Fair Pricing: A more equitable transportation formula
Sam Schwartz, President and CEO of Sam Schwartz Engineering (SSE)

A lot of our traffic in Manhattan’s Central Business District (CBD) comes from drivers passing through the CBD en route somewhere else.  This pass-through traffic includes drivers who take the Brooklyn Bridge to the FDR to the Bronx to avoid a toll. A large portion of it also consists of truckers going from Brooklyn to New Jersey via the Manhattan Bridge to the Holland or Lincoln Tunnel. This route is free as compared with up to the $70 (for 5-axle trucks) it costs to take the Verrazano Bridge to the Staten Island Expressway to the Goethals Bridge or Outerbridge Crossing.  Sam Schwartz will present his strategy to sharply reduce CBD traffic (by 20%), raise speeds by 25% (lower delivery costs) and raise more than a $1 billion for transit simply by changing where our toll booths are located. He will present some the most innovative case studies from cities around the world with the five key elements to achieving positive change.

Mr. Schwartz is President and CEO of Sam Schwartz Engineering (SSE), a firm that specializes in transportation planning and engineering. He also writes a weekly column on traffic for The New York Daily News and blogs for Engineering News Record and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Previously Mr. Schwartz was Chief Engineer/First Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation from 1986 to 1990. He also served an extremely successful term as New York City’s Traffic Commissioner from 1982 to 1986. From 1971 to 1982, Mr. Schwartz held several key positions within the NYC DOT. Mr. Schwartz specializes in creative problem-solving for seemingly intractable situations.   He is expert at getting people out of their cars and into other forms of transportation.  He is also proficient at moving those people who remain in their cars more swiftly and safely.  Mr. Schwartz has created many win-win-win situations whereby traffic moves better, pedestrians are safer and the community gains more sidewalk and green space.  He’s been called an Urban Alchemist for making grass grow from asphalt. He has been an adjunct professor at Cooper Union and Long Island University.  He has authored more than 200 professional papers and presentations and has written several books and chapters in books. He has received a score of awards for his work, including 2011 New York State Society of Professional Engineer of the Year award, 2011 Brooklyn College Alumnus of the Year, 2010 NSPE Professional Engineers Merit Award, Public Works Magazine's 2008 Trendsetter Award and Civil Engineer of the Year from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the American Council of Engineering Companies. Mr. Schwartz received his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics at Brooklyn College and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Florida. 

The event will be submitted for AICP credits.