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Changes since congestion pricing started in New York

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437 points Vinnl | 3 comments | 13 May 25 10:43 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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philipallstar ◴[14 May 25 14:36 UTC] No.43985073[source]▶
The increased speeds are excellent for those who can afford the toll. This is a universal benefit of toll roads for those people.
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bryanlarsen ◴[14 May 25 14:45 UTC] No.43985179[source]▶
And the investments in public transit and bike paths are excellent for those who can't. Such unalloyed win-wins are hard to find.
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lokar ◴[14 May 25 14:47 UTC] No.43985193[source]▶
I lived in Manhattan, and was very well paid. I did not own a car, and loved it. This would have been great for me as well.
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timewizard ◴[14 May 25 22:33 UTC] No.43989879{3}[source]▶
Did you have children or did you live alone?
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epistasis ◴[14 May 25 22:40 UTC] No.43989923{4}[source]▶
As someone with children, I can not imagine the bliss of living in Manhattan and being able to do things without needing a car.

Car-centric urban planning is hell with kids. You have to load them up into the car for any small trip. You can't walk or bike anywhere because cars make it so dangerous.

My only regret about living in the US is this car hellscape that is so hard to avoid. It's mandated by law, not chosen by the market.

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seanmcdirmid ◴[14 May 25 23:35 UTC] No.43990307{5}[source]▶
You can live in an urban neighborhood and only use your car a few times a week (mostly on weekends and for yearly kid doctor visits). Its not just Manhattan, Seattle supports this as well (well, you still "need" a car, but you can get away with not driving it very often). You need to be strategic about where you live (e.g. buying the house 7 minutes away from your kid's K-8 and 10 minutes away from his future 9-12, with grocery stores and dentists nearby).
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scuol ◴[15 May 25 00:59 UTC] No.43990790{6}[source]▶
s/strategic/wealthy/

I agree there are places in Seattle one can do this, but boy one certainly needs the paper to do this.

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1. seanmcdirmid ◴[15 May 25 02:30 UTC] No.43991268{7}[source]▶
You make a tradeoff. You are still going to plop down $1 million for a home unless you live way out there, but instead of a 2000 foot SFH in Bothell or Lynwood, you make do with a 1250 foot townhome in Ballard (same price, less property taxes, more urban). Ballard isn't exactly Capitol Hill or Queen Anne either (we thought about Magnolia just across the locks, but it made me think that I would at least need an electric cargo bike to make most days work without a car).
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2. scuol ◴[15 May 25 15:29 UTC] No.43996060[source]▶
Totally agree. I'm renting on the eastside at the moment, but places like Ballard and Magnolia are on my list of places to look to buy for the very reasons you mentioned. Having more space in these exurbs is "nice", but you pay the time tax every time you want to do something.

I remember coming here mid-pandemic and having white picket fences in my eyes as the company pointed me to a real estate agent. Thank god I didn't pull the trigger and buy because I would've been financially trapped (upside down) in some very unsafe urban area (e.g. south Seattle) or far-flung place (like Sultan).

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3. seanmcdirmid ◴[15 May 25 16:25 UTC] No.43996620[source]▶
You probably wouldn't be upside down in south Seattle, just maybe not that happy. But if you don't have kids, Georgetown is (or at least was) the hip area to be in ATM.