Parking

New Yorkers could spend a third of a million more hours a year stuck in traffic if the “grace period” for parking violations voted by the City Council this week becomes law.

Try as they might, City Council members haven't cornered the market on ridiculous, counterproductive on-street parking "solutions." Now making its way to your neighborhood: "Parking Around Me," a new service that facilitates parking alerts between drivers via text message.

Looks like the City Council is ready to assert itself in the wake of Michael Bloomberg's underwhelming re-election to a third term. They've chosen to draw a line in the sand, apparently, by creating more congestion on New York City's streets.

When it opened its doors this spring, the Gateway Center mall was plugged as a boon to the South Bronx. So invested was the Bloomberg administration -- along with city taxpayers, thanks to subsidies granted by the NYC Economic Development Corporation -- that the mayor himself participated in the grand opening of the center's Home Depot store.

Last April, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced the "New York City Model" -- mapping out a strategic plan to prioritize greener, more efficient modes and turn city streets into world-class public spaces. We've seen some major changes in the year-and-a-half since. Among the big accomplishments: the transformation of Broadway, an expanded bike network with more protected routes, and a new street design manual that codifies the progressive treatments DOT has started to adopt. Plans for new rapid bus corridors are approaching fruition, with a route on First and Second Avenues scheduled for completion next year and several more in the pipeline.

Checkmate.

Elana linked to this story out of Salt Lake City in the Capitol Hill headline stack this morning, and it's worth everyone's full attention. Derek Jensen reports on what may be the biggest impediment to urbanism of them all: The widespread bias of banks against walkable development.

If you're interested in the power of parking policy to reduce congestion and make streets more livable, the most exciting place to be right now is San Francisco. For the past year and a half, the city has pursued an innovative slate of policies designed to manage parking supply wisely and deftly, thanks in part to a federal grant from the Urban Partnership program -- the same pot of money that New York City could have accessed if Albany had passed congestion pricing last year.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has snagged some high-profile support for his nascent California gubernatorial bid, but he may have some trouble with the transit-riding, congestion-weary constituency. My colleagues Matthew Roth and Bryan Goebel have the story over at Streetsblog San Fran: