By Gus Saltonstall
There has been lots of conversation around congestion pricing since the tolling program began on January 5. But unless you frequent 60th and 61st streets on the Upper West Side (vehicles that go south of 60th Street are subject to the new toll) or routinely drive downtown, you might not have seen what the program’s new enforcement cameras look like in the neighborhood.
The cameras record licenses on vehicles entering the zone; vehicle owners with E-Z Pass are billed through that system, while others are sent bills via mail. There are now five sets of congestion pricing cameras on the Upper West Side:
- Between 60th and 61st streets and Central Park West
- Between 60th and 61st streets and Broadway (both sides of the avenue)
- Between 60th and 61st streets and Columbus Avenue
- Between 60th and 61st street and Amsterdam Avenue
- Between 60th and 61st Street and West End Avenue
Here are photos of the new Upper West Side cameras.
You might ask why there are congestion pricing cameras on the northbound side of Broadway and West End Avenue. The answer is that, even though cars traveling north are not tolled, the MTA still wants to collect data on how many vehicles are entering and exiting the Manhattan congestion zone.
The Rag has reached out to the MTA about the trailer underneath the congestion pricing cameras along Amsterdam Avenue. At this point, it is unclear if the structure is connected to the new tolling infrastructure or a nearby construction project. We will update when we receive an answer.
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Would like to see more cameras on basically every intersection to issue tickets for speeding, running red lights, and excessive noise. Easiest way to reduce dangerous crime.
You got 2,000 speed cameras and you are still not happy!
What’s the argument against more speed cameras exactly?
It’s a big town.
Not so much. Summonses issued from cameras do not target the driver, since they can’t prove who was driving. That means no points on the driver’s license (and no suspensions for repeat offenses and no insurance surcharges). The only penalty is the actual fine, and lots of folks consider that part of the cost of living and driving in NYC. And how would a camera detect “excessive noise” anyway?
We have the technology to take pictures of drivers through windows if we wanted to issue points (which we should).
There are noise cameras already in the West Village. The cameras are triggered when the sensors are tripped when cars hit a certain decibel and takes a photo of the license plate.
There is also one on Freedom Place S. It is a “mini” and looks notably different from the others.
erjr
CP is working great so far.
Your reminder that congestion pricng, in addition to being a revenue raiser, is actually a massive surveillance program. You’re being tracked every inch of your trip. My favorite fun fact is that if your car is detected on the West Side Highway or another Excluded Zone and then suddenly disappears from the detection system, you will be charged a toll. So if your car breaks down and a flatbed tows it to your mechanic in the Bronx, you get hit with a toll.
your cell phone, vehicle and any blue tooth device on you already does that.
The trailer underneath the Amsterdam cameras is affiliated with the elevator installation construction at PS 452 and has nothing to do with the cameras.
They put these cameras up at record speed. we need more cameras and cops to catch actual crimes.
Really? It seems there were enough cameras to track every move of the guy who shot the UnitedHealthcare executive, and they caught him very quickly. That quick apprehension made me wonder why other brutal crimes are not so readily solved with so much surveillence in Manhattan. Maybe it is more a lack of will (and a lack of “status” of the victims) than a lack of cameras.
That was a midtown hotel. Very few cameras on UWS.
So if you have EZPass you are docked immediately when you pass the congestion pricing pont. Okay, that makes sense. All others are billed by MAIL? Requiring clerks to do the billing, printers to print the bills, envelopes to mail them in, personnel to handle the payments as they pour (or trickle) in? Return envelopes? Somehow the economics of this part of the plan don’t seem to make sense. I’m also curious to know what happens to drivers, especially those from out-of-state, who don’t bother to pay their bills?
If you are billed by mail you pay more than if you have EZpass.
If an out of State driver doesn’t pay the Congestion Pricing Toll, they will not be able to renew their vehicle registration in the State where the vehicle is registered. I believe there is reciprocity between all States for tickets. NY State also has a deal with Canada regarding tickets.
Same thing that happens if they don’t pay a bridge, tunnel or highway toll.
This isn’t 1965. Software scans the image to get the license plate data and looks up the associated address. Automated equipment prints the bill and envelope and sorts the envelopes by zip code for faster delivery. I’d expect that the majority of tolls are paid online, so any manual processing of envelopes and checks is minimal.
That additional cost is more than covered by the $4.50 surcharge paid by non-EZPass vehicles.
Sure, IF they pay, online or otherwise. Bet some of the many out-of-state drivers around the city will not consider the bills a priority. (Not to mention NYC residents whose cars have Florida or Carolina plates.) I approve of the program but think it needs some fine-tuning.
Well, that is the exact same system if someone goes over the GW Bridge and doesn’t have EZ Pass or West Side Hwy, etc. etc. They will get bills in the mail. Are you worried they won’t pay either?
It looks like the camera on West End is actually at the corner of 61st (so not really at 60th, which is what’s supposed to be the case). So if, for example, you were going to Starbucks or the sushi restaurant or Heschel (and never going past 60th Street at all) you’d still have to pay $9. Doesn’t that effectively expand the congestion zone by a block?
How do you get to Starbucks, Suram or Heschel and not get to 60th St? Do you intend to do an illegal U-Turn between 60 and 61?
They are all between 60 and 61, so nothing special about West End Ave.’s placement.
So 60th street is completely in “the zone”. Whether that is what the language intended or whether it was a sneaky expansion is something lawyers could figure out.
I wish that people would focus on making the congestion plan more reasonable, instead of fighting for “no congestion charge.” We need an exception carved out for going from WSHighway/12th Ave to and from the Lincoln Tunnel and to and from the Holland Tunnel. And to and from the 59th Street Bridge. Preferably also some special exception for people visiting their doctors and going for procedures at NYU Langone.
(And then remove exemptions for Mr. Lieber and other politicos, make a rule that the congestion charge must be paid by the individual not the government agency… that will never happen but the special carve outs for people not going into city streets except to access bridges and tunnels could easily take away some of the sting.
Those of us who take the subway to the doctors still pay for it every time.
No we don’t. That is one of the worst places for traffic in the city both coming into NYC and leaving through the Lincoln Tunnel. It is a poster child of why we need congestion pricing. If congestion pricing can change some of that it would be wonderful.
All those exemptions would defeat the purpose of the congestion pricing program. Those are some of the highest congestion areas in the City and would remain that way according to your ideas.
Just curious…how would you validate that people are visiting their doctors at NYU? And why just NYU…there are lots of other medical facilities all over town. You gotta think bigger picture.
@Barry are you proposing that if you go sputh on WEA to 61st, run into Starbucks, then make an illegal U trun and head north on WEA you shouldn’t be charged $9? I wholeheartedly agree. You should be charged mich more.
Last time I checked NYC traffic law, a U-turn on West End Avenue is legal (unless in front of a school) unless it’s in a business district, which 61st Street is not. Also, easy just to turn left on 61st Street and then head up Amsterdam Avenue.
If you turn left on 61st St and head up Amsterdam you aren’t being charge by the congestion pricing cameras. Yes, this is the thing to do.
One of the most ridiculous decisions made in this congestion pricing set up was tolling people who are going down West End Ave. or freedom place to get to 59th St. to access the Westside Highway downtown. If you live anywhere in the 60s, you would have to drive a mile and a half out of your way north on the side streets, to get to 96th St. where the next other downtown exit. The 79th St. roundabout has been closed downtown for a couple of years now and will probably be closed for another couple of years. Why on earth don’t they allow people to make that one block jog to get onto the highway. If they’re really interested in getting rid of congestion and pollution?
The answer is that they’re not really interested in that, they just want the money because this is a toll and an extra tax. It’s infuriating.. and I’m sure the people who live in West End Ave. between 60s and 96 are not happy about it either because of all the extra traffic that will be coming down their streets.
There are a number of tweaks that it might make sense to implement, but the initial setup was very straightforward. But if you could access the SB West Side Highway for free, you’d still have to pay if you exited anywhere on the west side. They’d have to work out a way to refund the toll if you entered either NJ tunnel right away. That would involve getting the Port Authority to cooperate. Gets complicated.
Wait…we’re celebrating fewer people coming in to work and spend money? I thought the idea was to shift people from cars to mass transit. Where is that data?
Where did you read that fewer people are coming to the City? I read that there are so many people using the LIRR that the parking lots are full and it’s taking a lot of time to find a spot.
Wait till you see how many cars are altering their license plates to avoid the toll. It’s already such a problem that there are vigilante committees that scour neighborhoods to re-alter the plates so they will be actually charged. It’s soon to be a blood sport. I’m waiting for the first murder over this issue. If you can imagine it in the Big Apple, it will happen.
Wow, just curious, how exactly would one join one of those vigilante committees?
The prices of everything will go up — in supermarkets, in retail clothing stores, parking garages, even theater tickets. This is a tax on everyday New Yorkers, wealthy who can easily afford and not care, and regular middle class who cannot easily afford the extra expense. Not like graduated income tax. Hochul has to go!!!!!
Why in the world would theater tickets go up? From LOWER attendance? Not from the local theatregoers who don’t drive. Not from the suburban couples that pay $500-$800 for tickets, dinner and parking and might love paying another $9.00 to save time. And if somehow fewer people went to the theater, how does that make prices go up? A large delivery truck carrying $10,000 worth of food for Trader Joe’s can tack on $15.00 or so to cover the toll. That’s 0.15%. Parking garages – with fewer drivers coming into the zone, why would rates go up? Out of the zone – they should go up.
“…….. even though cars traveling north are not tolled……” should also read not yet
the stated goal of the folks pushing this are to ban fossil l fueled cars from being on NYC roads and eventually having NYS ban then by-passing ridicules emission restrictions like Cal
Tolls were supposed to pay for a capital project then be over. Now tolls are just a tax. Taxation without representation. As soon as the technology was developed to hit a license plate in transit with a toll, I knew it was only a matter of time until the state turned New York City into an ATM, making up for its fraud, waste, and the abuse of public funds.
What’s wrong with levying tolls to help pay for the enormous expense of building and maintaining roads? If you don’t drive, you don’t pay. Seems fair to me.
Who isn’t being represented?
Looks marvelous! Now, take your cameras up to 96th and Amsterdam!!! Horrible traffic. All your traffic came up here and made a mess.
Why aren’t the cameras at or below 60th? I cannot turn on 60th because the camera already caught me at 61st . Was this intentional or designed to trick us?
I live on the UWS and my car’s service center is below 60th street – so I have to pay $ 9 to get my car serviced? Also people who live on the UWS should not have to pay the toll in order to get to the Lincoln tunnel – what is the alternative – to drive an extra 10+ miles to get to the GWB? Is this supposed to reduce emissions? There should be an exception made for people who live here.
It’s a scam. A toll where there should not be one. Most of the vehicles clogging midtown streets are Ubers and Lyfts, and they got their way to the detriment of other drivers.
i love them they look fabulous! i hope they keep police at the gantries to make sure that everyone is paying!! <3 i love this and i hope we increase the prices because only the rich people should be allowed into the luxury zone. didn't you watch justin timberlakes movie in time? you have to play! <3 you cannot come in. jersey should set up their own cash grab system this one belongs to us and i never visit jersey oh no no no. pay your taxes! i can't wait for the summer to start and they start canceling your trains in the scorchng heat… thats your fault… create your own industry and work in your neighborhood…. dont come into mine! <3