Apr 20, 2009 7:36 pm US/Eastern
'Park Smart' Program Hikes Park Slope Meter Prices
DOT Says Program Designed To Increase Turnover, Eliminate Double-Parking
PARK SLOPE, N.Y. (CBS) ―
Drivers will soon have to shell out more money for parking fees in Park Slope.
The city's Department of Transportation says it's all part of a plan to free up more parking spaces and prevent double parking.
Rella McNichol says parking on a busy stretch of 7th Avenue in Park Slope is always a chore.
"It's ridiculous trying to get a spot around here," McNichol says.
Soon, the price to park there will more than double.
"Everything is costing [more]," Crown Heights resident James Bates says. "It's not right. It's not fair."
The DOT is launching a pilot program in Park Slope called "Park Smart."
Drivers who park at meters on 7th Avenue between 6th Street and Lincoln Place, and on 5th Avenue from Third Street to Sackett Street, will see the price hikes.
The meter rates will go from the current $0.50 an hour to $1.50 an hour during peak hours – from noon to 4 p.m. At all other times, parking in those areas will cost $.075 an hour.
The DOT says that the program has nothing to do with increasing revenue and everything to do with increasing parking turnover. They hope the higher rates will encourage drivers to stay no longer than they have to, freeing up parking spots.
Many store owners like Meghan Andrade are hoping the program brings better business.
"If it works, and people move out of the spaces because they don't really want to pay more for the meter, then the greater turnover," Andrade says. "Maybe more customers will find parking and come in."
"It will keep people from hogging spots, parking there for an hour or two, and then not really shopping in the stores," shop owner Mitchell Szpicek says.
Restaurant manager Vincent Po worries that higher parking rates will keep away customers who are already struggling thanks to the bad economy.
"It's going to cost us a little bit of business now," Po says.
The DOT is also testing the 'Park Smart' program in Greenwich Village, but it's too soon to tell if it's working.
If the program improves parking availability in Park Slope and Greenwich Village, the DOT says the program will branch out into other communities.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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