You've got to applaud Mayor Michael Bloomberg for trying to ease Manhattan's traffic congestion.You might not like the details, but the idea is a good one. Lots of crosstown streets are bumper to bumper during the day. The West Side can be a long line of cars and SUVs heading for the bridges and tunnels. The same is true for the East Side. A Second Avenue subway can't come quickly enough.Forcing people into mass transit is the point of the mayor's "congestion pricing" plan, and what's wrong with that? You pay or help cut greenhouse emissions. How many people really need to be driving into the city each day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.?Congestion would lessen, so would the pollution, and we all would benefit. There would be fewer cars on the roads in Westchester and Putnam counties if more of those drivers were taking the Metro-North Railroad.Bloomberg announced his plan on Earth Day. He proposed a three-year trial, and immediately the objections began. What about the contractors who drive their vans into the city from Yonkers or Pelham? Or the senior citizens visiting medical specialists? Add your favorite to the list.New York's proposal would rely on a network of cameras to record license plates and charge an E-ZPass account or generate a bill. The price to come into Manhattan below 86th Street would be $21 a day for trucks and $8 a day for cars. Money raised would go toward transportation projects.Officials estimate that noncity residents would account for half the fees, The Associated Press reported.In Westchester, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky took a position right away, and because the state Legislature would have to enact congestion pricing, he and other officials have a say. What was his? Brodsky, a Democrat, promptly announced that he had introduced legislation banning fees for the use of public streets."While there is much to admire in the mayor's plan, these fees will, for the first time, make public streets accessible based on ability to pay," his statement read. "That is not acceptable."That may be true for the streets of Manhattan, but you already pay tolls to use bridges, tunnels and highways. You pay for parking. You cannot get from New Jersey to Manhattan without paying. Besides, easing congestion might be the greater good - for everyone. Manhattan is the hub of this tri-state region, and it is not only bankers and lawyers who have jobs as a result.Plus, it's difficult to argue that congestion pricing won't work when it already does in London, Singapore and other places.London implemented it four years ago and, as a result, car traffic dropped about 20 percent, according to a study by Transportation Alternatives, a New York City group that advocates for "environmentally sensible" transportation. Buses carry more people more quickly, and delivery trucks make record time, the study said."There is no doubt that road pricing can work extremely well in a giant, complicated city to reduce traffic and and help vastly improve bus service," it said.In Singapore, the pricing applies to central business districts and to outer ring roads. There was an immediate drop of 24,700 cars during peak times; traffic speed rose by about 20 percent, according to Transportation Alternatives.While New York City still tries to grapple with the original concept, attention elsewhere is on much more sophisticated, satellite-based technology. It would allow pricing based on actual traffic conditions, a vehicle's weight and size, its emission standard or the distance driven.Of course, such technology will raise concerns about how it could be used just as easily to police drivers. Even the cameras worry some people. Then again, you don't have to drive in Manhattan.Brodsky wasn't alone in his opposition, but at the same time other politicians said they would keep an open mind. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is among them.He said he would like to see exemptions for senior citizens and people who depend on their vehicles for their livelihood. That might work - unless the exceptions become the rule. Some people can afford to pay such fees. Some business owners will be able to pass it on to their customers. It would not be onerous for everyone.Don't let the details kill the proposal.