Also today: LA pushes to rebuild homes faster, and real estate vultures eye middle-class homeowners.

The introduction of a $9 congestion fee has resulted in faster speeds on some of the city’s famously snarled streets and fewer commuters on the bridges and tunnels. “The traffic is absolutely less, even during rush hour,

NYC’s congestion pricing cuts traffic, emissions, and funds transit. Paired with Europe’s low-emission zones, it’s a blueprint for sustainable, livable cities.

Early data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suggests that traffic has dropped around Manhattan’s core.

Traffic entering Manhattan below 60th Street dropped by 7.5% in the first week after the start of a controversial $9 toll on driving in that area.

With the first week of New York’s Congestion Pricing toll in the books, commuters are reaping a reward, spending less time in traffic in exchange for their $9 toll to enter lower Manhattan, said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.