President Trump is attempting to make good on a campaign promise to kill New York City’s congestion pricing program, but the mechanism for ending it remains unclear.
In keeping with one of his campaign promises, President Trump is taking steps to end New York City’s just-launched congestion pricing program, which has been shown to reduce traffic by over a million vehicles and improve travel times for people in cars and on public transit.
As Dan Zukowski writes in Smart Cities Dive, “Trump has had at least two phone calls with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul about killing the tolling program, which went into effect Jan. 5.” It’s unclear how Trump would stop the program, but the President said he would work to withhold federal funding or rescind approval for the program.
Trump also took aim at bike lanes and what he called “sidewalks in the middle of the street,” calling them dangerous. He did not address the 20 bicyclists and 101 pedestrians killed by cars in 2023.
After finally making a nod to pedestrians and cyclists in its guidelines last year, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has now scrubbed the Complete Streets page from its website.
Read the full story: Trump seeks to kill NY congestion pricing program
Judge Rules to Keep NYC Congestion Pricing, Ending Trump's Legal Challenge
The decision likely deals a fatal blow to efforts to end the program, but the Trump administration says it will explore other avenues for reversing the congestion pricing scheme.
NYC Congestion Pricing: Still Working
10 million fewer vehicles entered the congestion pricing zone in the first six months of the program than last year, while pedestrian fatalities are at ‘historic lows.’
Judge Extends NYC Congestion Pricing Through at Least June 9
A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s effort to kill the program, which remains in limbo as a lawsuit filed by the MTA moves forward.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority