Getting Porked on Parking at Atlantic Yards

We’d missed this post on Atlantic Yards Watch last week until Atlantic Yards Report linked to it yesterday. Anyone who lives anywhere near the Barclays Arena will want to pay close attention. 2009’s Modified General Project Plan called for 1,100 parking spaces in block 1129 (Dean Street between Carlton and Vanderbilt) to accommodate people driving to arena events. There’s just one problem: They’ll be lucky to fit even half that number. Last week ESDC head Ken Adams admitted that the actual number would be “south” of 550 and Atlantic Yards Watch’s own calculations (or those by a consulting architect) come out to between 465 and 482 spaces. That’s an extra 600-odd cars that could be cruising the streets of Fort Greene and Prospect Heights looking for a free spot. What’s particularly galling to AYW is that ESDC still has not responded to last year’s court order to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to address the issue. “ESDC has not yet stated when or if it plans to comply with the court order for an SEIS that is now almost three years late. In the meantime, plans for parking continue to shift, reducing the parking for arena patrons by half with no formal study released to the public of the impact to traffic and on-street parking in local neighborhoods. Nor has it assessed the long term environmental impacts on the community of a lot that does not meet NYC’s own guidelines for the landscaping of surface parking lots.” UPDATE: Some commenters point out that this doomsday scenario is mere speculation on our part, which by definition it is. They point out that there is plenty of evidence from other cities that if there are fewer spaces, fewer arena visitors will drive. We suppose this is possible and hope it’ll be the case but remain skeptical that folks coming from South Brooklyn, Long Island and New Jersey will give up their cars. When that game or concert lets out at 11:00, those in cars are going to be home in bed before the mass transit takers. ANOTHER UPDATE: And one more thing…Even if reducing parking is the right thing to do incentive-wise (which plenty of smart people seem to be making the case for), surely a unilateral decision without any public input or explanation isn’t the right way to get there.
What Are the Consequences of a Change in Parking? [AY Watch]