The U.S. Department of Transportation is pushing "congestion pricing" as a key way to address congestion issues, but its Urban Partnership Agreement Program, designed to help localities implement these programs, continues to face opposition at the local level.


A plan to impose congestion pricing on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge has been scrapped by local officials; in its place, commuters who park along the routes leading to the bridge will face higher prices during peak hours.

Under the original proposal, Doyle Drive, an approach road, would have been replaced and other local improvements made using a $158 million federal grant issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation under its Urban Partnership Agreement program, reports the American Trucking Associations. In return, San Francisco would agree to impose congestion charges on motorists using the bridge during morning and afternoon peak travel periods.

However, local officials, who wanted to charge $1, balked when DOT insisted on a $7 charge. DOT claimed that $1 would not affect motorist behavior enough to reduce congestion. DOT and city officials agreed to revise the program, charging motorists who park along bridge access routes a higher fee if they park during peak periods. In return, the city will receive a smaller federal grant for local transportation improvements.

This is the second UPA project to be scrapped or substantially revised.
In April, another Urban Partnership Agreement proposal, which would have charged drivers extra tolls to enter New York City's most congested neighborhoods during peak hours died in the New York Assembly.