Uptown drivers are bracing for parking in their neighborhoods to get even worse when congestion pricing goes into effect as soon as this spring, and the MTA acknowledges it could be a problem.
Since the toll program was signed into law in 2019, traffic watchers have worried that out-of-town drivers would park north of the 60th Street toll zone and hop on public transit.
An analysis of congestion pricing by the MTA found that the program “slightly increases the number of drivers attempting to park near New York City transit facilities outside of Manhattan’s central business district.” [central business district]”
“[Congestion pricing] “Demand for parking outside of the Manhattan CBD may exceed supply if the area currently meets or exceeds capacity,” the analysis reads. The report recommended that the commission, which selected the $15 congestion pricing base rate, study the program’s impact on parking 18 months after it takes effect.
A group of Upper West Side residents who have been pushing for residents’ parking permits for years has taken on new urgency. But New York City faces unique challenges implementing the measure in some of the nation’s densest neighborhoods, according to parking experts and analyzes of permit programs in other major cities.
Once congestion pricing goes into effect, “Honestly, it’s going to be difficult to get parking anywhere,” said Kevin Keenan, a supermarket manager who has lived on the Upper West Side for 25 years. “It’s crazy because no one is moving their cars right now.”
Neighbor Renee Baruch agrees.she started New York City Residential Parking, a group seeking to allow “local residents, retail and commercial business owners, and workforce service providers” for an affordable monthly fee. The group suggests fees could range from $10 to $90 per month.
“Many voices said that this proposal… [congestion pricing] is a “money robbery”,” the group’s website says. “We believe the MTA is guilty as charged in the absence of proper preparation, including instituting a residential parking permit program.” The group said congestion pricing “cannot be achieved without a residential parking program. ” he claims.
Ms Baruch said her group had the support of many local residents, but efforts to convince politicians of the need for parking permits had been unsuccessful.
“If we had a thousand people willing to give all their information and passionately go out and campaign for this, local politicians would also recognize that it is a popular idea and support it. “I thought it would be helpful,” she said. “But obviously that’s not what was needed, because that didn’t happen.”
2019 report Then-borough president Gail Brewer, now a City Council member representing the Upper West Side, pointed out why the parking permit program never gained traction despite being discussed for decades. are doing.
His office says the “fault line” in the debate is between drivers who see permits as a “silver bullet” that will ultimately guarantee them a parking space, and those who enjoy “hunting” for a parking space and oppose the charge. It was said that there was a large division into The report also noted that in a 2013 survey, 53% of New Yorkers said they were willing to pay for on-street parking in their neighborhood, with the average cost being $408 per year.
Brewer’s report notes the successes and failures of permit programs in other major cities. In London, which launched its own congestion pricing program in 2003, residents were also concerned that drivers would park outside of fare zones and jump on trains, according to the report. But a city study found that after the toll began, the number of people who parked outside the zone before hopping on a train actually fell by 1%.
The report also pointed to problems with residential parking permit programs in other cities. As of 2018, San Francisco officials had issued about 95,000 parking permits for just 80,000 on-street parking spaces. However, 40% of residents in San Francisco’s two downtown areas still spend more than 16 minutes looking for a parking space, despite permit requirements.
Brewer concluded that the fee to “suppress parking demand” would have to be significantly higher than the $195 fee levied in one of Portland’s more densely populated areas.
“If a sufficiently high price is not chosen, proponents risk shooting themselves in the foot by encouraging more vehicle ownership and inducing further parking shortages.” In the vast majority of cases, cities make just that mistake, creating an increased demand for parking, especially in densely populated areas, and that demand is significantly generated by neighbors rather than their neighbors.” Brewer said. I have written.
Brewer was not prepared to support the city’s parking permit program.
“We want to put in place what will be the New York version of the best possible registration system. I don’t know what that is,” Brewer said. “I can tell you that we didn’t get a lot of feedback from the existing system.”
Department of Transportation officials testified before the City Council in 2018 that implementing a parking permit program would likely require state law.
MTA Chairman Jano Lieber said Wednesday that the agency’s study found significant impacts in the area, but promised to keep a close eye.
“Obviously we’re going to look very carefully at whether there’s an impact, and if there is an impact, we’ll try to work with the community,” Lieber told the MTA board. “But some may expect those who choose to park uptown to take public transit in the first place.”
Donald Shoup, a UCLA urban planning professor who studies parking, says New York City could generate $6 billion a year by charging $5.50 a day for each free curbside parking spot. I calculated that there is.
“New York is an anomaly, not only in the United States, but probably in the world, where 97% of all curb spaces are unmetered. You can bring it in and use it for free,” Shoup said.
Upper Manhattan City Councilwoman Carmen de la Rosa and four of her colleagues representing East Elmhurst, Sunset Park, Red Hook, northwest Brooklyn, and Kew Gardens voted for housing in their respective districts last year. A bill was introduced to establish a parking permit program, but the bill did not receive a vote. .
Delarosa believes her district, which includes Washington Heights, where New Jersey drivers park across the George Washington Bridge, could face dire parking problems once congestion pricing is implemented. There is.
“We’re lucky enough to have public transportation options, so communities like mine where people can literally drive into the community, park their car and then get on transit, it’s kind of a great place for people coming from outside the community. It’s going to be ground zero, ‘park up,’” she said.
Transportation Secretary Idanis Rodríguez promised to review parking permit laws. Immediately after taking office in 2021. However, a DOT spokesperson said state approval is required to implement such a program.
Washington Heights resident Anthony Gomez is among those who prefer the current approach of free parking, even if congestion pricing is implemented. Every afternoon, after returning from work at his White Plains golf course, Gomez sits in his car and watches videos on his cell phone, waiting for at least 20 minutes until a parking space is available. takes.
He said he hopes the space will become available rather than driving around looking for a spot.
“Everyone please park here. Maybe no one lives in that area,” he said.
He said he’s not interested in residential parking permits because he’s concerned about too many cars. He thinks even with the permit program, he’ll still be waiting in his car for a seat.
