Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Eyes on the Street

The Sunday Parking Free-for-All on Junction Boulevard

3:25 PM EDT on July 9, 2018

Isn’t free parking glorious?

Free parking isn't free.

Sure, on Sundays, drivers don't have to pay parking meters. But they impose plenty of costs on the rest of us -- not to mention other drivers stuck in the logjam that free parking creates.

For proof, check out this scene from Junction Boulevard in Queens yesterday. Biking on Junction just north of Roosevelt Avenue, Clarence Eckerson counted a whopping 27 double-parked cars on a mere two blocks. Good luck if you count on the Q72 to get to work at LaGuardia -- first you have to get through this sludge:

Free Sunday parking meters are a legacy of city legislation enacted in October, 2005. Until then, about half of the city's parking meters did charge on Sundays.

Overriding a mayoral veto, the City Council voted to make all parking meters free on Sunday. The council was egged on by mayoral challenger Freddy Ferrer, who went on the attack against incumbent Michael Bloomberg by claiming that Sunday parking meters were a tax on churchgoers.

Instead of making it easier for anyone to get around, the result of free Sunday meters is this mess: Curbs are clogged all day long, double-parking runs rampant, and access to commercial streets gets harder.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Analysis: ‘Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program’ is a Failure By All Measures

The Department of Transportation wants the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to simply expire in part because it did not dramatically improve safety among these worst-of-the-worst drivers and led to a tiny number of vehicle seizures.

September 22, 2023

School Bus Driver Kills Cyclist in Boro Park, 24th Bike Death of 2023

Luis Perez-Ramirez, 44, was biking south on Fort Hamilton Parkway just before 3:15 p.m. when he was struck a by school bus driver making a right turn.

September 22, 2023

‘Betrayal’: Adams Caves to Opposition, Abandons Bus Improvement Plan on Fordham Road

The capitulation on Fordham Road is the latest episode in which the mayor has delayed or watered down a transportation project in deference to powerful interests.

September 22, 2023

Friday’s Headlines: Yes He Said Yes He Will Yes Edition

That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce's Ulysses, which we won't pretend to have read. But we have that ... and other news.

September 22, 2023

Madness: Port Authority Will Spend $8.3M to ‘Study’ Widening Outerbridge Crossing

Will this $8.3 million find out anything we don't know about induced demand?

September 22, 2023
See all posts