Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Parking on Bell Blvd is just impossible

From the Queens Courier:

Confirming what many Baysiders already believed to be true, a study concluded that Bell Boulevard needs nearly one thousand more parking spaces to meet the needs of shoppers, commuters and residents alike.

The study commissioned by the Bayside Village Business Improvement District (BID) and funded by City Councilman Paul Vallone continues the process of finding a solution to overcrowded parking conditions on the boulevard.

According to the report released this week, approximately 3,400 spaces are needed in total to accommodate all of the parking needs, but only 2,500 of those spots are currently available. Issues of short parking supply on Bell Boulevard arise from the multiple different functions which the strip serves in the community, attracting thousands of people and their vehicles to the area every day.

Of the total 3,400 needed spots, an estimated 1,400 are generated from commercial and office uses on the boulevard. Another 1,033 spots are needed for commuters, with 23 percent of Long Island Rail Road users connecting to the Bayside station by driving themselves alone and parking their cars in the neighborhood.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about we stop over development?

Anonymous said...

When I need to do my banking at Citi Bank on 39th and Bell I sometimes have to park 10 blocks away. The LIRR commuters really take most of the parking and something should be done about that.

Anonymous said...

They should do a similar study for Austin Street in Forest Hills.

Anonymous said...

Not surprising. The people who park on Bell are former Astorians who left because they couldn't find parking on Steinway or Ditmars. Some people think they need their car to drive two blocks to get a pack of cigarettes.

Anonymous said...

Carpool, LIRR riders. Carpool!

Anonymous said...

Wow, how many millions did this study cost. The firm hired was probably a client of vallones consulting firm. Such bullshit.

Middle Villager said...

The vision of NYC Urban Planners is to pack the City with as many high rise buildings as possible while making car ownership financially unrealistic (except for the uber rich). We will all be told to use mass transit or a Citybike. I've said it before, they want our cars.

Anonymous said...

How much did Paul Vallone fleece we taxpayers for his study? Any resident or visitor to Bayside could have come to the same conclusion regarding overcrowding , and for free. Which one of Don Paulo's friends got paid to do the parking study? Now Vallone comes out the hero for funding the study. Meanwhile Vallone has supported all of the overdevelopment that has been going on. His firm lobbies for the very developers that are responsible for this parking nightmare. But come election day, voters will only remember Vallone's funding of the study and his Ft. Totten fireworks show.
Guys and gals, it is all just a show to get one of the worst councilman re-elected. So the Vallone dynasty has its greasy fingers in northeast Queens to do what it did in Astoria. They are out to destroy our once good quality of life, and then will move on.

Anonymous said...

I love the use of the name Bayside Village.
It is no longer a village. It has not been for decades. This is Bar Boulevard.
Most people shop at Bay Terrace because there is parking available.
They have been trying to save the old village strip for years.
It is not working.
Putting up a string of holiday lights proclaiming welcome to Bayside Village does not cut it.
BID propaganda versus overcrowding loses out.
Putting up a multi level municipal parking lot will not work either.
That will fill up with Long Iskanders driving to Baysede to use the railroad for a more convenient commute.

Anonymous said...

The study is terrible. The best part of the study is where it says that Great Neck is 25 miles from NYC and that Rockville Centre is 38 miles from NYC. Really?

guy_from_around_the_corner said...

There will be an LIRR commuter ready to fill any new parking space that gets built.

Anonymous said...

Been like that thirty years

Anonymous said...

I have a car, but I take the bus to get to LIRR everyday!

Anonymous said...

I "love" the pure cynicism of the comments here. From claiming corruption in the study to conspiracies in city government to "take our cars," I feel as though I've heard it all... except an actual solution.

This isn't because of "overdevelopment" caused by Vallone (since Bayside has been getting more and more crowded every year since the 90's. It's barely about overdevelopment since it's simply more people driving to and within Bayside for a variety of reasons.

Possible solutions certainly include making the municipal parking lot on 41sst Ave. Such a structure would impeded almost no one's view (and those who it might are simply being spared looking at empty tracks). A downside would be that it will take lots of money and lots of time and still not stem having even more commuters come in and fill it. It would still be better than nothing.

I would suggest trying to work out a deal with the owners of Bay Terrace who have built a large, multi-level parking lot in the back corner of their mall. Unfortunately, it goes mostly empty. If instead there could be a new Select/Shuttle Bus serving as a connection between Bay Terrance and the LIRR, then (1) you would reduce the number of North Baysiders parking on Bell Blvd., (2) would create quick link between an under-utilized piece of infrastructure to where there is a lack of infrastructure, (3) increase people's willingness to commute to Bayside and shop at Bell Blvd and Bay Terrace (imagine grabbing a drink on Bell and catching a movie at Bay Terrace in less than 10 minutes, for $2.75).

The same concept can be used to any other parking lots that are under-utilized though at the moment I can't think of very many.

Anonymous said...

This isn't because of "overdevelopment" caused by Vallone (since Bayside has been getting more and more crowded every year since the 90's. It's barely about overdevelopment since it's simply more people driving to and within Bayside for a variety of reasons.

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It *would* have been about overdevelopment much more than it is had we not downzoned most of Bayside a decade ago.


Anonymous guy_from_around_the_corner said...
There will be an LIRR commuter ready to fill any new parking space that gets built.

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Make it short-term parking only (2/3 hour time limit). No all-day parking, no commuters.


I love the use of the name Bayside Village.
It is no longer a village. It has not been for decades. This is Bar Boulevard.

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Actually, it's been transitioning from bars to restaurants for the past five years, fairly successfully.



Paul Graziano

Anonymous said...

The city is dying a slow death. We dont have the land area for the current population.

Anonymous said...

NYC does a terrible job managing it's parking supply. Set up a permit system, if you live or work in the area you can park on the street. On side streets limit guest parking to two to four hours as appropriate. Meters on most spots within 500 feet of a store, priced so you always have a spot or two open on the block. Raise the price the longer people stay, doesn't have to serve as a park a ride. If you have guests, you can buy permits for a nominal administrative fee if they park in the area more than two hours.

Saves millions on new garages in the area.

Anonymous said...

This study was a waste of time and money. The City could not care less where you park your car and will not do a thing to remedy the situation.

Anonymous said...

Too many people in nyc...I suggest more deportation and stopping the stupid liberals from coming here from the "midwest".