A better way to divvy up NYC’s street parking – New York Daily News

A friend of mine has a story about growing up in Boston, where competition for street parking was fierce. One of her neighbors was notorious for using traffic cones to keep “his” spot reserved. Then one day, a newcomer, oblivious to the unwritten rules of the block, ignored the cones and parked there. He returned later to find his car torched.

This story probably doesn’t shock many New Yorkers. As driving in the city returns to pre-COVID levels and alternate-side parking resumes, frustrations seem to be everywhere.

Recently, calls have grown louder for creating a residential parking permit system. This would restrict parking in selected neighborhoods to people who live there, thus reducing competition for spots.

I can suggest a better way to address our parking woes. But first, let’s consider what’s wrong with our current approach.

For starters, street parking allows a minority of the city’s population — car owners — to monopolize useful public space. Having no car, I would prefer to see at least some of this space filled by gardens, bike lanes or play areas. But these options remain largely off the table.

Instead, curbside space is treated as the unquestioned domain of drivers, to be given to them for free. Though I would be happy to rent a parking spot in front of my apartment and install planters and a bike rack, I suspect City Hall wouldn’t accept my money. They would prefer, instead, to give the space away.

Not surprisingly, lots of people want these free spots, resulting in a shortage of them.

Of course, when I speak to my car-owning neighbors, they see things differently. They view their vehicles as necessary, and accessible parking as an extension of this necessity. We need a solution that works for all of us.

So, why aren’t residential permits the answer?

First, they would exacerbate an existing problem — the misplaced sense of ownership that city drivers have toward curbside space. This mindset is so deeply embedded that it’s common for Community Boards to oppose even lifesaving pedestrian-safety proposals if they reduce parking. Giving people exclusive parking rights would reinforce rather than challenge this sense of entitlement, thereby reducing our capacity to creatively reimagine public spaces in the future.

Next, as commonly proposed, these permits would give a valuable benefit to drivers at little or no charge. Such handouts to a relatively well-off group would be fiscally irresponsible for a government facing declining tax revenues.

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Lastly, residential permits are inherently undemocratic, privileging some drivers over others. Is one person’s right to park greater than another’s simply because of residence? We don’t regulate access to other public spaces this way. Does a wealthy resident who drives only on weekends deserve a spot more than a local employee who commutes from a transit desert or someone else who visits an elderly relative? And do we really want to pit these people against one another?

I propose, instead, that we require a borough or citywide permit to park on any city street. This would give…