Internal communications reveal that U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's legal case against New York Cityâs congestion pricing lacks merit. During the Trump administration, federal officials did not insist on a toll-free path into Manhattan's Central Business District, as Duffy contends. The Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) allows tolling without a free option, which explains the lack of such conditions in federal discussions. Memos indicate the Federal Highway Administration's focus was on maintaining infrastructure in the affected areas, not on providing free access for drivers.
Duffy claims that congestion pricing violates federal law because it does not offer drivers a toll-free path into Manhattan's Central Business District. But in 2019 and 2020, memos between New York State and the Federal Highway Administration show that the feds never demanded a free roadway option as a hurdle for getting approval for the tolls.
In an October 2019 letter, Trump's Federal Highway Administrator Nicole Nason called the VPPP 'the best potential fit' for the congestion relief toll. Nason merely asked that New York State demonstrate that it would maintain the quality of streets in the tolled area.
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