New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial (because it's bold and far-sighted, perhaps?) congestion charging plan faces a number of challenges. The New York Times summarized these:

"ALBANY, July 20 — It took four men four days and nights of stick-waving, carrot-dangling, and politician-wrangling to reach a compromise on Thursday on Mayor Michael. R. Bloomberg’s congestion pricing proposal. And that was the easy part.

"During the next eight months, any final plan will still need to be approved by the United States Department of Transportation, the mayor, the governor, and majorities of the new 17-member traffic mitigation commission, the 51-member City Council, the 62-member State Senate and the 150-member State Assembly.

"And none of that can happen until the Legislature gives the initial approval for the process to begin, under the agreement negotiated this week by Mr. Bloomberg, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

"All of which means that the deal may not be the green light for congestion pricing that Mr. Bloomberg and some supporters have hailed it as. In practice, the legislation may merely set into motion a protracted period of debate. "

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