Today Mayor Bloomberg and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan revealed details about their Residential Parking Permit (RPP) proposal, which would restrict parking in some neighborhoods to locals during specific times. The plan is part of the mayor’s Congestion Pricing proposal and the RPP program is designed to foil commuters who would drive into neighborhoods just outside the congestion pricing zone, leave their cars for the day on a residential street, and then take the subways or buses into Manhattan to avoid paying a congestion fee.
The varying details of the residential parking program will be decided by each neighborhood’s community board (including whether or not to even participate in the program.) For instance, different neighborhoods may want to limit parking to residents during different times, depending on when rush hour is worse. According to the mayor’s announcement, in the fall of this year residents can petition their local community board to hold a public hearing to hammer out the details of their permit and put it to a vote. The borough president and the local city council member must also sign off on each community’s program.
The Mayor said today that an annual fee of approximately $10 would be charged for each permit, which would be issued to residents who show proof of vehicle registration at an address within the permit area. The RPP is modeled on similar programs that have proven successful in other U.S. cities, including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle. But if the Congestion Pricing plan falls through, the RPP would also be abandoned, and the city plummets back down to the ninth circle of parking hell.
Above photo by Streetsblog's Aaron Naparstek
