Posts about Parking
-
Soho shoppers seek sidewalk space
I’ve written before that SoHo streets could be enormously improved if we simply took away some parking (accommodating about 6 people per block) in favor of larger sidewalks (accommodating hundreds of people per hour per block). Keep reading…
-
Closing the bowtie
Times Square is one of the most crowded pedestrian areas in the city. As I covered over a year ago, the Times Square Alliance, the local business association, suggested closing the cutover between Seventh Avenue and Broadway - the “bowtie”, to create additional pedestrian space between the two avenues. … Keep reading…
-
Save Our Superblock
One of the travesties of 1950s-era urban planning was the “superblock”, where cities disrupted the regular street grid to build large towers surrounded by windswept plazas. Most of these superblocks are now recognized as mistakes, such as Boston’s City Hall Plaza, a huge barren space nearly empty all year round, and the World Trade Center superblock,… Keep reading…
-
Low rent for metal tenants
I pay approximately $4.36 per square foot per month for my apartment. But to park my car right outside, if I comply with alternate side parking rules, costs zero. Keep reading…
-
Congestion pricing, pro and incoherent
Enjoying a new spate of publicity, the idea of congestion pricing rated a pair of columns, pro and con, in the Daily News. The pro article, by Paul White of Transportation Alternatives, laid out some clear arguments backed up by facts: London’s pilot program reduced traffic 18% and sped up travel by 30%, in addition to generating revenue for mass transit projects. Keep reading…
-
News flash: people drive more if there is parking
A study from San Francisco State shows something that should be obvious, but isn’t to the New York City Council: if there are fewer parking spaces, people choose to drive less. Therefore, San Francisco should limit the amount of parking in new developments, rather than requiring a certain amount as it does today. More about free parking, and its costs, in this SF Chronicle editorial. Keep reading…
-
City Council takes some stupid pills
It’s the most basic rule of economics - if something costs more, people will do it less, and vice versa. Keep reading…