A proposal to spare drivers extra charges if their time on a meter runs out shortly before parking regulations expire for the day is a nice idea, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg told the City Council on Wednesday.
The city has 10 million reasons why it can’t give motorists a break on parking meter charges.
A proposal to spare drivers extra charges if their time on a meter runs out shortly before parking regulations expire for the day is a nice idea, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg told the City Council on Wednesday.
But she said it would cost the city big bucks.
“While I sympathize with motorists who may be overpaying at our meters, this bill raises serious financial and technical challenges,” Trottenberg said — adding that the city could lose $8 million a year in parking revenue, plus $2 million to reprogram the meters.
Currently, drivers have to pay for an entire 15-minute increment, even if there are only a couple of minutes left until parking regulations end. Parking costs 25 cents for every 15 minutes at most outer-borough meters, and more in central Manhattan.
Under the bill, a driver who parked at 6:39, for instance, and paid for 15 minutes would have meter time extended until regulations end at 7, instead of having to drop in another quarter for the last six minutes.
11 comments:
At most this is a quarter a day mostly paid by people getting home from work who are starving businesses of parking. And they want .millions to be spent reprogramming meters. What a waste.
You'll probably still be overcharged for parking???
A dollar an hour?
We spend thousands of dollars a year to operate a car and we're worried about the extra 25 cents for a few minutes???
The sense of entitlement is shameful.
these are the same people who drive around and waste $4 a gallon gas looking for a free spot rather than just pay at the meter
See, that's funny. The entitlement comes from the city which thinks it's perfectly ok to rip people off, even if it's just a few cents. The fact that you think that's fine is part of the reason this town treats its citizens like shit.
"The entitlement comes from the city which thinks it's perfectly ok to rip people off..."
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Agree. Same thing with the red light cameras. Why not put a sign up BEFORE the camera to let the driver know there's one there?
What about when motorists get lucky and park at a meter that still has time left on it? Or find a quarter on the sidewalk? It's called "You win some, and you lose some." Over one's lifetime, the universe has a way of evening things out. - Andrew
What else besides time for parking can one buy for 25 cents today? A slice of pizza? A candy bar? A newspaper?
And it'll cost you soon $17 in tolls to cross the Verrazano.
Anon No. 8:
Because you guys wanted one-way tolls on VN. It's a lot, but in reality you're paying as much to go over that bridge as others pay on the Whitestone, Throgs Nerk and Triborpo Bridges and to go through the Midtown and Battery Tunnels.
The original plan to do away with individual meters was specifically designed for motorists to over pay. If you put an hour in and 20 minutes later you need 2 hrs, you essentially put in 2hr and 40 minutes more.
Yes, there are personal responsibilities regarding owning, maintaining and operating a vehicle in NYC, but just because some may see this as an unnecessary luxury (incorrect), we shouldn't be milked.
As I write this, I'm parked on 45th St between 5th and 6th Avenue, meter parking, plenty of spots. I put in 1.5 hrs at a cost of $7.50. Something came up and I need another hour, put in $12.50 to cover the time. I pretty much donated the first $7.50.
It was designed that way and I resent it.
Yes, I'm lucky to pay $5.00 an hr to park on the street in midtown, but to throw away (donate) the original money is backwards.
Two million to reprogram the meters? Only in NYC could that happen.
[i]What about when motorists get lucky and park at a meter that still has time left on it?[/i]
There's no such thing anymore as time left on a meter with the advent of muni meters.
[i]The original plan to do away with individual meters was specifically designed for motorists to over pay. If you put an hour in and 20 minutes later you need 2 hrs, you essentially put in 2hr and 40 minutes more. [/i}
Go back at the end of hour one and add your additional time. Problem solved.
[i}Agree [that the city thinks it's ok to rip people off]. Same thing with the red light cameras. Why not put a sign up BEFORE the camera to let the driver know there's one there?
While I agree with you on the city's entitlement to rip people off, I disagree with the red light camera statement. You shouldn't avoid running a red light because you've been warned there's a camera at the intersection, you should avoid running any red light because it's the law and it's the safe thing to do.
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