If arm-twisting were an Olympic event, Mayor Michael Bloomberg surely would be bound for Beijing this summer. The mayor managed to persuade a reluctant City Council to go along with his controversial plan to charge motorists an $8 fee for the right to drive in Manhattan below 60th Street. Now it’s up to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a man who has refused to cry uncle in past confrontations with the mayor.

Because it’s up to Albany to approve the measure, Mr. Silver’s support is necessary for congestion pricing to become law. Governor David Paterson and the Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, already are on board with the plan, leaving the publicly uncommitted Mr. Silver as the sole roadblock.

One would think that a politician from Lower Manhattan—Mr. Silver represents the Lower East Side—would be thrilled to back any plan designed to make the city’s core less crowded and less polluted while pumping hundreds of millions of dollars annually into mass-transit improvements. Ah, but Mr. Silver is a wily fellow indeed, so Mr. Bloomberg will have to turn in a gold-medal performance if congestion pricing is to become reality.

That the plan has gotten this far reflects well not only on the mayor, but on the leadership of Council Speaker Christine Quinn and on the judgment of outer-borough council members, who refused to engage in demagoguery and victimization. Unfortunately, not every council member was so noble. Brooklyn Councilman Lewis A. Fidler charged that Mr. Bloomberg’s plan was “designed to deter people from coming into a part of the city if they can’t afford it.” Really? Somebody had better alert the Transit Authority—last we checked, subways and buses were carrying millions of people into midtown and downtown for two bucks.

Mr. Bloomberg, Ms. Quinn and the 30 council members who supported the bill acted on behalf of a greener, more livable city. Traffic in the Manhattan business core simply is out of control. Emissions from idling vehicles are a health hazard to residents, visitors and the motorists themselves. Getting crosstown during peak hours requires patience, courage and a colorful vocabulary. And the search for a parking place inevitably leads to a waste of energy and of time.

Most immediately, congestion pricing will provide a new and steady source of funding for improving and maintaining a mass-transit system that this city needs to flourish. That said, there remains a widespread lack of confidence that the funds will be put to good use by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This is a golden opportunity for Governor Paterson—who oversees the M.T.A.—to immediately put his stamp on the city, by making sure the M.T.A. does not use the new funds to start projects it cannot complete, or merely as another revenue stream to cover the M.T.A.’s expensive labor costs and work rules.

The congestion plan will require motorists to think before they take their cars into Manhattan’s most-congested streets. And that’s exactly the point: Driving into Manhattan ought to require some thought. Back in the days of gasoline rationing during World War II, the government ran advertisements asking a pertinent question: Is this trip really necessary? City Hall wants to ask the same question. Those who answer in the affirmative will have to pay a price for their decision. Those who decide to take the subway or bus instead will be contributing to a more livable city and a more sustainable environment.

Mr. Silver has to make up his mind quickly. If the plan is not approved by April 7, the city could lose about $350 million in federal money designed to help pay for implementation. Mr. Silver says he wants to get the state budget in order first. While that is important, the federal deadline looms. The speaker, capable fellow that he is, surely is capable of handling the budget and congestion pricing at the same time.