New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson on Wednesday announced his support for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030 -- with some caveats.

While applauding the plan's commitment to protecting the environment, expanding affordable housing programs, preserving existing housing stock and reclaiming underutilized waterfronts, Thompson proposed some changes to its mass transit proposals.

Thompson made his case for changing the $8 flat fee for all drivers in the congestion zone, to tiered charges of $5 for NYC residents and $10 for non-NYC residents. "By establishing a lower city resident charge and a higher non-resident charge, while maintaining the credit for any existing toll charges, the new charge for congestion pricing would be more fairly distributed among all drivers across the region," he contended.

In addition, the comptroller proposed that up to $500 million of city capital - outside the current Capital Plan - be provided to implement service improvements. He also said that congestion pricing revenues must provide a net increase in funding for mass transit projects, and that the hours of the congestion pricing should be flexible, depending on the results of the pilot test.

Thompson's full statement is here.