Nature’s Parking Turnover Calculator

Since the theme of the week is snowy streets and what we can learn from them, I thought I would share this photo of snow-covered windshields I took this morning on Park Place in Prospect Heights. The last significant snowfall came down during the wee hours of Wednesday morning, so these cars clearly have not moved since Tuesday at the latest, and in all likelihood have been immobile since before the Monday snow storm. Alternate side parking has been suspended the whole week, after all.

It’s good that the owners of these cars decided not to venture forth and drive this week. But I would estimate that about a quarter of all the cars on Park Place looked like this today. That’s a whole lot of prime real estate for stuff that’s just sitting around.

The curb is probably the most contentious space of all on NYC streets. To daylight intersections so people can walk across safely, you need to claim some curb space. To build the best bikeways or speed up surface transit, you often need the curb lane. But take away a few parking spots, and you’ll have a fierce fight on your hands. Even though, as the snow is telling us, a lot of people who park for free don’t need to use their cars very much at all.