The Year in Parking

The New York Times uses the events of Park(ing) Day to review the radical changes taking place in the city's parking policies. Tune in on Monday for Planetizen's own coverage of the Los Angeles festivities.

1 minute read

September 21, 2008, 7:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


"...2008 may be one of the most tumultuous parking years since the early 1950s, when the city introduced alternate side of the street parking to get New Yorkers to move their cars in 1950 and then, in 1951, installed meters to collect some rent on its valuable street real estate.

So let's recap: First there was the whole fuss over the number of city employee parking permits. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the city would cut city employee parking permits by 20 percent in January, which resulted in a lot of fuss.

Of course, two months later, in March, there was still confusion because no one could say how many permits were in circulation in the centralized system. It wasn't for another two more months until permits were cut by 20,000 in May."

Friday, September 19, 2008 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 18, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Woman and young girl looking at subway map, woman pointing.

Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?

Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.

June 9, 2025 - John Pobojewski

Close-up of cracked and damaged two-lane roadway with double yellow stripes on a bright sunny day.

Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?

With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.

June 19 - Transportation for America

Group of e-scooters messily parked on street in London with black cab in background.

The European Cities That Love E-Scooters — And Those That Don’t

Where they're working, where they're banned, and where they're just as annoying the tourists that use them.

June 19 - Bloomberg CityLab

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19 - Outdoor Life