Five charts to start your day

New York has long suffered traffic congestion issues, but now there is a $1 billion plan that would make Robert Moses shiver.

Robert Moses was a sculptor of skylines and orchestrator of urban landscapes. He wove concrete and steel into New York’s infrastructure. His visions were grand and unyielding, covering everything from bridges, highways and parks.

If you haven’t heard of him, you should read Pulitzer-winning Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. It’s a nice long winter read for the Christmas holidays.

That's what this first chart is about. Robert Moses built huge highways, suspension bridges and intersections around New York. The opportunity cost was a severe lack of investment in New York’s public transport.

Consequently, New York has long suffered congestion issues. It has got to the point where York City authorities are now planning to create the first congestion pricing programme in US history; the goal is to charge a $15 toll on all drivers planning to enter Manhattan’s busiest streets.

Source: chartr

Robert Moses certainly wouldn't have objected to collecting tolls – he did it on all the infrastructure he built. However, he would never dream of investing the estimated $1 billion collected annually into improving public transport.

Coming up:

• US stock market volatility falls to a four year low

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• The Disney channel appears to be on the decline

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