N.Y. / Region Open-Road Tolls Could Pave the Way for Manhattan Congestion
Pricing

By MARC SANTORAAUG. 25, 2017 Continue reading the main story Share This
Page Photo Open-road, cashless collection systems have eliminated toll
booths at many of New York City’s bridges and tunnels, including the
Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. Credit Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

As debate about creating a toll system to limit traffic in the most
congested parts of Manhattan heats up, a transformation in technology
could make congestion pricing a far more realistic notion than when it
was last proposed a decade ago.

By the end of the year, nine crossings around the city will employ an
open-road, cashless collection system that does away with tollbooths,
toll lanes and toll collectors. Instead, sensors and cameras installed
both above the road and in the pavement itself will capture cars and
trucks as they zip by at full speed – automatically charging the 90
percent of drivers with E-ZPass transponders, and billing the other 10
percent by mail.

A decade ago, when the Bloomberg administration first proposed congestion
pricing, such tolling technology was in its infancy and not widely
used. Now, it is in place in some 35 jurisdictions, and its deployment
in New York is the most ambitious use of the technology in a complicated
urban setting.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who had not shown any enthusiasm for congestion
pricing, has embraced the idea of late as a way to raise billions of
dollars for the city’s ailing subway system. But Mayor Bill de Blasio
has been steadfast in his opposition, and has instead pushed a plan to
raise transportation funds by increasing taxes on wealthy New Yorkers.

Mr. Cuomo has yet to release a detailed congestion-pricing plan, but most
schemes being discussed call for tolling vehicles to enter crowded parts
of Manhattan, and doing so in a way that that does not slow the flow of
traffic. By making toll-collecting all but invisible, Mr. Cuomo hopes
congestion pricing will be more politically viable this time around.
Continue reading the main story

Even taken on its own, the new open-road tolling system promises to have
an impact on millions of drivers, perhaps on par with the introduction
of E-ZPass lanes more than two decades ago.

“This project is a transformative investment in our future that
revolutionizes statewide transportation,” Mr. Cuomo said when he
announced the plan. He pushed for the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel
Authority, which is controlled by the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority, to complete the conversion by the end of this year. It
is already in place at seven of the nine crossings controlled by the
authority.

The new system affects almost all of the 800,000 drivers who use the
authority’s crossings every weekday, and who pay tolls ranging from
$1.41 to $17. While it is not expected to cure bumper-to-bumper traffic,
it does promise to improve things: Under the old system, about 250
vehicles could pass through the E-ZPass booths per hour; about 850 cars
can zip through the new system in the same amount of time.

It would seem that an idea aimed at ridding roads of tollbooths would
be an easy sell. But like anything new, it has been met with resistance
and skepticism by some.  Photo Joe Gugliero, the director of tolling
systems at the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, has been working
on implementing open-road tolling for years. Credit Michelle V. Agins/The
New York Times

When Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey first took office in 2010, his
transition team suggested installing cashless tolls across the state. But
after a toll hike put in place by his predecessor proved deeply unpopular,
the plan was shelved.

Since then, state leaders have raised a variety of concerns, including
fear that those who do not have E-ZPass and are sent bills by mail will
not pay.

That resistance is part of the reason the Port Authority, which is
jointly operated by New York and New Jersey, has not made plans to
install the new technology on the crossings it controls, such as the
George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel.

Joe Gugliero, the director of tolling systems at the Triborough Bridge
and Tunnel Authority, said that those fears have been proven unfounded,
in part because of new penalties that were put in place to discourage
scofflaws.

Mr. Cuomo also ordered 150 State Police troopers to the city’s bridges
and tunnels starting in January to go after drivers who rack up lots of
unpaid tolls.

Mr. Gugliero, who has been working on the effort for years, gets most
excited when talking about the technology that allows the system to work.

Seated in a darkened conference room at the authority’s headquarters
on Randalls Island, he explained step-by-step, slide-by-slide, just how
the system works.

Essentially, an array of lasers, cameras and sensors are hung from a
span that stretches across the roadway. They not only capture license
plates and read E-ZPass tags, but can tell the vehicle type and size by
using infrared scanners. Since tolls are based on the number of axles a
vehicle has, there are also magnetic sensors embedded in the concrete
that detect the steel tread in tires, allowing software to determine
the number of axles.

A short walk from the headquarters, on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge,
formerly the Triborough Bridge, Mr. Gugliero watched as cars sped through
the sensors, noting how small a footprint the scaffolding for the system
needs – making it a feasible option for tighter roadways like the West
Side Highway and the F.D.R. Drive.

But he said congestion pricing and politics were for others to discuss. He
was visibly proud to have played a part in taking one of life’s little
annoyances and making it easier. Drivers will still pay tolls. But
perhaps they will be a bit less bothered.