-zero cars means there is suddenly space available for an order of magnitude more pedestrians. It's why reducing car traffic almost always results in a significant increase in revenue for local shops and restaurants - which means more taxes are b…

> Converting all of NYC into a huge pedestrian-only zone obviously isn't going to work The dreamer in me immediately asks “why not?” and while I agree it will never happen, it felt good to imagine it.

The obvious reason is goods and equipment movement. There are places that strike a much better balance than NYC though...

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#206

Post by standeven »

duxup wrote: post #204

This is one of those things that I struggle to have a strong opinion on from a personal experience standpoint as I can't imagine wanting to drive in Manhattan... I find transit and traffic to be a complex topic and sometime I see changes to a road locally and "yeah that makes sense to do taht there" but the next street over "no way". The New York City dynamic, I've zero clue how that plays out...

Anytime I don’t know enough about a subject, I make it a point NOT to have a strong opinion.

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#207

Post by 0_____0 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #39
Hanschri wrote: post #3

Climate Town has an entertaining and informative video on this topic from last month: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEFBn0r53uQ

Great comment from that video: "When cars were banned from Central Park drivers whined and now we can't imagine it any other way." Everything is impossible until it is done.

I heard a similar statement recently, which is that due to the nature of politics, there are decades where nothing is possible, followed by a couple of years where everything is possible, and you spend the former preparing and pushing for the work that will happen in the latter.

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#208

Post by vb234 »

donohoe wrote: post #160
timewizard wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you have children or did you live alone?

I live in Brooklyn with kids and do not have a car. Equally possible in Manhattan - have car-less friends with kids there too. Just saying it is possible, and certainly not everyone’s choice.

Same. We live in Manhattan with two kids and owning a car is just an added expense without much benefit. To be fair, if you lived further out in Brooklyn (Bayridge, Sussex Beach and Coney Island) you probably need a car for the day to day.

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#209

Post by duxup »

standeven wrote: post #206
duxup wrote: post #204

This is one of those things that I struggle to have a strong opinion on from a personal experience standpoint as I can't imagine wanting to drive in Manhattan... I find transit and traffic to be a complex topic and sometime I see changes to a road locally and "yeah that makes sense to do taht there" but the next street over "no way". The New York City dynamic, I've zero clue how that plays out...

Anytime I don’t know enough about a subject, I make it a point NOT to have a strong opinion.

Agreed. The dynamics at play in a place like that are beyond me.

Re: Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

#210

Post by sMarsIntruder »

neves wrote: post #36

Impressive how cars are harmful to society. This is just a small example. We should be more radical in preventing the use of individual automobiles. If it works in a country where the auto is so ingrained in the culture and lifestyle, it can work anywhere.

This comment goes against any individual freedom common law and common sense.
Post reply on HN