Battling vs. backsliding on congest

Transit advocates vowed Thursday to ensure congestion pricing isn’t killed by New Yorkers looking for a free ride.

“We have 20 months until this goes into effect,” said Alex Matthiessen, who began forming coalitions around congestion pricing in 2010 after Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan failed to muster enough support two years earlier. “There’s all kinds of possibilities for mischiefmaking, for rollbacks, for backlash.”

The groups are worried the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will allow for too many exemptions to the toll, which will charge cars upward of $11 to enter Manhattan below 60th St.. The West Side Highway and FDR Drive will be exempt.

The new state budget exempts emergency vehicles and some cars carrying disabled people from paying. Any other carve-outs will be decided by the MTA board with input from a new six-member Traffic Mobility Review Board.

“As people try to kill congestion pricing with death by 1,000 paper cuts and having exemptions here and there, we need to stand strong,” said Councilman Ben Kallos (DManhattan).

The congestion pricing language written into the budget will make it difficult for the MTA to dole out exceptions. The MTA is required to generate enough money from the program to fund $15 billion worth of MTA infrastructure improvements.

More exemptions would force the MTA to set a higher tolls for drivers in order to hit that $15 billion target.

Environmental advocates also worry that the need to slash pollution and car traffic has been lost in the conversation surrounding congestion pricing.

“We want to make sure that we’re actually reducing congestion, because we’re only going to see the environmental benefits if we actually do that,” said Julie Tighe, executive director of the NY League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group.