A. Improve Transit:

B. Cut Car Use:

B-1. Use "Non-stop" tolls to reduce congestion.

Replace all existing toll booths in the New York area with an automated, highway speed tolling system now in widespread use elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada. Augment the successful E-ZPass toll technology with video scanning of license plates, and monthly billing of non-equipped vehicles. Extend this non-stop tolling system to other river crossings and to congested roadways at strategic locations in the city. Use the market to price road use, and to eliminate congestion on routes leading to the Manhattan Central Business District and other congested areas that have good transit service. In time, set toll prices to reflect the full social and environmental costs that unlimited car use exacts. Make provision for tax credit for low income and disabled motorists making essential trips. Set prices for commercial vehicles to encourage economic growth. Work together with other states to phase in small annual increases in the federal gasoline tax as a form of non-stop toll.

B-2. Raise price and reduce amount of parking in Manhattan.

Eliminate free "privileged" on-street parking for government workers, diplomats, etc. In crowded areas, permit on-street parking only for trucks actually making pickup and delivery of goods. Sell public agency-owned lots and garages in Manhattan for conversion to more productive uses. Substantially increase the existing Manhattan parking tax and convert it to a per space tax so that it applies uniformly to all off-street parking spaces. Eliminate the Manhattan resident exemption to the tax.

B-3. Put in place a citywide parking "lid."

Since roadway capacity cannot be increased, enact city-wide moratorium on construction of new parking garages. Enforce existing parking regulations that prohibit double parking, parking on sidewalks and lawns and in bus and bike lanes. Encourage new walking-oriented development near transit stations, and restrict large scale auto-dependent development in remote areas by prohibiting construction of new parking spaces.

B-4. Restrain traffic "upstream" away from city center.

Catch traffic before it reaches most crowded locations. Examples: close loop roadways in Central and Prospect Parks. Convert one of the three Lincoln Tunnel tubes, and one tube of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, to rail transit use. Widen substandard lanes on Williamsburg Bridge by reducing number of lanes. Replace vehicular lanes on the upper deck of the Queensboro Bridge with a promenade for pedestrians and cyclists and convert outer roadways on the lower deck to light rail transit.

B-5. Raise tax on taxis.

Change medallion taxi rates from primarily a mileage basis to primarily a time basis, to encourage more efficient use of taxis, reduce speeding and improve working conditions for drivers. Levy substantial tax on medallion taxis to reflect market value of urban street space pre-empted by taxis. Use revenues to support better transit service, to make taxis available to disabled persons, and for more secure late night travel home from outlying transit stations.

C. Remake Streets for People:

C-1. Establish a "Green Grid" in Manhattan.

Based on pedestrian volume, select an initial thirty mile network of streets in Manhattan (about five percent of the borough's mileage) to be closed to motor vehicles. Include key streets like Broadway and 42nd Street, and a grid in Lower Manhattan. Outfit these streets on an interim basis with sophisticated urban amenities seating, trees and fountains, outdoor cafes and authorized vendors. Operate low-floor, easy access streetcars on selected streets. Establish a dedicated security force to keep these areas safe. Conduct major urban design competition to produce innovative long-term plans for these auto-free streets.

C-2. Promote pedestrian-friendly business districts in the boroughs.

Close major business street segments to traffic, in selected neighborhood commercial strips near transit stations in each borough. Develop these traffic-free segments into attractive pedestrian streets with seating, information kiosks, toilets, improved security and bicycle parking. Expand local feeder bus service to better serve these districts, and to focus on rail stations. Encourage businesses to offer home delivery to reduce auto traffic. Require new commercial developments at these locations, and elsewhere in the city, to avoid pedestrian-unfriendly design features like building setbacks and parking in front.

C-3. Designate a citywide Greenway Network.

Designate a 200 mile citywide interconnected network of greenways and green streets for walking and cycling only. Tie together existing esplanades along the city's waterfront, as well as existing greenways either in place or restored after years of neglect, with new green street links, filling in missing gaps. Incorporate links along rail transit corridors where possible. Outfit all major river crossings with full-time pedestrian and bicycle lanes.

C-4. Encourage creation of Green neighborhoods.

Permit communities throughout the city to generate pilot projects closing their neighborhood streets to thru traffic. Encourage designs that provide only minimum space for low-speed vehicles and allocate the remaining street space for urban amenities such as safe play areas for children, community gardens, and more plants and trees.

C-5. Introduce Green vehicles.

Encourage research, development and testing of human and solar-powered vehicles. Use existing city regulatory authority to require development of "considerate cabs" low performance, easy access, wheel-chair usable vehicles with enhanced operator security. Foster upgraded hand cart and freight cycle technology, including goods movement carts suitable for use off-hours in the subways. Develop special human-powered vehicles for use by parking enforcement agents and pedestrian area security officers. Begin a major effort to devise a total successor to the freewheeling motor vehicle in dense urban areas.