Is New York Ready to Change its Parking Culture?

Stephen Nessen reports that Ed Pincar, Manhattan borough commissioner of the New York City Department Of Transportation, has hinted at the potential demise of the city's long-standing parking regulation regime.

"New York City has about 3 million parking spaces, the majority of those cost drivers no money," explains Nessen for context. "But that could soon change. City officials are starting to recognize the costs and losses of giving away free curb space."

So in comments made to a public board meeting on the subject of residential parking permits, Pincap dropped this bombshell:

“If the last 10 years was focused on trying to develop a series of tools for safer streets, I think curb management is going to be the theme for the next 10 years,” Pincar said at Tuesday’s CB7 meeting. “Particularly as technology improves, it would be great if there were different spots on a block that are charged different amounts and maybe have different times.”

The conversation is in the earliest possible stages, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest that free parking isn't actually free, as noted by Nessen in the article. Still, the city has a long way to go to correct their parking regulations. "For the general public to accept the idea that street parking and curb use should be charged at a rate, will take a major cultural shift," writes Nessen to conclude the article.