American Pie: Cityscapes For A Modern World
"It requires only a single incident such as a burst water main or a chemical spill to bring significant sections of Manhattan to a grinding halt for hours,'' says John Merchant. "The failure of any one of hundreds of power distribution transformers can have the same effect. From time to time “band-aid” remedies like alternative side of the street parking and “bus only” lanes have been implemented, but these don’t address the root cause of the problem - too many people in too small a space.''
John says that bold decisions are needed to solve the problems of cities such as New York - then he proceeds to make a dramatic and practical proposal.
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For years now, New York City has been close to impossible to live in, or to do business there. A tremendous and successful effort went into reducing crime and generally improving the quality of life, but just getting on and off Manhattan Island, and parking once you’re there, tests everyone’s tolerance to the limit. Delays at the tunnels and bridges are routinely 25 to 30 minutes, and at peak traffic times, easily twice that. The average speed of a car or taxi transiting the Island is 4.7 miles per hour.
It requires only a single incident such as a burst water main or a chemical spill to bring significant sections of Manhattan to a grinding halt for hours. The failure of any one of hundreds of power distribution transformers can have the same effect. From time to time “band-aid” remedies like alternative side of the street parking and “bus only” lanes have been implemented, but these don’t address the root cause of the problem - too many people in too small a space.
Despite New York’s reputation for being one of the world’s most modern and exciting cities, I sometimes wonder what first-time visitors must think when they discover there is no direct way, other than a bus or taxi, to get from any of the three, distant, metropolitan airports, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark, to Manhattan. Not that New York is alone in that regard. In fact rail links from airports to adjacent cities in America are the exception.
Against this background of incipient chaos, the current mayor of New York, Michael Bloomburg, recently made a speech envisioning a New York in 2030 that would be “greater” and “greener” and have a million more residents, cleaner water, new open spaces and “zippier” transportation. One has to wonder how; or who in fact could wait 23 years. The hundred and fifty-five pages of his presentation embodied a proposal that gave a clue as to how unlikely it is that his vision will be realized.
That proposal is “congestion pricing,” yet another band-aid. Under the proposal, motorists entering a designated area in Manhattan would be charged a fee of $8, and trucks $21. Add that to the $30 or $40 routinely charged for parking, and a day in the City becomes an expensive undertaking. The idea is gaining some credibility, following London and Stockholm’s successful implementation of the scheme, but in the end, what does it do to make a city inherently more livable?
In any case, experience tells me that levies are seldom deterrents in the long term. Hefty taxes on tobacco, petrol and alcohol in Britain were predicted to reduce consumption of those commodities, but in reality they did not. And anyway, why would a government want to deter such fruitful sources of income? My guess is that commuters in New York initially will pause, but soon will resume their favorite mode of transportation despite the cost, or the increases that will inevitably follow.
Bold, surgical decisions are needed to solve the problems of cities like New York, not band-aids. Manhattan is fortunate in that it is surrounded by vast areas of developable land, in close proximity. In the past, large corporations with headquarters in New York have threatened to move across the Hudson to such locations in Jersey City and the Meadowlands, but few actually go through with it.
The reason for their diffidence is obscure, but probably has a lot to do with the cachet of a New York address. After all, the “ABC Corporation, with offices in London, Paris, Tokyo and the Meadowlands,” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but that could be fixed. How about re-naming the Meadowlands, “New York West”? After all, hardly anyone lives there right now, so I’m sure New Jersey could be persuaded to give it up, in exchange for the right kind of tax concessions.
Another reason for the reluctance of corporations to leave may be the separation they perceive from the institutions and services of the old City, and that’s a legitimate concern. But my bet is that once a few companies made the move, the supporting infrastructure would rapidly follow. And in any case, with the rapid advances in computer networking, communications, video-conferencing etc., is proximity really necessary for smooth flowing business?
Other large cities in the USA missed an unprecedented opportunity to rethink urbanization after years of decay left some places like Philadelphia looking like a war had just passed through. Down-town Philly has largely been redeveloped, but very much along traditional lines: massive skyscraper office buildings with limited access and parking, and few residential precincts. Entering and leaving the City by road at peak traffic times is still a trial.
In writing this column, I recalled that back in the 50’s and 60’s one would often see artist’s impressions of what cities and airports might look like in the year 2000. Vehicles were super-streamlined and traveled on elevated, tubular highways. Helicopters were everywhere, and fast monorails connected the down-town areas to the suburbs and to airports. Tall buildings were separated by acres of open space.
The reality of what has transpired in the intervening years is far from those idealistic impressions, so it’s perhaps not surprising that we don’t see such predictions anymore.
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