Emanuel Proposes "Congestion Fee" to Pay for New Transportation Center

Photo by Senor Codo

A plan proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel would charge downtown motorists a $2-a-day parking surcharge, or "congestion fee," to help fund a new CTA Green Line station near McCormick Place and establish express bus lanes downtown.

The station, which would stretch from 23rd Street to Cermak, would have direct transfers to westbound buses. The other part of plan is a proposed rapid transit bus route connecting Navy Pier to a new transportation center near Union Station:

Emanuel’s $30 million version would rely on CTA buses using dedicated lanes, traffic lights that turn green automatically for approaching buses and front and rear boarding by passengers who pay in advance at kiosks or portable fare boxes.
On-board cameras would photograph the license plates of intruding motorists, triggering tickets and hefty fines. The route would also feature enhanced bus shelters.

It's the latest in a series of proposals to clear up downtown congestion that has frustrated administrations for years. Emanuel's version culls $5 million from a congestion fee that is relatively modest compared to plans proposed in San Francisco and one employed in London since 2003 that charge motorists to drive downtown at certain times.

Construction is expected to begin in 2013 and be completed in late 2014, using $5 million from the controversial parking surcharge and funds from the surrounding tax-increment financing (TIF) district.

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By Chris Bentley in News on October 14, 2011 1:20 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

jayburd2020

I think this article is incomplete. It says that Rahm "would charge downtown motorists a $2-a-day parking surcharge, or "congestion fee," to help fund a new CTA Green Line station near McCormick Place and establish express bus lanes downtown." 1.) The city had a $635 million budget shortfall to close. Do you really think all or even most of the new revenue is going to these new projects? It's all a bit of spin to suggest Rahm is doing something more than just raising taxes to close a budget gap while he lacks the political courage to make real cuts and efficiency changes. 2.) How will dedicating downtown street lanes to express buses reduce congestion? Those are narrow congested streets to begin with. Reducing available lanes will only increase congestion. Again, just a lot of smoke, mirrors and spin. For all Rahm's talk about ideas and pragmatic decision making, he's just an old-style tax-and-spend politician who even while closing the budget gap, allowed it to grow more than 2% (despite flat inflation, all of his job cuts, Union givebacks, etc.)

High_n_Dry

I can't speak for the new revenue actually going to the proposed transit improvements but the city should be able to get additional funding from the Fed Gov't for implementing congestion pricing. If Daley had done this in 2008, we would already have BRT/ express bus lanes in the city. The city currently has $24 million in Federal funding to spend on a BRT route.
http://www.metroplanning.org/w...

How will BRT reduce congestion? By allowing a quicker form of transportation to be an option. The way it is now, if someone takes the bus then that is one less car on the road but that bus is still stuck in traffic. Allowing buses to move more quickly means more people taking the bus (at least to work) thereby reducing air pollution and the amount of vehicles on the road. Most of the roads downtown are four or five lanes wide, plenty of space for a dedicated bus lane.

kdjk5467

What happened Rahm? You used to be cool.

Navin_Johnson

He was never cool,
Congestion fees are actually a 'cooler' way of thinking for him.

ChicagoD

Wait, I thought Rahm was talking about a parking surcharge. Is that not right? Obviously a parking surcharge targets different people than a toll on entering the central business district would.