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October 9, 2010
The residential parking permit debate: is parking a neighborhood right, or a scarce resource with a price tag?
Atlantic Yards Report
On-street residential parking is considered a right by New York car owners. The Atlantic Yards development has helped to trigger a debate about residential parking permits.
So, are residential parking permits a good idea? The debate has heated up since 5/21/09, when the Brooklyn Paper opined, in Why parking permits are not the answer, that "neighborhood car-owners alone would still not have enough spaces for their cars even if other drivers weren’t even in the mix."
Moreover, a permit costing a typical $100 per year would be too low:
Only a true market system would create enough revenue to make a parking permit system actually worthwhile while also serving the larger public policy goal: discouraging residents of Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens and Fort Greene — neighborhoods with the best subway service in Brooklyn — from owning cars in the first place.
Other flaws cited include use of placards by uniformed services to "park anywhere with virtual impunity" and abuse by drivers lying about their addresses.
Now, in reaction to the Atlantic Yards project, City Council Member Letitia James wants such permits in Prospect Heights, so that residents claim streets ahead of arena-goers.
Click on the link to read about different perspectives in this debate.
Posted by steve at October 9, 2010 1:18 PM