New York Sets Strict Car StandardsNEW YORK (AP) ¡ª Mayor Rudolph Giuliani outlined tough new restrictions Wednesday on cars entering Manhattan, citing both security reasons and a need to ease traffic jams since the World Trade Center attack.At the trade center, city officials began tours for family members of those killed or missing. Beginning Thursday, Giuliani said, no driver will be allowed to take most bridges into southern Manhattan between 6 a.m. and noon unless they have at least one passenger. Officials hoped the restriction would reduce traffic jams that have clogged the city since stop-and-search points were set up this week. The ban includes some of the busiest commuter pathways in the country, including the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and four bridges linking Manhattan to Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. The ban takes effect Friday for the Lincoln Tunnel from New Jersey, the only tunnel into the area not included in the Thursday ban. Two other tunnels near the disaster site, the Holland and Battery, remained closed Wednesday. Drivers will be able to leave the city at any time without carpooling. Giuliani said the city will decide after using the new rules Thursday and Friday whether they are working. It wasn't immediately clear how the ban would be enforced, though police said there would be checkpoints to make sure drivers were carpooling. It was also unclear whether offenders would be fined, ticketed or just turned away. Security in the city was increased Tuesday shortly before Attorney General John Ashcroft told Congress that terrorists may be planning an attack using a truck carrying hazardous chemicals. |
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