The endless jam

The war on traffic has been raging for the better part of a century to no avail. But rather than resign ourselves to perpetual gridlock, city officials press on.

Congestion pricing, whereby drivers are charged a premium to enter Manhattan, is the panacea of the moment. But according to today's Times there are a slew of wacky ideas brewing to supplement the charge, ranging from prohibiting taxis from picking up street hails to jacking up the cost of parking, which is said to be too cheap.

Ways to Cut City Traffic? Well, Maybe

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

You wouldn’t be able to hail a cab in Manhattan below 86th Street, where cabs would be allowed to pick up passengers only at taxi stands scattered throughout the area.

You wouldn’t be able to drive in Manhattan on the 5th, the 15th or the 25th of every month if your license plate ends in a 5. And parking on the street would cost you as much as parking in a garage.

These are some of the proposals under consideration by the state commission evaluating how best to combat traffic in Manhattan. The ideas may seem fanciful, futuristic or simply far-fetched.

But as long as automobiles have been trolling the streets there has been traffic -- and no shortage of ideas for ending it. In 1929, there were too many, too costly ideas.

January 10,1929
ASKS TRAFFIC BOARD TO BAR COSTLY IDEAS

Banham says 200 proposals already received would involve $2,000,000,000

Warns city lacks funds

Using streets more at night and removing obstructions would help, he tells trade board

The work of the citizens’ traffic committee should be limited to an improvement of present traffic facilities and should not be concerned with solutions requiring additional facilities, declared W.J.L. Banham, president of the New York Board of Trade, Inc., yesterday at the monthly meeting of the organization at 15 Park Row. He outlined some of the suggestions he will lay before the committee on plan and scope today.

Mr. Banham, who is head of the citizens’ traffic committee, said that the committee had 200 plans for street traffic solution which would cost at least $2,000,000,000 to put into effect. Since the city has no money available to carry out the proposals, he urged that those things be done which involve no expenditure of large sums. In this connection, he mentioned garbage and ash removal at night, of obstructions from sidewalks, and reducing the number of street openings.

A couple of years later, the doom and gloom traffic experts made an argument that could be used verbatim today.

January 20, 1931
M’ANENY ASKS SPEED ON SOUND CITY PLAN

“Creeping Paralysis” can be avoided only if city acts at once, he declares.

Cost of traffic jams and other present conditions put at $1,000,000 a day.

Unless New York City adopts quickly a fundamental, scientific plan providing for a growth which will give the metropolitan area a population of 21,000,000 within thirty-five years, “creeping paralysis” will overtake it, George McAneny, president of the Regional Plan Association, told a meeting of the New York Credit Men’s Association at the Commodore last night.

Parking and its relationship to traffic was and still is of utmost concern. After the jump, read about two attempts to improve congestion by making it harder to park which are not unlike those currently on the table...

August 8, 1952
DRASTIC NEW CURB ON PARKING SOUGHT

A plan to free sixty miles of city streets of parked vehicles during peak rush hours, principally on major mid-Manhattan crosstown arteries, was outlined yesterday by Acting Traffic Commissioner T.T. Wiley. The idea, if adopted, would speed up traffic by 10 percent on these thoroughfares, Mr. Wiley said.

January 31, 1966
BRODERICK URGES $50 PARKING FINES IN MIDTOWN AREA

By ROBERT E. DALLOS

Police Commissioner Vincent L. Broderick urged yesterday that fines for illegal parking be raised to $50. Traffic Commissioner Henry A. Barnes immediately supported the idea.

The increase from the present $15 fine, Mr. Broderick said, “would be a deterrent” to illegal parking and would be “more realistic.”

Comments

[angry bird tips]

This is my first time i visit here. I had a great time reading this.