City Awarded $354.5 Million in Traffic Aid

New York City was awarded $354.5 million in federal funds to finance congestion pricing in Manhattan this morning, contingent on the State Legislature voting by March to put a driving fee into effect.

While the amount is much less than the $537 million Mr. Bloomberg had asked for, city officials hailed the announcement as a victory in the battle against New York's notorious traffic jams.

The Bush administration has earmarked $112 million to pay for rapid bus corridors, where traffic lights would be timed to allow buses to pass through the city without stopping at red lights.

Federal officials allocated $10.4 million to pay for congestion pricing infrastructure including cameras and E-ZPass technology, but said that the project would require additional contributions from the city or the state. The city had originally asked for more than $200 million to pay for the technology.

"The average New York commuter spends 49 hours stuck in traffic every year, up from 18 hours in 1982," the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Mary Peters, said at a press conference in Washington, D.C. today.

Ms. Peters announced that $15.8 million of the money would pay for an expanded ferry boat system around Manhattan, and a significant portion would pay for "capital and operational improvements" for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

New York will receive $1.6 million immediately. The rest of the money would arrive in March as long as the State Legislature acts on the recommendations of a 17-member congestion pricing commission by then.

Ms. Peters said today that it was unlikely the traffic reduction goals set out by Mr. Bloomberg could be achieved without charging drivers to enter most of Manhattan. While Mr. Bloomberg proposed charging cars $8 and trucks $21 to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street, those details are likely to be tweaked, she said.

"We're not discouraging people from driving," Ms. Peters said. "What we do want is make the price that people pay more closely reflect the true cost of driving. Drivers are paying today in time delays and unreliability."

The other four cities that have been selected to receive federal grants to help reduce traffic are expected to be announced later today.