Hail No!

The War on Traffic may soon replace The War on Drugs as the most fruitless battle ever waged:

“Everything that is being looked at is being looked at seriously,” said Marc V. Shaw, chairman of the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission, at a meeting of the panel yesterday. “There are a lot of committed people on this issue that feel very strongly about it, and we’re taking all these things seriously.”

Yesterday’s meeting included presentations on a series of possible alternatives or additions to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s congestion pricing proposal, which calls for charging drivers $8 a day to bring their cars into Manhattan below 86th Street. The mayor has championed the plan as a way to reduce traffic and raise money for public transportation.

The commission was created by the State Legislature to come up with a plan by the end of next month on how best to achieve both those goals. Under the timetable set by lawmakers, the Legislature would take up the plan by the end of March.

One proposal could be nearly as controversial as the mayor’s congestion pricing plan: the establishment of a No Hail Zone in the area below 86th Street.

Under such a plan, yellow cabs could pick up people only at designated taxi stands. The stands, up to 1,200 of them, would be set up on each block in busy areas and every few blocks in other parts of the zone.

Taxis account for close to a third of the traffic — or vehicle miles traveled each day — in the area, according to a research report prepared for the commission. It is hard, however, to predict what impact the change would have on traffic. While taxi drivers would spend less time cruising in search of fares, some might drive greater distances to get to the busiest taxi stands, said Bruce Schaller, deputy commissioner for planning and sustainability at the city’s Department of Transportation.

And the attitudes of riders have to be taken into account, Mr. Schaller said. The image of an intrepid or even aggressive New Yorker, hand upraised and hollering for a cab to stop, is an iconic one for many people. Some riders might resist lining up in orderly queues, waiting their turns.

“It wouldn’t be New York without it,” said Ricardo Barajas, 22, a law student. He saw the proposal as an encroachment on New Yorkers’ freedom to stand on street corners of their choosing with their hands in the air. “I don’t want to be restricted,” he said.