With car ownership rates soaring, the fight for the city's free street parking spots is intensifying.
According to an article by Christina Golbaum in The New York Times, New York City's parking woes are reaching a fever pitch as more and more New Yorkers are buying cars and avoiding public transit at the same time as the city has converted 10,000 curbside parking spaces into outdoor dining space during the pandemic. Finding a place to park that newly purchased vehicle has become a formidable—sometimes insurmountable—challenge, according to the car owners quote by Goldbaum.
Car registration in Manhattan rose by 76% between last August and October, signaling a huge growth in the number of vehicles (and necessary parking spots) in the famously dense and crowded city. Residents have taken to blocking off their preferred spots with orange cones and waiting for hours to pounce on available parking as soon as it's cleared by street sweepers. Of the city's close to 3 million street parking spaces, most are free, and New York has never instituted the permit parking systems that many other cities use to control residential street parking. Residents sometimes have to circle for hours to find a spot near their home or pay close to $300 a month for a secured parking space.
Bike and transit advocates don't have much sympathy for the plight of car owners, writes Goldbaum. They claim that the parking scarcity simply underscores the city's "misguided subsidy of car culture" and points to the need to increase other mode shares. Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, dismisses the complaints about lost parking spots. "I’m sorry for your inconvenience but our entire city benefits when you give streets back to people," Harris told Goldbaum.
FULL STORY: Why the Fight Over Parking in New York Is ‘Like the Hunger Games’
One Pandemic Real Estate Bet: Condos for Cars
The possibility of many more urban dwellers driving than ever before, even in transit-rich locations like New York City, is still very real.
New Car Owners, Fewer Parking Spaces—Chickens Come to Roost in New York City
Many cities like New York have reallocated space formerly reserved for moving and storing cars to help restaurants and stores weather the pandemic, but as more residents rely on cars for the same reason, the dynamic threatens to boil over.
The N.Y.C. Free Parking Giveaway Needs to Stop
Free street parking in much of New York City means lost revenue, but it also affects the urban landscape and the quality of people’s lives. So how much is all that street space really worth?
America’s Best New Bike Lanes
PeopleForBikes highlights some of the most exciting new bike infrastructure projects completed in 2022.
Massachusetts Zoning Reform Law Reaches First Deadline
Cities and towns had until January 31 to submit their draft plans for rezoning areas near transit stations to comply with a new state law.
Green Alleys: A New Paradigm for Stormwater Management
Rather than shuttling stormwater away from the city and into the ocean as quickly as possible, Los Angeles is now—slowly—moving toward a ‘city-as-sponge’ approach that would capture and reclaim more water to recharge crucial reservoirs.
Property Appraisal Caps Unlikely to Pass in Texas
Critics of a proposal to limit property value increases to reduce homeowners’ property tax burden say the measure would destabilize the housing market and cause cities to raise other taxes to compensate.
Hawaii State Bills Could Limit or Expand Affordable Housing Law
Some legislators see a law that provides a zoning exemption to affordable housing builders as a necessary way to alleviate the housing crisis, while others worry about the impact of fast-tracked development on land zoned for conservation.
Cleveland: The Nation’s Most Equitably Walkable City
A new study assesses which cities have the broadest access to walkable neighborhoods.
Ascent Environmental
California Polytechnic State University
City of Albuquerque Planning Department
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Hercules
City of Fitchburg, WI
City of Culver City
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
