Parking

The Observer reported last week that Extell Development wants to lease an underground chunk of its huge West Side project to big box retailer Costco. Included in the plan: 2,300 parking spaces. To put that in perspective, the Red Hook Ikea, projected to yield 17,000 car trips on peak days, makes do with a 1,400-car parking lot. The building where Extell wants to put the Costco and the garage will be mostly residential. No matter how many spaces are set aside for residents or shoppers, the inclusion of so much parking flies in the face of the city's stated goal to reduce traffic.

After calling attention last month to the traffic-reducing power of parking reform, Transportation Alternatives has released a follow-up report with a parking prescription for New York. "Pricing the Curb" [PDF] looks to innovative programs underway in Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Chicago for inspiration. With DOT taking steps toward setting variable-rate prices for curbside parking -- which it calls "peak rate parking" -- the report urges the Bloomberg administration to go further. A full-featured parking policy is one way the city can take on traffic without Albany's approval.

In case you missed it last week, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is raising bucket-loads of campaign cash -- lots more than his two opponents, Paul Newell and Luke Henry. Groups that opposed congestion pricing are, no surprise, among some of the most enthusiastic contributors. The Times reported:

Today we're launching a new feature on Streetsblog -- Wiki Wednesdays -- where we'll highlight new content coming online at StreetsWiki, the community-created livable streets knowledge base.

This handy illustration, courtesy of DOT via "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz, should be in the training curriculum for every delivery driver who does business in New York. Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson, who came across this graphic last week, says his appeals to delivery drivers stationed in bike lanes are often met by the excuse that it is not illegal to double park. When a vehicle blocks a bike lane, the law says otherwise:

Are you "a certain kind of urban idealist"? Chances are that if you read Streetsblog, the answer is yes. At least according to the New York Times.

Today's Times provides a look at DOT's plans to test out variable-rate on-street parking in Greenwich Village and along Kings Highway in Brooklyn. Following the lead of San Francisco and Washington DC, the pilot programs aim to free up on-street spaces and reduce cruising by raising meter prices during peak hours.

Ian Dutton, vice-chair of Manhattan CB2's transportation committee, tells Streetsblog the idea of piloting a variable-rate parking program in Greenwich Village met with approval at last week's DOT-sponsored strategy session. The program, which DOT is calling "Peak Rate Parking," would increase meter prices during peak hours, boosting turnover and reducing traffic caused by cars cruising for spots.

In a story about the scarcity of secure parking for bike commuters, the Times captures the irrational phobia of bikes that most landlords and building managers seem to share: