On Demand
You Down With RPP?
Monday, June 08, 2009
State Senator Daniel Squadron talks about why he wants to bring a residential parking permit system to New York City. Jay Rowell, deputy director of the Chicago City Clerk's office, and Judson True, spokesperson for the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority, discuss how it works in their cities--and whether it's a moneymaker.
Read about the plan to bring residential parking permits to New York in the Brooklyn Paper and Second Avenue Sagas.- About the Brian Lehrer Show »
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Another way to TAX drivers??? And if I visit someone in another part of the City, I can't park there? The streets are paid for and BELONG to the people!
Residential Parking Permits is a terrible idea. When I want to go to another neighborhood, what will this cost me? This is just another money raising scheme by the city which will come back to haunt everyone!
This just looks like another way for the city to rip everyone off.
i'd just like to say in my hood (williamsburg) the on street parking is FULL of cars with out of state plates (I assume the owners just want to pay less for insurance)
RPP is often abused. I once got a ticket in Hawthorne, NJ next to the train stop because I was parked on the street between the hours of 10AM and 11AM. The streets are completely empty at this time of day because all the residents are at work, so there's no conflict between someone making use of the rail stop and the residents. The parking lot for the rail stop is completely inadequate.
I could banning non-residents from parking around the time when people start to come home from work, but making it only applicable to ONE HOUR in the middle of the morning is a simply a revenue-generating tactic. It's gotcha legislation at its worst.
I'm fine with the RPP but anybody should be allowed to buy-in. If a CT driver wants to pay for UWS parking, why shouldn't that be allowed?
Terrible idea, won't work in Brooklyn, won't stop the neighbors who belong there from parking in front of your house instead of their own.
Just another revenue gaining cash cow.
It would be great if something could be done to a) increase the available, affordable parking and b) reduce the insane amount traffic that consists only of people seeking parking places. When I used to own a car and live in Brooklyn, I recall being annoyed by the owners of private garages who ate up three parking spaces: the one that was taken away by their driveways, the one on the street where they parked their car, and the one in the garage which was full of Xmas decorations....
It sounds like a good idea, but I'd like to see the city commit to building more parking garages near commercial shopping areas. Finking parking in this city is horrendous!
Wow - are they saying that this costs $96M/yr in Chicago ....
This really is a waste of money.
I'm entirely for this IF it's combined with cheap and plentiful municipal parking. I would happily give up circling blocks looking for parking when i run errands in brooklyn, if i could just pull into a municipal lot or garage where parking only costs $1-$3 for a reasonable amount of time (say 2-3 hours). I'd also gladly pay for a residential permit to avoid circling my own block every time I came home from running said errands.
Public streets means just that, streets for the public!!!! We all pay taxes for NYC, even if we don’t live there!!!! We should all be able to use the streets!!!!
And yes I think your correct on that one HJS, especially Florida plates (my guess is its easy to get car insurance if you parents live there).
I can't understand why NYC hasn't had residential permits by now. I lived in Boston and Cambridge for several years; permits meant that you were more likely to find spots in your neighborhood and it pushed you to use public transit when visiting friends in other locations.
And the "we paid for the streets" argument doesn't really hold water for me. What about all of the people in the city who chose to live car free (like I did when I was there for 6 years)? Why should we subsidize the parking spots for others? Parking spaces are a limited commodity in a city as dense as NYC, so establishing a system that discourages use by non residents and levying a fee on the resident users makes sense to me.
I don't drive but this sounds elitist to me. If you don't live on that block you're not allowed to park there. What?! Just because you live on a certain block doesn't mean you OWN the whole block. This reminds me of Greenwich where they kept certain people out under the guise of parking permit.
I think this a really overdue issue for nyc. If there's a two-hour (or four-hour) limit for non-residents, then a RPP system wouldn't keep out visitors.
I just moved into South Williamsburg after graduating college. I brought my car, but the scarcity of parking spots convinces me to keep it in the same place and ride my bike instead.
As it is, I'm thinking my car is too much of a hassle and will probably get rid of it. If i were guaranteed a spot, I would probably take my car out more often. Something I don't want the city promoting!
Exceptions could be made for people who cannot use public transit, for disabilities or other reason.
Why can't we put this energy into fighting for real change. A push for more and better subway options would be great or some light rail implementation. Mass transit should not be supported by cars though, it should be considered a public necessity and be supported by our taxes.
What parking for those of us who occasionally rent cars? there's no garage space where I live - there should be a way to purchase a temporary pass.
Even though it will probably means easier parking for me, it will add another layer of bureaucracy to an already confusing parking situation especially in the city and will probably add congestion, frayed nerves and generally decrease the quality of life. And to the caller who said that doctors are a small percentage of the people who park, are other health care providers not also important? I do not think that doctors are the only ones that provide care in the hospital or that make it work.
Yes, RPP favors people who have their own driveways or reserved spaces, which tends to be people with more money. Renters are often out of luck.
I understand the notion that you want to be fair to commuters and let them have parking, too, but they don't live in these neighborhoods in which there is often mass transit available.
If we stopped cutting back on Brooklyn service, and actually improved it for once, more people might be encouraged to do so.
That said, last time I lived in a place with a residential parking permit system (Montclair, NJ) it was nothing but a scam that made parking less available to residents.
what about guests coming to visit from out of town? would there be guest permits available for resident parkers to give out to house guests?
on my recent trip to visit friends in Compiegne, north of paris, and when i inquired to my friends about public transportation
i was shocked to find out that it was great and FREE except sundays,
and pay by.................. the Parking revenues (from private operators)... Bonne Idee!
In other cities with this system, people have driveways where their guests can park. This would be very inconvenient for people in NYC.
I've seen this in Italy, which leads me to ask: what is the experience of these US cities in corruption in the awarding of permits?
I live on 23rd and 6th. My apartment is on a block that is zoned both residental and commercial. I have a newborn and it is literally impossible get him into the car without getting a ticket. There are 5 buses that load and unload right outside my door but god forbid I try to get my kid out of the car. What if people who lived on 23rd street could park on 23rd? and not JUST commercial vehicles.
They should concentrate on getting all the cars that are registered out of state for cheap insurance off the streets. Kick them out of the city somehow and it will reduce congestion, parking demand and wear and tear on roads. Not to mention that they pay nothing for road maintenance either.
I think that people have a real and justifiable interest in wanting to have parking available for the people who actually live in the neighborhood, but the system has often been abused in places where it has been implemented.
Inconsistency in enforcement is also a problem too. If the law is only enforced whenever the cops feel like it, it's inherently unfair and misleading. I've had issues where the law seems to be disregarded for months and months, and then suddenly they crack down.
We have such an amazing public transportation system, it seems so silly that people are making such a fuss, if you can't find parking in the city, coming in from the suburbs don't drive your car. Who needs parking when you have such an amazing publc transportation system?
Arthur,
If the streets are for the public, why is your car parked in the public bike lane?
It's time for NYC to adopt these measures so that we can maintain our streets, our parking and our transit. Parking permits are not radical ideas, they're just common sense.
Speaking of why isn't the 2nd Ave subway a tram line?
Having a car in this city is a real burden (I can't wait to sell mine), and improving the parking situation for me would consist of knocking it off with all the idiotic street cleaning rules (maybe once a week, guys?), and spending more money on mass transit, rather than encouraging the use of cars.
Stop punishing drivers, and stop punishing us with mass transit cuts. I think that's a more reasonable way to go about things.
I think that manhattanites don't realize that the majority of traffic in manhattan is NOT private cars; but cabs, livery, delivery, construction workers, handymen and other worker etc... there are relatively few people circling for parking...
I think that this is just another way to make rich neighborhoods insular and for the city to raise money by nickle and diming us.
Compare the difference in traffic patterns during the day in midtown (where there is no street parking... only lots; so most people don't drive there during the day); to when the taxi strike was on. Traffic is not reduced by limiting passenger cars; it is reduced by limiting taxies. If someone really looks at the traffic in midtown and studied it, i am pretty sure they would realize that neither congestion pricing or residential parking is not the answer.
The major congestion in the city is not in Manhattan, it is in the borough; in areas of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island where we don't have access to public transportation borough to borough, or interborough. For example, I live 15 minutes from LaGuardia airport by car; however, because I live in the Bronx, if I were to take public transport it would take over 1 1/2 hours because I don't live in Manhattan. It also costs me twice as much by cab than a Manhattanite (over $45); so I have to have a car because I can't afford to live in a place in the city where I don't need a car.
Kate H. from Tuckahoe NY,
I don’t drive or park on your sidewalks or parks. Yet I still subsidize them through federal money NYC gets. Same goes for the streets and same goes for buses and trains. Your fair only pays for 50% of operating cost. The rest, taxes…. Public streets are streets for the public. Talk to me when NYC can 100% pay its won way….
We really needs residential parking here. I own a brownstone on the residential area on Seventh Ave. Yet,new parking signs have been put up as if it were commercial. This effectively robs us of our parking spaces as the business owners and commuters take up all the spots as soon as the early restrictions are over. Meanwhile, the entire blocks are empty of cars at night, robbing of our parking spots. We pay heavy real estate taxes on our property so this is highly problematic.
Mass transit in NYC is a joke, yes it's wide-reaching and always open, but compared with other world capitals like London, Paris or Moscow, it's an embarrassment. That's why so many of us drive.
The parking permit idea is simply class warfare. It's people of lower income who have to use cars to commute because it's the areas in the city with poor mass transit that have become the last bastion of moderately-priced housing. I am a native New Yorker that works in the service industry. I moved to Staten Island because I couldn't afford Brooklyn anymore and I live near the ferry to take advantage of mass transit. Except that it doesn't work, weekend commutes to the Upper Westside can take up to 2 1/2 hours. Guess what -- I'm learning to drive.
JP from Garden State, federal money also supports the turnpike and the parkway, which are also not self-sustaining.
listening to six people talk against this environmentally sound and resident sensitive proposal. I live in the West Village on Waverly and West 11th. My neighborhood is highly impacted by the vehicles driven by St Vincent's employees who monopolize all most all the non-metered parking slots in my neighborhood. I know they worked for St Vincents because they sit in their vehicles for an hour or more (I assume when they are being paid to work) waiting for the Street cleaning time limits to be met. It is a nightmare 24/7. Middle class resident who still have cars and who can not afford the $600 + parking garage fees can not find parking spaces because of this invasion of St Vincent employee cars. Parking permits is a good solution for residents. St Vincent's does have a parking garage for some of its professional staff it should have a public transportation education campaign for workers and added incentives like discounted metro passes. If people use public transportation everyone benefits, residents, visitors, workers and the environment... and the guy on 15th street should think a little deeper on this issue. I no longer have a car.
As a car-owner in LIC who parks on the street, I'm all for taxing cars more.
Car owners will eventually realize that owning a car in a densely populated urban center is a privilege, not a right. We don't allow people to park other personal property in the street, like their storage units. Car-less residents are subsidizing free parking for car owners. Cars simply aren't necessary in large parts of New York City. Parked cars take up public space, cause congestion and can increase the chance of injury or fatalities, obstructing drivers' views of adult pedestrians, children, pets, and bicyclists. Some residents leave their cars parked on the streets for weeks on end, for free, when they go on vacation. Taxpayers share the cost of storing these vehicles on the streets.
My neighborhood is flooded with commuter vehicles every weekday. Commuters park for free on the streets of LIC, one subway stop away from Manhattan. Parking has become impossible for residents.
But I don't see why I should get a free or subsidized parking pass to park on my street. It should cost a thousand a year, at least. In dense areas like this, where we have plenty of subway, bus and taxi access, why not have free 3-hour parking to conduct business, with permits for commercial and trade vehicles that need extended access to buildings in the neighborhood. Offer parking passes to residents, which cost real money, but still a lot less than off-street parking. The revenues from permits should constitute a net profit to the city that benefits all residents. Non-residents would ineligible for passes.
Oops, I wasn't brief. And I'm going to add to my post above.
The more affluent residents in dense neighborhoods, frustrated by the parking situation, are paying for monthly spaces. I'm concerned that they would gladly trade those expensive spaces for residential parking passes, so the resulting increase in street spaces provided by RPP may be overestimated.
Sorry for violating the guidelines. This post is long, but I have quite a bit to say. I hope that people researching public reaction to this topic might read these postings.
I find this wrong for many reasons.
1. The streets are public. You don't own a street because you live there. I don't like the idea of declaring some people as undesirables who need to be kept away.
2. If we all had residential permits for our own neighborhodds, then nobody would be able to go anywhere else.
3. The speaker said glibly that people could go into lots or pay a mere $10-15 to park. If you had to pay each time you went to the doctor, ran an errand, or visited a friend, the cost would become prohibitive for most people.
4. Public transportation is largely designed to get people to work in the commercial areas of the city. Traveling between residential areas can be complicated.
5. Many older people do not like taking public transportation at night. Will permits be in effect after working hours?
6. As I get older I find public transportation more difficult. It can involve long walks, staircases and long periods of standing. Don't forget icy sidewalks in winter. When people glibly tell others to use public transportation, they forget about those of us for whom it can be difficult to impossible.
Billy Gray from Greenpoint,
Your 100% correct and it should not be subsidized by anything because of the amount of money you have to pay in tolls and gas tax. The Turnpike is another bureaucracy collecting money that fixes nothing. Just like permit parking would be in NYC, just another bureaucracy collecting money that fixes nothing.
rpp seem to be very classist: just like the people who live in those "expensive areas" like the village, carol gardens, bklyn heights, prospect park, etc. Keep out the driving poor by making parking restricted to residents who can afford parking permits. (BTW, people who live in those "good, expensive" areas also have relatively great public transportation. Maybe they should NOT have cars if they have pricey addresses!)
just like those people who keep poorer off "their" beaches by requiring residential permits.
I agree with my many neighbors who believe it's just another revenue generator- and might cost more than it brings in--I hope it goes the way of Sunday meters, but before it costs the taxpayer to install it and then uninstall it. I already paid to park on my own block on Sundays, thank you. Speaking of which, what are the plans for meters in Comml/Res areas? If the meters stay, there will not be any place to park on my block, or on many nearby.
Back to Basics:
1. Two-way tolls on the Verrazano,
2. goodbye to OOS plates (NC, VA, GA. FL),
3. away with residents parking in their front yards--taking away ALL
spaces: Dyker Hts, B-hurst, Flatbush, Grnpt. etc. (and ugly, too).
4. more public parking (NYC SOLD 2 municipal pkg lots nearby to PVT. CONSTRUCTION);
5. how do you apply permits while constructing highrises on all the PVT pkg lots that existed just 2 years ago? (where are the newcomers to park?)
This is just a matter of $$$$ -and for whom, this time?
6. And finally, why propose and support more construction in already busy areas, and then tell those who are already there that they have to pay more, now that it's crowded--They liked it the way it was!
How are carless NYC residents subsidizing people with cars? The streets belong to everybody. No-one owns them. And everyone chips in to maintain them. Yes as a Brooklynite, maybe I'm paying more but it's not mine just b/c I pay taxes.
Seriously, if you find your neighborhood to be too congested then maybe the suburbs are for you.
When you come back to visit, residential parking may not seem so appealing to you anymore.
Mildred Gallo from Park Slope,
I find it very interesting that you used the word "rob" repeatedly on your comment regarding your belief that other people are taking away your divine right to park where your brownstone's located.
Though I'm no real estate lawyer, I'm pretty sure you don't own the street therefore no driver - commercial or otherwise is "robbing" you of anything.
If you wanted your own, private parking then buy a house with a garage.
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