Save Two Birds With One Starbucks - Fixing Washington's Traffic

Last week was a tough week for Washingtonians as we experienced Metro's saddest crash in the agency's history and all of the transport-related consequences, including major delays throughout the Metrorail system; a newfound wariness about using the system, and even some commuters getting into their cars, thereby creating and experiencing more congested streets. It's a vicious cycle time and time again: lack of sufficient funding for transport options, problems, traffic congestion, time wasted, everyone's stressed.

I’m writing with a proposal which would both improve downtown D.C.'s congested streets and the regional corridors that lead to them, while providing more funding for transit, cycling, walking, and streets through better management of our collective resources. How to do this? Through congestion charging and using the revenues to improve downtown D.C.-based commuting options throughout the region.

Congestion charging is a fee that motorists would pay to enter downtown D.C. (not inner adjacent neighborhoods in D.C.) during the work day. Whereas a toll is at one location on a street, such as at a bridge, a cordon congestion charging plan, which is what I'm proposing, would create a boundary around D.C.'s Central Business District (map). All motor vehicles entering this zone during the work day would pay the charge, regardless of which state they live in - VA, MD, or DC.

The purpose of this fee is to limit downtown traffic congestion while encouraging use of transit, carpooling, vanpooling, telework, and biking; and limit greenhouse gases. For a few dollars to enter downtown D.C. during weekdays 6AM - 7PM, the revenues generated by such a fee could be regionally applied towards improving and creating new transit service before the congestion charge begins, constructing improved bikeways, and improving the region's streets. Jurisdictions from the inner to the outer suburbs and D.C. too would each see a piece of the pie. Motorists would save lots of time and stress due to the improved traffic flow. Stanchions placed on streets along the boundary of the zone would read license plates to see who has entered the zone. Motorists could then pay the charge either on-line or at downtown D.C.’s multispace parking meters.

The charge amount would be a reasonable fee which would discourage auto trips into downtown D.C., and encourage transit, carpooling, vanpooling, telework, and cycling. The charge, let's say in the $3 - $5 range, would be the price of a Starbucks coffee, hardly a large fee when considering all the time commuters would save with better flowing traffic.

Congestion charging is being used in cities like London, Stockholm, and Singapore. A report by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute on London's congestion charging program states, "During the program's first few months automobile traffic declined about 20% (a reduction of about 20,000 vehicles per day)." Also, "[t]his has significantly increased traffic speeds within the zone. Average traffic speed during charging days (including time stopped at intersections) increased 37%, from 8 miles-per-hour (13 km/hr) prior to the charge up to 11 miles-per-hour (17 kms/hr) after pricing was introduced. Peak period congestion delays declined about 30%, and bus congestion delays declined 50%. Bus ridership increased 14% and subway ridership about 1%."

Is this idea pie-in-the-sky? Yes, if you don't like pie. But who wouldn't want to pay the cost of one Starbucks coffee to fight less traffic, save money on gas, decrease your personal stress level, and get home earlier every day to spend more time with family and friends?

I’ll take the pie.

by Paul DeMaio

image credit: DCist

Comments

[Steve Offutt]

I think Richard's point is well taken. Would Arlington institute a congestion charge by itself as a way to discourage traffic and take the risk that businesses will flee to Fairfax, Alexandria or DC?

[Richard Layman]

Here's the link for people who want to look up more detail:

http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/BUS/withholding.shtml

[Paul DeMaio]

More info from Richard Layman:

Transit district excise taxes

These tax programs are administered by the Oregon Department of Revenue for the TriCounty Metropolitan Transit District (TriMet) and the Lane County Mass Transit District (LTD). They provide revenue for the two major mass transit districts, (ORS 267). Transit payroll tax is imposed on nearly every employer who pays wages for services performed in the TriMet or LTD districts regardless of whether those services are performed by resident or nonresident employees. Also included is work performed in areas where salespeople conduct business or the homes of Oregon resident employees who telecommute.

The TriMet district includes parts of three counties in the Portland metropolitan area: Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties. LTD serves the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area as well as several rural cities.

For additional information on transit taxes, see Mass Transit District Payroll/Excise Tax, or request a copy of Oregon Transit Taxes for Employers­Should I be Filing? by calling 503-945-8091.

[Richard Layman]

To be honest, I don't think traffic is that bad in downtown DC, although some streets, such as New York Ave., I Street (especially since PA Ave. is closed), K Street and others have comparatively heavy traffic.

But even at the same time, many other streets do not, and even during rush hour I can ride through intersections on my bike, through stop lights, because there isn't oncoming traffic.

Furthermore, we can't trust the suburban jurisdictions--which includes Arlington, which happily picks off organizations from DC for relocation to their fair burg--to not use the existence of a congestion fee in DC to urge DC-located organizations to relocate to the suburbs in large part for their employees to avoid a congestion fee.

More important to DC's transit financing agenda would be to (1) impose a transit withholding tax, comparable to how it's done in Portland and Lane County Oregon (or soon for the MTA in Greater NYC) -- in a paper I wrote a couple years ago, I estimated this could generate $200 million/year and (2) a personal property tax on automobiles registered in the city.

Point 2 is really about local parking and curbside management, while a transit withholding tax would be about transit and transportation infrastructure enhancement. Since 70% of jobs in DC are held by non-DC residents, it could be considered a commuting tax, on the other hand it would be fully justified and the use targeted.