Congestion Pricing and Resident Permit Parking
Regardless of your position on the Bloomberg administration’s proposal for congestion pricing in Manhattan, it’s not hard to imagine how the implementation of such a plan could have a very negative trickle-down effect for those parts of the outer boroughs that are both close to Manhattan and serviced by major subway lines. As Sheldon Silver…
Regardless of your position on the Bloomberg administration’s proposal for congestion pricing in Manhattan, it’s not hard to imagine how the implementation of such a plan could have a very negative trickle-down effect for those parts of the outer boroughs that are both close to Manhattan and serviced by major subway lines. As Sheldon Silver said, “Some of those areas will become parking lots for the people driving around looking for parking spots in order to avoid congestion pricing fees.” To counter such criticism, Bloomberg has has floated the idea of making resident-only permit parking available (for a modest annual fee) in neighborhoods like Park Slope, Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City. Queens Councilman John Liu isn’t buying the idea. “It doesn’t necessarily improve the situation, it just shifts the boundary of contention,” said Liu. “It sounds great, but I think the implementation would be a hard stretch.” Of course, there’s also another reason that residents of certain neighborhoods may want parking permits soon: Atlantic Yards. Are you in favor of resident-only parking permits?
Bloomberg Eying Resident-only Parking Permits [NY Daily News]
Photo by new hobby
To Anonymous at 10:44:
The congestion pricing isn’t a BAN on cars, it’s an 8$ fee. If you’re going in for shopping, surely you can factor this into the cost.
10:36, DC not only has 2-hour parking in the permit areas for non-residents, it also has 1-week temp permits for guests, available at the local police precinct. All you need is an area resident to vouch for you and show proof of residence. Enough of a pain to discourage some folks from trying to game the system, easy enough to get for those who really need/want it.
Serious question – OK, you give the 2 or 3 hour exception for non-residents, but where do my parents or brother park when they come visit for the weekend?
To 10:30 – I think the whole congestion pricing thing will be very detrimental to business in Manhattan and BK. We often go shopping in the city for things that are a bit to heavy to wrestle onto the train. And I’m sure people from Manhattan drive to Brooklyn all the time to shop And not just shopping. I know Brownstone readers seem like healthy types who can manage the subway, but what about older people, people with young children, people with physical problems who may really need to drive?
I think it will cause a barrier between the 2 boroughs which will stifle economic activity and commerce. With all that BK has improved over the past ten years I would not tinker with the success by cutting them off from the borough that made it possible.
Its a balance – you want to discourage commuters from driving in and then parking in the surrounding neighborhoods to avoid the congestion pricing plans, but if you give people too “good” a resident permit (or too cheap), then your going to encourage car ownership in the Outerboroughs which will then just shift the problem from Manhattan, and be bad for small business (which may rely on some non-local residents driving in).
I think the solution is to 1. Charge for the permit and 2. Make ‘permit-only’ zones only on residential streets AND only at critical commuting times (i.e. No Parking except with a residential permit from 7am-11am Mon-Fri). And of course maintain alternate side.
The Streetsblog frequently discussed the so-called Edge Effect, but many reports have gone to discredit it:
http://www.tstc.org/bulletin/index.html#article02
It’s easy to gain political clout by standing up for a few of you to park your cars, but anyone with integrity would do the proper research and learn that the edge effect is a myth.
I’ve lived in a Boston neighborhood with permit parking only (see Allston-Brighton sign above) and it was brutal. So many spots in the neighborhood were designated as resident only, it was hopeless trying to find a spot if you were just stopping to run errands. I agree with 10:21 – there should be an exception for non-residents parking for only 2-3 hours.
The other issue is that in Boston, you had to have your car registered in the city to obtain a resident sticker. A quick perusal of the plates in my neighborhood (Brooklyn Heights) suggests that many people register their cars in PA, CT and elsewhere to avoid the sky-high insurance costs associated with registering in NYC. High insurance costs, plus high registration costs, suggest that only the very wealthy will be able to afford to resident park in NYC.
..but 10:35’s suggestion could be a good compromise.
Unfortunately, they’d probably add meters to DeKalb as well, which would be unfortunate and unnecessary for those of us who live here.