CfAD Insights: How Congestion Pricing Drives Healthier and More Equitable Cities

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Aug 6

Photo Credit: Vaskar Sam — San Francisco, California | Photo Credit: Thom Milkovic

Insights from the Center for Active Design Experts

Congestion Pricing: A Pioneering Policy

As those who are familiar with the Big Apple know, gridlock bumper to bumper traffic is about as commonplace as yellow taxis and bodegas. Although traffic congestion may be something we’ve come to expect–and dread–from crowded metropolitan areas like New York City, what many may not know is how harmful it can be to our health. Research shows that traffic causes stress not only for drivers but also for commuters’ mental, respiratory, and chronic health. Traffic itself and its associated emissions are also bad for health, with findings indicating traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) to be associated with cognitive decline, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and obesity. Furthermore, alternative modes of travel, such as public and active transportation, offer benefits for both physical health, from walking and biking, as well as environmental health, as a result of reduced emissions.

Believe it or not, traffic is avoidable. Throughout the spring and summer in and around NYC, congestion pricing has dominated local news cycles as a potential plan to reduce traffic and reinvest in public transportation. While the approval of the policy is on hold as of June 2024, the proposal had the city on the brink of implementing the first central business district congestion pricing plan in the U.S.

Under this new policy, vehicles would be charged up to $15 during peak hours to enter Manhattan below 60th Street. Additionally, low-income households would be eligible for tax credits and vehicles carrying disabled individuals would be exempt. The funds collected through these charges were flagged to be reinvested in public transit, raising $15 million towards the MTA Capital Fund. While the policy’s potential to reduce traffic jams and benefit public transit through reinvestment are worth celebrating, there has been limited discourse on the strong health benefits that the policy would provide the public by improvingair quality, increasing accessibility, reducing vehicle accidents, and encouraging physical activity. Although the political outcome of the policy remains to be seen, as the dialogue continues, it’s important that the health benefits of this policy don’t go unacknowledged.

The Health Benefits of Congestion Pricing

The proposed congestion pricing policy has been predicted to improve air quality and safety issues in NYC, as it is modeled after policies that have been proven to work in practice around the world. Although it would be the first policy of its kind in the U.S., congestion pricing has been successfully implemented in five other cities across Europe and Asia, including London, Singapore, Stockholm, Milan, and Gothenburg. These cities provide ample evidence as to the proven health impacts New York City could experience.

Here are a few benefits that could come from implementing this pioneering policy:

Decreasing air pollution and associated respiratory illness. An essay published in the journal, Sustainability, called attention to the NYC policy’s ability to impact exposure to pollution. Authors found simulation analyses predicting up to 17.5% reductions in fine particulate matter (PM2.5), as well as a ~7% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Controlling vehicle emissions of PM2.5 and other pollutants is linked to improved heart and lung function and is a key factor in protecting those with existing respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis, and COPD. These predicted effects are similar to real-world results in cities where this policy was implemented in recent decades:
- Stockholm applied congestion pricing in 2006, and as a result, exhaust emissions decreased by 14% in the inner city and 2-3% overall in the county. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10) levels fell by 15– 20 and 10–15 percent, respectively, relative to pre congestion pricing levels. As a result, the policy was found to reduce the rate of acute asthma attacks among young children in the city.
- Setting a cordon for congestion pricing can assist in the implementation of future health-focused policies as well. For example, the original pricing scheme in London served as the basis for a subsequent policy that established an Ultra Low Emissions Zone. This resulted in dramatic decreases in air pollution including NOx and CO2. From 2019-2021, this combination of policies effectively reduced air pollution by 26% in the low-emission zone.

Promote safety and decrease accidents. Research indicates that cities that have implemented effective congestion pricing policies have observed a long-term decrease in traffic-related injuries and crashes. The study also noted that the policy should be accompanied by increased safety support for other modes of transport, such as bicycling and walking because the policy results in more cyclists and pedestrians using the road and being at risk of injury in turn.

London’s policy resulted in a 46.3% decrease in traffic crashes in the affected zone, as well as a significant decrease in crashes adjacent to the charging zone.
Stockholm was found to have nearly 4% fewer crashes in their charging zone following policy implementation.
The NYC policy was simulated to yield approximately 750 fewer auto-related crashes per year

Increase physical activity by promoting active transportation. Active transportation, such as walking or biking, can support chronic disease reduction and reductions in all-cause mortality.

In London, after implementing the congestion pricing policy and investing in public transit, the majority of car users switched from driving single occupancy vehicles to taking public transit. In addition, as a result of the policy, bus delay times fell by one-third, further incentivizing commuters to take public transportation.
Similarly, in Sweden, public transit use increased by 4.5% as a result of their congestion pricing policy. Promoting active transit is one key method to increase physical activity, which is associated with decreased risk of early death, obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.

Improve mental health through social connectivity and walkability. There is an argument to be made that congestion pricing and other policies that encourage walkability may also encourage social connectivity - a key health factor that can combat today’s mental health and isolation crisis. Emerging research in recent years proposed a connection between neighborhood walkability and social connectedness. Some studies found significant, but mainly indirect relationships between walkability and mental health in communities - an area of research to watch in the future.

Spotlight on Equity and Environmental Justice Benefits

A key component of the NYC congestion pricing policy would also be focused on ensuring the policy addresses equity concerns, and protecting the interests of vulnerable communities. The proposed New York City policy was predicted to actively accommodate the needs of marginalized populations in the following ways:

Funding expanded accessibility. In 2022, a federal settlement mandated that MTA stations expand their accessibility to people with disabilities and align with the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act by 2055. A key focus of the congestion pricing policy was to utilize policy funds to raise the necessary funding to help address this issue. Pausing the rollout of congestion pricing has drawn criticism from disability advocacy groups and sparked a discussion about how to prioritize funding these critical and legally mandated upgrades.
Positively impacting environmental justice issues. The benefits associated with the policy’s air pollution reduction impacts are far-reaching, as racial/ethnic minority populations in the United States are exposed to significantly higher levels of air pollution and are far more likely to experience adverse health effects of poor air quality in major metropolitan areas.

Looking to the Future

The planned rollout and abrupt halt of the proposed New York City congestion pricing plan has sparked a vigorous discussion in recent months. While this conversation has often touched on traffic jam alleviation and reinvestment in public services, the strong health benefits of the planned policy have not been as widely acknowledged. Congestion pricing has been proven to reduce air pollution and increase active transit where it has been implemented around the globe, and many are eager to have it implemented in the US. For New York City to implement congestion pricing effectively, significant investment in public transit access is essential. Addressing equity concerns for residents living further from the city center is crucial, and many anticipate that the policy will provide funding to enhance accessibility. Ultimately, we will be following this conversation in months to come as it raises awareness of the connection between the built environment and health.

Article contributed by Skyler Chin of the Center for Active Design Research Team.

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Janelle Decarreau