Research Paper on:
Congestion Pricing for Lower Manhattan

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
current population is approximately 8.2 million; by 2030 that total is expected to increase by more than another million people. The current traffic issues in lower Manhattan are such  that gridlock is becoming less manageable each year, and motorists waste increasingly-precious gasoline idling in traffic as they negatively contribute to the air quality of the city.  Mayor Bloomberg has proposed and is actively working for approval of a congestion pricing plan that would levy an $8 charge on cars entering the area  below 86th Street - the approximate midpoint of Central Park - and a higher charge for trucks with more than two axles. From the revenues generated, the City then  would provide more public transit, increasing access for those currently without convenient public transit. Defining Congestion Pricing New Yorks proposed plan would levy  the $8 charge on cars entering the area between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm; there would not be a charge for exiting lower Manhattan. There is  precedence in other large cities of the world, specifically in London, Stockholm and Singapore. Of those, London shares greatest similarity with Manhattan. The official definition of congestion pricing  is: ...the practice of charging motorists more to use a roadway, bridge or tunnel during periods of the heaviest use. Its purpose is to reduce automobile use during periods of  peak congestion, thereby easing traffic and encouraging commuters to walk, bike or take mass transit as an alternative (Congestion Pricing, 2008). The goal  is to improve quality of life; promote environmentally sound transportation; reduce greenhouse gas emission levels within the City; and finance the Citys aging transportation infrastructure. One of the problems