New York City!?! Get a rope!
Posted on 03/21/2008 7:05:23 PM PDT by Ken H
Massive abuse of parking permits by New York City, New York agency bureaucrats causes congestion and ties up 43 percent of available parking spaces.
A New York City, New York Department of Transportation study released last week confirmed that the liberal distribution of free parking placards to city workers has resulted in nearly half of all street level parking spaces in Lower Manhattan being taken by vehicles displaying some form of official permit. This causes a ripple effect on traffic congestion and parking availability in the city.
"If one is at the top of the permit hierarchy with a Law Enforcement or Agency Business permit, one can legally park in the spaces intended for commercial vehicles or the general public as well as in No Parking areas," the report explained. "This happens frequently, largely filling up the commercial vehicle loading zones and any general or metered spaces not already occupied by the public. When these spaces are taken, drivers will park in the significant numbers of No Standing spaces, or at dangerous (illegal) spaces, such as crosswalks, fire hydrants, bus stops, or sidewalks."
Despite the generous parking rules that apply to the permits, a stunning 42 percent of the city workers' vehicles were parked outside of their allowed areas for more than three hours at a time, in violation of the terms of their permit. One out of every eight vehicles displaying a permit parked illegally in bus stops, crosswalks, blocking fire hydrants or driveways. The result is increased congestion.
"The use of spaces dedicated to commercial but used by official vehicles makes goods delivery more difficult," the report explained. "This contributes to double parking or the movement of goods down sidewalks from a remote parking spot, both negatively impacting the streets and sidewalks of Lower Manhattan."
By allowing vehicles with permits to park in commercial and general use spaces designated for others, the parking supply becomes overwhelmed, the report explained. In response to the findings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called on city departments to reduce the number of bureaucrats eligible for permits by 20 percent. A total of nine percent of permits were determined to be visibly fake.
A full copy of the study is available in a 2.1mb file at the source link below.
Source: Lower Manhattan Street Management - Placard Parking (New York City Department of Transportation, 3/14/2008)
in new york city? no way.
With all due respect to NYC FReepers... another reason I’m glad I no longer live there.
(Puts back of hand to forehead and faints)
hi. i’m from ‘da gubmint. i be here to ‘da help.
All parkers are equal but some are more equal than others.
Couldn't really read anything past that.
When that number got to 50 per cent behind the Iron Curtain, the wall came down. We can only hope.
Fascist pig bureaucrats abuse power.
Where’s Capt. Obvious?
“...and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”
“In a mature society, civil servant is semantically equal to civil master.” —Robert A. Heinlein
Your civil masters get the good parking.
To alleviate the problem, they need to convert most of those jobs to telecommuting jobs.
Then outsource them to India.
New York City!?! Get a rope!
I’ve never really understood city life and find the most irritating thing about visiting or working in a city the parking. It strikes me as insane. What is probably the most insane is that so many businesses and government agencies still locate themselves in the center of metropolises that are already over congested. There are feasible solutions if cities would ween themselves off the legalized thievery of parking fees and fines.
They could build more city perimeter parking locations located near mass transit options. They could give incentives to workers to use mass transit by allowing them to be reimbursed for the usage or arranging prepaid mass transit passes. They could build larger and more parking garages. There also is no reason why most business people can not telecommute. It is just astounding that given the sheer amount of taxes levied per city dweller that parking continues to be an issue but then again the city directly benefits from it being an issue.
Here is an interesting thread on google answers:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=368761
When the bureaucracy talks as though it is making money when what it is doing is fleecing those who keep the economy churning it just rubs me wrong. I just don’t like bureaucrat speak that openly talks about how to increase citations in order to raise revenue as if the end justifies the means. A government that works should be one that works to decrease the burden on the citizen that is just going to and from work or buying goods and services. It is like a farmer charging his chickens for room and board or his cow for the hay. It makes no sense and causes city life to be more problematic than it needs to be.
What can I say, bureaucrat-think is offensive, it causes a visceral negative reaction in me and most of the time just leaves me wondering why anyone would choose to do things that way if they had any respect for their fellow citizens as individuals.
No surprise there - it is just New York being (corrupt) New York. With Schumer and Clinton as Senators, what else can be expected?
Holy crap.....
Typical Liberals. Everyone MUST use public transportation EXCEPT THEM!!! More Animal Farm Antics by disgusting elitist liberals “Four legs good but two legs better” for those of you who have read the book.
In my work, I travel to municipalities all around the NY Metro area. This abuse goes on everywhere. Local officials get prime parking spots while the people who pay their salaries have to hunt for a spot somewhere away from Town Hall. The cancerous growth of local government (and public school monopolies) is one of the most important issues that will be facing us in the next ten years.
Seems to me they could be provided free parking elsewhere and be bused in. That method is good enough for school kids.
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