Feds Could Throw Wrench Into NYC's Congestion Plan: Report

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Plans to implement congestion pricing in Manhattan's central business district are still missing a key approval from the federal government, according to reports.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority requires the Federal Highway Administration's blessing to charge drivers a fee for entering Manhattan because roads that will be included in the fee zone either receive federal funding or are considered part of the interstate highway, the Wall Street Journal first reported. Federal officials have not given any indication as to when that approval will come, which may throw a wrench in the MTA's plan to launch the toll program in 2021, according to the report.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told the Wall Street Journal that it's unlikely that President Donald Trump will try to stall or spike the project because it involved no federal funding. A spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration told the paper that an environmental review will be conducted before the agency takes action on the plan.

State officials agreed to implement a congestion charge that will affect passenger vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street in 2019. The proposal is also backed by city officials including Mayor Bill de Blasio. The exact fee will be decided by a body known as the Traffic Mobility Review Board, which the MTA claims isn't required to follow open meetings laws.

Drivers may be forced to pay the congestion fee as soon as Jan. 1, 2021. The MTA has already assigned a major contract to design, install and maintain the tolling system, but has not yet revealed when or how the system will be built.

Congestion pricing has also sparked policy debates outside the central business district. Many politicians in areas of Manhattan north of the tolling zone are considering the idea of reserving street parking for residents. Officials fear that suburban and outer-borough drivers may be tempted to park just north of the congestion zone instead of paying the toll.

Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.