Res. No. 1544

Resolution calling upon the Department of Transportation to institute a Residential Parking Program for Greater Downtown Brooklyn.

By Council Member James

                     Whereas, The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) oversees one of the most complex urban transportation networks in the world; and

                     Whereas, While DOT issues several specific on-street permits for certain types of motorists, including permits for people with disabilities, not-for-profit agencies and governmental entities, and commercial vehicle permits for trucks, the DOT does not currently offer residential parking permits; and

                     Whereas, Part of Mayor Bloomberg’s ambitious PlaNYC 2030 Initiative includes issuing residential parking permits to give local residents in particular neighborhoods that exhibit a shortage of available on-street parking an advantage in locating curbside parking in their communities; and

                     Whereas, In a residential parking program (RPP), permits are issued to residents of a community where parking regulations in that community require local motorists to have such a permit to park on certain blocks during prescribed hours, giving residents an advantage over commuters, visitors and other non-permit holders that do not live in the neighborhood; and

                     Whereas, Major cities including Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and London have successful RPPs; and

                     Whereas, In a conventional park-and-ride system, an individual drives to a mass transportation facility, parks in an adjacent or nearby parking lot and takes mass transportation to their final destination; and

                     Whereas, A different type of park-and-ride system has emerged in the residential parking context where commuters park their vehicles in residential communities taking away on-street parking spaces from residents of those particular communities, they continue on mass transportation to their final destinations; and

                     Whereas, A RPP would discourage this type of park-and-ride system by granting preference to local residents and businesses for parking spots in neighborhoods by imposing permit only parking during prescribed times; and

                     Whereas, Some communities close to Manhattan have become parking lots for those who enter Manhattan but want to avoid the burdens of parking in Manhattan; and

                     Whereas, One of the communities that may directly benefit from a RPP is Greater Downtown Brooklyn, where there is limited parking caused by its close proximity to Manhattan, its dense population and its proximity to other popular locations; and

                     Whereas, According to a DOT Downtown Brooklyn Residential Parking Forum presentation, there are 7,858 registered vehicles in the neighborhood which compete for 3,733 non-metered parking spaces in Greater Downtown Brooklyn; and

                     Whereas, The study reveals that the occupancy rate of parking spaces in Greater Downtown Brooklyn fluctuates between 93% to 100% during business hours, with the average occupancy rate at 96% at 10 AM and 95% at 4 PM; and

                     Whereas, A RPP could remedy street parking capacity issues in communities that are disproportionately affected by visitors and park-and-riders, or that are adjacent to large major venues; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Department of Transportation to institute a Residential Parking Program for Greater Downtown Brooklyn.

JM

LS# 5774

July 15, 2008