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Congestion pricing could reduce gridlock and provide new transportation funding for Cascadia’s largest cities. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, BC, are all exploring how the policy could improve mobility and reduce emissions in their metro areas. A new source of data, now available for free on the web, allows citizens and planners to examine average travel speeds on any road segment for any hour of the day in six cities where...

When New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg first endorsed congestion pricing in 2007, it failed to even advance to a State Assembly vote. It was new, it was bold, and it was a nonstarter. But in March 2019, after more than 10 years of advocacy from environmentalists and transit activists, New York became the first US city to approve a plan to charge for access to busy urban roads during particular...

What if you had back pain and your doctor told you: “Physical therapy could relieve your pain, and it offers other health benefits. Or you could do a very expensive surgery which comes with additional health risks and, I’m sorry to say, probably won’t help.” Would you: Shell out the money to do the surgery first. If it doesn’t work you can always try physical therapy later. Try the less...

Brilliant. That’s the word kept crossing my mind as I read this clearly-written report (pdf link) about the Puget Sound Regional Council’s study on using road tolls to fight congestion.  The study found that a well-designed, comprehensive system of congestion-busting tolls could make a major dent in traffic backups in the Puget Sound.  It would also speed up transit, shorten commute times, and reduce gasoline consumption. But much to its...

This isn’t exactly a balanced article—but since its biases match mine, it’s great!  Portland Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder is proposing a congestion charge for the Columbia River Crossing: Burkholder believes congestion pricing for some busy roads could manage roads for highest productivity; cut pollution, fuel use, CO2 and congestion; and generate revenue for public transportation and high-performance transportation infrastructure and services. I think that congestion pricing should be on the...