Believe it or not, the city is considering a plan to increase parking meter rates to as much as $15.00 an hour; all in an effort to reduce traffic. Metered parking in midtown now costs $2.00 an hour for cars and $9.00 an hour for trucks. Muni-Meters currently cost $2.00 an hour, $5.00 for two hours and $9.00 for three hours. Nevertheless, outside consultants and city planners are looking for still more. What a surprise!
A significantly higher parking rate would unfairly target moderate and lower income drivers. It’s one thing for private garages and parking lots to charge high fees. It’s the driver’s choice to park in these lots. However, it’s quite another thing for public parking meters to be setup with exorbitant rates. In so doing, they’ll create private parking spots for the rich by making these spots financially prohibitive to the general public of generally lesser means.
We know “Free Parking” is easier to find on a Monopoly board than in midtown Manhattan any day of the week. A reasonable meter fee is acceptable. With $15.00 meters on city sidewalks though, finding cars nearby valued under $10,000 will become a rarity … kind of like finding a parking spot now while circling around and around. We urge the Department of Transportation and other city officials to come up with a more creative plan to reduce traffic. Maybe we can reduce the fleet size of city vehicles as a start?
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