Mayor Bill de Blasio today recommended Department of Finance Commissioner Sherif Soliman to the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB). The mayor also called on the MTA to work faster to advance this crucial first-in-the-nation program, which will charge private vehicles for entering Manhattan’s Central Business District.
“Sherif Soliman has the vision and expertise to get the Traffic Mobility Review Board moving and deliver a congestion pricing plan that works for everyone,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The MTA should meet its obligation to convene experts like Sherif on this board and kick this process into overdrive. Congestion pricing will ease traffic and fund mass transit, and New Yorkers can’t wait any longer to get it started.”
“Congestion pricing is a game changer – it will generate billions for mass transit investments, mitigate the ills of traffic congestion, improve air quality, and provide many more benefits for New Yorkers,” said Department of Finance Commissioner Sherif Soliman. “A successful launch in America’s largest city will further validate congestion pricing as a paragon for sound transportation policy, and I thank the Mayor for recommending me to serve on a board that will play a pivotal role in the program’s design. I look forward to the MTA’s consideration of my candidacy.”
The mayor urged the MTA to follow a more aggressive timeline for crucial parts of the congestion pricing launch, including:
- Immediately appointing and convening the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TRMB).
- Expediting the Environmental Assessment, Traffic Mobility Review Board recommendations, final MTA action including all pricing, exemptions, design and testing, to be completed at the latest by next June, for implementation in 2022.
- Putting shovels in the ground by this time next year, with full implementation of congestion pricing in 2022.
The six-member Traffic Mobility Review Board, created by the 2019 congestion pricing law, is charged with soliciting public input on congestion pricing program parameters and making recommendations on toll amounts, exemptions, discounts and other program elements to the MTA Board for approval. The TMRB’s members are appointed by the MTA, with the requirement that one member is recommended by the New York City Mayor, one member resides in the Long Island Rail Road region, and one member resides in the Metro North region. The law also requires that members have experience in at least one of the following areas: public finance, transportation, mass transit, or management.
Congestion pricing will reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, eliminate toll shopping, and lower vehicle emissions, all while encouraging New Yorkers back to mass transit. Revenues will provide billions for the subway system’s signals, track, accessibility, and other critical transit infrastructure.
"New Yorkers cannot wait any longer for a modernized mass transit system, congestion-free streets, and improved air quality where they live and work," said Ben Furnas, Director of the Mayor's Office of Climate and Sustainability. "Commissioner Sherif Soliman is a terrific choice for the board to ensure that the congestion pricing program will quickly and equitably deliver these much-needed benefits to all New Yorkers and fight climate change at the same time."
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