As congestion pricing takes effect in parts of Manhattan in New York City, NBC Chicago’s Charlie Wojciechowski takes a look at how it would look in Chicago.
Could it cost drivers more to bring their cars into downtown Chicago? The idea is being weighed after New York rolled out a program at the start of the year.
Such a program would be aimed at reducing traffic congestion within Chicago, encouraging use of public transit and raising revenues as the city deals with budget concerns.
The controversial system rolled out in the new year within New York. The system established what is known as a “Congestion Relief Zone” in Manhattan, with drivers assessed a toll when they enter the area.
That $9 toll is either assessed to an EZ-PASS transponder, or via a mailed bill to the address associated with a vehicle.
As New York moves forward with the program, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he is considering a congestion pricing plan for the city.
“I think being able to have robust conversations about how we respond to congestion, and of course, how we generate revenue, particularly from individuals that take full advantage of our city resources, but don’t necessarily live here … I’m all for that conversation,” he said in an interview with Block Club Chicago.
Joe Schwieterman, a transportation expert at DePaul University, says that he isn’t surprised Chicago and other cities could mull their options as they seek to ease traffic congestion and urge motorists to ditch their cars in favor of trains and buses. He does caution however that the $9 fee assessed by New York would likely not fly in Chicago.
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“We are not New York,” he said. “The fees would have to be lower.”
Schwieterman also argued that Chicago’s worst congestion doesn’t occur on surface streets within the city, but instead on expressways that service the downtown corridor.
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“I think the biggest congestion is on the expressways, and on that north lakefront area,” he said. “There are lots of lessons here and Chicago no doubt will be studying this very carefully.”
A recent study published by Inrix said that Chicago is the third-most congested major city in the world, and is home to five of the 10 most congested highways in America, with drivers losing more than four days a year stuck in traffic.
Congestion pricing has been floated as a solution to that issue before, but in various forms. One mulled by the administration of former Gov. Bruce Rauner even suggested creating an extra, toll-only lane on the Stevenson Expressway.
“We are going to look at carpool lanes, managed carpool lanes with tolling for non-carpool drivers, as well as tolling for every vehicle,” he said during a 2017 press conference.
That idea didn’t take, and some motorists who spoke to NBC Chicago hoped that any congestion pricing plan would meet a similar fate.
“I don’t think it’s right, because there are actually a lot of people who are unemployed right now, so the prices going higher are going to effect the community,” one driver said.
