Kris
January 3rd, 2004, 10:08 PM
January 4, 2004
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Give Residents a Place to Park
By JOHN ROSENTHAL
There is a special spot in parking hell reserved for New York City residents. While other cities have tried to make parking easier for their citizens, New York's response has been to shrug and say, "You can't park it here; you can't park it anywhere."
What have other big American cities with limited street parking done? Many have put in place a system of residential parking permits. Under this system, residents of clearly defined neighborhoods get a windshield sticker that allows them to park on the streets near their homes. People who drive in from other neighborhoods, other cities or other states can't park in these residential areas.
By most accounts, residential parking permits are a hit. "We find that it is a very successful program," said Jim Mansfield, director of community affairs for Boston's Department of Public Transportation. The director of operations for the Philadelphia Parking Authority, Linda Miller, said, "Residents love it." And Mary Myers, a communications officer for the District of Columbia's Department of Public Works, said, "It's been very effective."
In Washington, the impetus for residential parking permits grew out of impatience with commuters from Maryland and Virginia who parked in outlying neighborhoods of the capital and took public transportation the rest of the way in. As a result, neighborhood residents found few places to park their own cars.
Boston started issuing residential parking permits for much the same reason in the early 1970's. But since then, the program has been expanded to neighborhoods in every part of the city. Boston's 16 different parking stickers have the additional benefit of discouraging people from driving from one neighborhood to another, reducing traffic congestion, because there's no place to park.
Philadelphia began resident parking in the early 1980's as a way to give residents of busy neighborhoods like South Philadelphia a leg up on out-of-towners. "Residential parking permits don't guarantee a space, but they increase the odds for people who live there," said Ms. Miller.
You'd think New York, with its parking and congestion woes, would have embraced a solution like this long ago. Unfortunately, the city seems instead to have devoted its energies to coming up with ways to avoid adopting a residential parking plan.
"Residential parking may be difficult to implement, because of the lack of curb space," said Tom Cocola, a spokesman for New York City's Department of Transportation. "There are many other cities that don't have the unique configuration of New York City." It's hard to believe that rectilinear New York has a quirkier layout than Washington, with its diagonal streets intersecting the grid at complicated traffic circles every few blocks.
"Your goal would be to try to guarantee that people could park there," Mr. Cocola added. "When you tally it up, your supply would be limited and your demand would be great. We are looking into it in Brooklyn Heights, but in the past we decided it wouldn't be prudent."
But wouldn't a parking plan at least give New Yorkers an edge in their own neighborhoods? Distribution would be no more unbalanced than it is in Boston, where there are four cars for every residential parking space. According to the transportation department, New York City has 1.8 million cars registered in the five boroughs, and 5,700 miles of roadways. Still, the city has no figures on how many parking spaces there might be — information that would come in handy before it dismisses the possibility of a parking plan.
Residential parking could be a financial boon to the city, too. New Yorkers who now register their cars in other states to save money would have to move their registration to New York to get a parking sticker. What's more, resident parking would generate parking tickets for nonresidents who park in residential zones. In Boston, for example, the city collected $5.8 million in fines for residential parking violations in 2002. From November 2002 to October 2003, Washington collected $3.6 million.
Finally, there is the fee the city could charge for issuing the stickers. Boston gives the stickers away; Washington charges $15 annually and Philadelphia charges $35. New York City could easily charge $50 — a small price to pay for the possibility of more time at home and less time circling the block.
John Rosenthal is executive editor of The New York Times Almanac.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
The Zen of Alternate-Side Parking (http://forums.wirednewyork.com/viewtopic.php?t=1923)
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Give Residents a Place to Park
By JOHN ROSENTHAL
There is a special spot in parking hell reserved for New York City residents. While other cities have tried to make parking easier for their citizens, New York's response has been to shrug and say, "You can't park it here; you can't park it anywhere."
What have other big American cities with limited street parking done? Many have put in place a system of residential parking permits. Under this system, residents of clearly defined neighborhoods get a windshield sticker that allows them to park on the streets near their homes. People who drive in from other neighborhoods, other cities or other states can't park in these residential areas.
By most accounts, residential parking permits are a hit. "We find that it is a very successful program," said Jim Mansfield, director of community affairs for Boston's Department of Public Transportation. The director of operations for the Philadelphia Parking Authority, Linda Miller, said, "Residents love it." And Mary Myers, a communications officer for the District of Columbia's Department of Public Works, said, "It's been very effective."
In Washington, the impetus for residential parking permits grew out of impatience with commuters from Maryland and Virginia who parked in outlying neighborhoods of the capital and took public transportation the rest of the way in. As a result, neighborhood residents found few places to park their own cars.
Boston started issuing residential parking permits for much the same reason in the early 1970's. But since then, the program has been expanded to neighborhoods in every part of the city. Boston's 16 different parking stickers have the additional benefit of discouraging people from driving from one neighborhood to another, reducing traffic congestion, because there's no place to park.
Philadelphia began resident parking in the early 1980's as a way to give residents of busy neighborhoods like South Philadelphia a leg up on out-of-towners. "Residential parking permits don't guarantee a space, but they increase the odds for people who live there," said Ms. Miller.
You'd think New York, with its parking and congestion woes, would have embraced a solution like this long ago. Unfortunately, the city seems instead to have devoted its energies to coming up with ways to avoid adopting a residential parking plan.
"Residential parking may be difficult to implement, because of the lack of curb space," said Tom Cocola, a spokesman for New York City's Department of Transportation. "There are many other cities that don't have the unique configuration of New York City." It's hard to believe that rectilinear New York has a quirkier layout than Washington, with its diagonal streets intersecting the grid at complicated traffic circles every few blocks.
"Your goal would be to try to guarantee that people could park there," Mr. Cocola added. "When you tally it up, your supply would be limited and your demand would be great. We are looking into it in Brooklyn Heights, but in the past we decided it wouldn't be prudent."
But wouldn't a parking plan at least give New Yorkers an edge in their own neighborhoods? Distribution would be no more unbalanced than it is in Boston, where there are four cars for every residential parking space. According to the transportation department, New York City has 1.8 million cars registered in the five boroughs, and 5,700 miles of roadways. Still, the city has no figures on how many parking spaces there might be — information that would come in handy before it dismisses the possibility of a parking plan.
Residential parking could be a financial boon to the city, too. New Yorkers who now register their cars in other states to save money would have to move their registration to New York to get a parking sticker. What's more, resident parking would generate parking tickets for nonresidents who park in residential zones. In Boston, for example, the city collected $5.8 million in fines for residential parking violations in 2002. From November 2002 to October 2003, Washington collected $3.6 million.
Finally, there is the fee the city could charge for issuing the stickers. Boston gives the stickers away; Washington charges $15 annually and Philadelphia charges $35. New York City could easily charge $50 — a small price to pay for the possibility of more time at home and less time circling the block.
John Rosenthal is executive editor of The New York Times Almanac.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
The Zen of Alternate-Side Parking (http://forums.wirednewyork.com/viewtopic.php?t=1923)