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September 29, 2010
Tish: To fix arena parking mess, locals should pay for spots
The Brooklyn Paper
A key opponent to the Atlantic Yards mega-development and arena is now pushing for a parking system that would force locals, many of whom opposed the project in the first place, to pay to park in the neighborhoods around it.
Councilwoman Letitia James (D–Fort Greene) is calling for residential parking permits near the Barclays Center arena, requiring area residents to buy permits so that they, not thousands of sports and entertainment fans, will get the first crack at spots on the residential streets near the 19,000-seat arena.
The permits would also generate revenue for the city — which makes it doubly controversial.
“It’s highway robbery!” said Patti Hagan, a longtime arena and project opponent who lives nearby on St. Marks Avenue. “How many times are we going to get shellacked for this thing?”
James said the yet-to-be-determined fee associated with a residential parking permit was a necessary evil that would mitigate the space crunch after the arena is completed in mid- to late 2012.
NoLandGrab: Neighborhood advocates throughout Brownstone Brooklyn have been calling for years for a residential parking permit program, especially given the prospect of a huge influx of arena traffic. Such a program would have to carry a fee, in order to pay for itself, and a free program would only spread the cost of valuable street space to Brooklyn's non-car-owning majority — certainly less fair than charging a fee for giving over so much of our public streets to privately owned vehicles.
Posted by eric at September 29, 2010 8:54 AM