Yeah, parking on the UWS starts around $700 per month, anyone owning a car there is very, very dumb, especially if they drive it to other places in NYC.
Drops her off and then what? Drives back to the UWS? Circles around looking for a parking space? Parks for an hour for $20?
And then after, do they drive back to a garage space? Look for an alternate side spot? How is this any faster/easier than just taking the 1 train five stops?
(Not to mention the previous graf of the 21-yo working a receptionist job who is afraid of the subway to the point she will buy a car and pay for parking in midtown, but $9 more is going to break her. Hell, taking an uber both ways would be cheaper.)
Also, she bought the car 2 days ago so....it's not like she didn't see this coming? I still don't see how the 4 or 5 train isn't a better option, but I don't know where in the Bronx she is coming from (again...might have a reporter asked that?)
It seems to be on the UWS so the 2 or 3, but those don't stop at Columbus Circle so you'd have to change to a 1 (horrors) or take a IND 8th Avenue train.
The longest transit trip I could find is from Coop City at about 1:20 vs 50 minutes driving (8 am Monday morning).
See, she lives on the upper west side. Her class was in Battery Park. Her husband hates her, and they want to save $9. She walked for four hours, round trip. Her husband picked her up at 61st and CPW. Dammit, congestion pricing, look what you made me do.
The business of moving your limbs has been cunningly monetised by persuading us it's only allowable to do this in places called gyms. This is late capitalism. Consequently, in order to exercise, we must drive to a gym (conveniently funding Big Fossil on the way). Charging us to do this is socialism.
Congestion day story: When I lived in Rome the historic center was closed to most cars weekdays, enforced by a camera snapping the lic plate of any entering the zone.
My Italian coworkers told me friends had learned to drive there, turn around, & back in. Camera wld catch a car leaving, no ticket.
I can't find the gorram thing now but there was famously a tweet from some British person furiously declaring that they're never going to pay the new 5p plastic bag charge and will get around it by bringing their own bag from home instead and that'll show them
Without more info, husband dropped her off one block from the tolling zone/she walked the rest of the way does not mean she walked one block. Depends on how far in the zone her destination was.
Seeing a number of people making this assumption. Still agree these people are ridic whiners tho.
It was not so far that she felt she couldn't walk. And if it had been she could have easily taken a bus or train. I mean you're right we don't know the exact difference but we know she was not meaningfully harmed.
It’s two blocks from East 61st to East 59th. (If it is the exercise studio I think it is, it is right next door to my apartment, so this is a huge win for me, getting one less car on my block!)
In my day they said nothing but screeeeeeeeech. If someone was especially naughty you might get the conductor on the intercom yelling "Yo! Quit blockin' the door!"
Instead of walking to my exercise class or taking the subway three stops, I love to have my husband drive me there. You'd call me a "walking heart attack" except I refuse to walk.
This sounds like the tolls working precisely as intended. Eventually they will figure out that just getting to the nearest train station or bus stop is more convenient than this stupidity.
I'm fascinated by so many people's idea that exercise needs to be this structured, planned thing in set aside time rather than something integrated into other daily activities.
Houston instituted a tax on impermeable surfaces. I talked to a business owner that found a loophole - he built his parking lot out of permeable surfaces. He didn't want to hear it when I told him that was what the city was trying to do.
I think with pigovian taxes you just gotta let people think they're finding a way around the system. If we ever manage to tax carbon we need to pretend to be really upset whenever some conservative makes a "bought an EV to dodge your stupid gas tax, take that Obama" post.
An episode of Blossom that stuck with me (I know) had a bit that Joey was trying to cheat on a test - devising ever more complicated means of not being detected. In doing so ended up learning the material he was trying to hide on his person. Successfully cheated by hiding the answers in his brain.
Ha! When I lived in DC 20+ years ago, the taxis used a zone system. Everyone I knew had a map of the zones & walked a block or four to step into the next zone, then stop the taxi before it hit the new zone and walk. God help you if you crossed too many zones! We were broke! 😆
My wife and brother both hated the subway. The entire time they lived in Manhattan they walked like 30 blocks to work. I never really understood why. It was faster than the subway though.
Also, walking to work in Manhattan isn't quite like walking to work in a lot of other places. People move quickly, paths are typically clear, there are lots of interesting things to look at on street level.
But I'd still take the train if it was raining or extremely cold!
Oh yeah, to be clear, I was picturing walking 1.5 miles each way in Manhattan, which is a place *filled* with people walking. Though a 1.5 mile walk in St. Paul wouldn't be terrible, in NYC it really feels *normal*.
30 blocks is a great walk!
if I'd ever lived 1.5 miles from work I would have walked every day.
instead I took the train or biked.
no place in north america is easier to get around without a car
Most specifically, it's entitled New Yorkers who have cars with that attitude. Those people are like NYC's version of Trump voters in Ohio diners. The media focuses on them and ignores all us straphangers who are perfectly happy with congestion pricing.
As one who lived on the Upper West Side for 14 years, I can say with certainty no one I knew would give up their parking spot or deal with the hassle of getting a car out of the garage solely to drive to 60th st
Loving that they didn't pick up on the fact that that's the whole point of putting the charge in place. In London the reduction in Nitrogen Oxide is as if the charges had removed an incredible 200,000 cars from the roads for a year. Reducing pollution by up to 53%.
I mean… it’s not *impossible* that she’s disabled and the MTA’s elevator failure is the problem… (she says knowing it’s a long shot but struggling desperately for an explanation that makes sense)
Yes and I'm very hesitant to post without context, but if any of those conditions were a factor, then we have a serious journalism failure here (this was the end of a NY Times story) because this excerpt raises so many questions.
The funniest part to me is I know a handful of obscenely rich 3rd+ generation New Yorkers from college who don't own cars and barely know how to drive. I feel like this must be new money / transplant NYers.
The problem is when you need to rent a car. I need to load stuff and unload it driving from NYC to MI and back, etc. It’s fucking annoying to have to pay additional tolls to pick up, load, drive, unload and then return rental cars. I’m not the problem, but I get hit.
i'm stumped. if a subway trip which from that area in that direction would be a max 5 min wait for a 10 min ride is too much exposure to... "dangerous" people then walking is better how
So the policy is doing what it's supposed to - discouraging people from driving in the congestion zone, and encouraging the use of alternative transport such as trains, busses, bicycles and walking...
Dammit, in 15 years on Twitter (I'm an OG quitter...I quit the day Musk walked in) and a couple of years here, I've never had a post blow up before. And here I am, without a Soundcloud to promote!
Thanks everyone for stopping by! I'm going to freeze the thread since I think it is stale and there are newer items to discuss. In particular, I think @nytimes.com coverage today has been laden with inaccuracies and I hope @nyc.streetsblog.org has time to mop it all up.
In any context, needing to drive to where you exercise is always a source of amusement. Like the guy who's late to work seen pushing his bicycle because he didn't have time to get on.
Unexplainable other than through the lens of privilege. There are multiple ways to get from the UWS to mid-town that don’t involve cars: walk, Citibike, subway. All are likely faster, more convenient and safer. Personally, I’m happy to see congestion pricing - just hope it helps.
61st street is technically still the UWS. She’s not even leaving her neighborhood! Like mayyyybe it’s on the east side but I feel like I’m giving her too much credit.
Yeah I definitely misread! She’s still the poster child for why congestion pricing is there in the first place. If you want to drive everywhere don’t live in Manhattan.
In college I read about this tribe called the ASU—receiving one’s own “rac” in early adulthood was considered a rite of passage, a beast that could carry you miles, but cost more than most 18 year olds earned. When first racs died many felt honor bound to buy a new one, even if they didn’t need it.
When I first started commuting by bike I'd pick a car when I got to the bridge and pace myself against it but once I was in moderately decent shape it wasn't ever a contest. Bikes are a city cheat code so long as you have a clean shirt in case it rains.
For a long time the daily news did this every year-had reporters start a journey from the same point back to the news offices by bike, taxi, bus and subway. Pretty much every year bike and subway were 1-2.
When I lived in Bklyn my 16 mi round trip commute by bike was faster than the train 1 way.
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And then after, do they drive back to a garage space? Look for an alternate side spot? How is this any faster/easier than just taking the 1 train five stops?
The longest transit trip I could find is from Coop City at about 1:20 vs 50 minutes driving (8 am Monday morning).
But "not safe!"
Why have you chosen this violence
Like, going to one in the area if you live there? Of course! But if it’s not close to work or home …. Why?
I'm sure there's a CitiBike corral nearby. She could exploit the bike-through-the-congestion-zone "loophole".
My Italian coworkers told me friends had learned to drive there, turn around, & back in. Camera wld catch a car leaving, no ticket.
This is the behavior we want to see.
Seeing a number of people making this assumption. Still agree these people are ridic whiners tho.
Very self aware
I fail to see the problem.
Assuming her husband picked her up, that's 40 mins total w/roundtrip for him.
Meanwhile she could have done it in 30 RT alone.
With zero chance of having a car accident or getting a ticket.
Given context, this is actually the dumbest quote I could even imagine.
But I'd still take the train if it was raining or extremely cold!
if I'd ever lived 1.5 miles from work I would have walked every day.
instead I took the train or biked.
no place in north america is easier to get around without a car
If the lady doesn't want to walk or take public transportation, that's HER problem.
As long as the MTA uses the money to *vastly* improve bus and metro services, this can change Manhattan for the better.
Cos they're walking and cycling.
Also, my knowledge of NY transport geography is a bit vague, but does she have subway fear or something?
(I have used it.)
Still, that's easily subway-able!
Not midtown.
When I lived in Bklyn my 16 mi round trip commute by bike was faster than the train 1 way.