NYC to Ban One Occupant Cars from Manhattan Beginning Thursday
In a move that some New York City officials have been urging since the World Trade Center Attack, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announced that passenger vehicles with one occupant would not be permitted to enter Manhattan beginning Thursday, September 26, 2001.
Giuliani made the announcement at a press conference that was broadcast live over some radio and television outlets. This caused immediate speculation about how such restrictions would be implemented. Last night, it appeared that the ban would be implemented first at the bridges across the East River, which are controlled by the New York City Department of Transportation.
However, an article about the planned restrictions in today's New York Times says, "City officials said the ban would apply to cars entering Manhattan south of 62nd Street between 6 a.m. and noon weekdays on all the East River bridges that the city controls. The city also expects the cooperation of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the Lincoln Tunnel, and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which operates the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, in placing the same restrictions at those crossings."
Another interesting point made in the article is that officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) believe that the decrease in Subway ridership is somehow due to commuters driving their cars. It is our opinion, based on discussions with people employed in Lower Manhattan, that ridership may be down because many employees have not returned to their offices in Lower Manhattan yet.
Although most buildings east of Broadway in the Financial District have reopened, many of them only reopened for non-essential personnel on Monday. It is quite possible that the MTA ridership statistics have been affected by:
- building closures,
- layoffs which began prior to September 11 but were increased by some employers,
- dramatically decreased tourism, and
- decreased travel by New Yorkers who are not working.
Having said all of this, the reason that vehicle restrictions are being imposed is dramatically increased congestion, not mere ridership statistics. Radio traffic reports indicated that it was taking 2 to 3 hours to cross Staten Island yesterday afternoon. The traffic in areas around Manhattan did not substantially abate until after dark.