Bridge Tolls
Advocacy Project

Will They or Won't They?

Will East River bridge tolls cut traffic, or won't they? City Council opponents of tolling can't seem to agree on this crucial point.

According to an article in the Aug. 4 Brooklyn Skyline, City Councilmember Vincent Gentile "[isn't] sure traffic volumes would be reduced if drivers were charged to cross East River bridges."

Says Gentile, who represents Bay Ridge (District 43), "There are only a certain number of thoroughfares in the city and whether there's a toll or not, you're going to have a certain volume of traffic. [You'll] always be saddled with a certain volume of traffic on the Brooklyn roadways no matter what."

But fellow toll opponent, Queens Councilmember David Weprin doesn't seem to be listening to Gentile.

"We're discouraging people from coming into Manhattan at a time when we should be encouraging them," Weprin told The New York Post on Aug. 9. "That's why tolling the free bridges is a bad idea. It's great for reducing traffic, but no one looks at the devastating financial aspects," said Weprin, who represents the 23rd District (Northeast Queens).

For the record, traffic and economic modeling by BTAP suggests that East River bridge tolls will eliminate just 4-5% of trips crossing the East River into Manhattan. These foregone trips account for less than 1% of all motor vehicle travel in New York City (and many will be recaptured as transit trips and ridesharing). Yet the effect on congestion will be huge: tolls will eliminate an estimated 9% of gridlock delay in all of NYC, a time savings worth $650 million a year to drivers, passengers and truckers.