NEW YORK – A New York City Council member makes a proposal parking permits for homes to help Washington Heights residents find parking in their own neighborhood.
The future of congestion pricing remains uncertain, but this proposal aims to provide a solution one of the consequences.
A city council member is proposing a parking permit program to help drivers in Washington Heights
“This is a livable, walkable community, and parking is probably the number one issue we hear about when we walk down the street,” said Washington Heights Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa.
That’s why she introduced the latest bill to launch a residential parking permit program, with the support of Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, reserving up to 20% of spaces in designated neighborhoods, with the emphasis on Uptown.
“This is an environmental justice community, so doing nothing won’t help,” De La Rosa continued.
What makes matters worse, she said, is all the commuters coming into the community.
“You are no longer competing with people who don’t live in our community, who come to park their private car and take the A train or the 1 train,” De La Rosa said of her solution.
“There’s one problem,” Levine added. ‘The state must give us permission… but we want the power in the five boroughs to bring some order to the chaos in our residential streets.’
Levine said the revenue generated by residents can be used in the neighborhood’s parks and streets, and replicated in other areas.
The proposal is currently under consideration by the City Council’s Transportation Committee, but will ultimately need state approval to go into effect.
Washington Heights drivers say finding a parking spot takes hours
“A lot of times it takes me anywhere from two to two hours to find a parking spot,” Randy Grullon said from the driver’s seat of his car as he waited for the street sweeper to pass by in Washington Heights.
Creative residents of Washington Heights are coming up with their own ways to deal with the nightmare of looking for a parking space close to home – like buying a compact Smart Car.
“I have two,” said a man standing outside his Smart Car. “It holds my parking spot when I move the other one.”
“Sometimes it takes an hour,” Ramon Nunez complained, “and you haven’t found the parking meter. You won’t find anything.’
Some neighbors remain skeptical about possible solutions.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do,” Grullon said. “Moving the outdoor restaurant still hasn’t really improved anything because these people also have parking spaces for other people.”
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