Dream Come True (Minus the Dirt): No Alternate Side Parking

new2hood

Do you plan your week around alt side parking? Consider this both a gift and a somewhat icky situation from our friends in city govt....

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/19/31_19_long_hot_smelly_summer.html

metalnyc

GREATEST. SUMMER. EVER.

kosherdave

Wow, this could be nice for a lot of people. Even when it's back in effect, it will only be 90 minutes instead of 3 hours.

longtimesloper

Count me as one of the people who is thrilled!

MOD

My street is nasty, it needs the cleaning. Not to mention when all the drunks come out and the block parties begin this season. No one cleans after themselves and kids drop their wrappers and cans everywhere. This will be a pain for anyone that cares how their block looks.

carmen

Man I wish it went all the way to 16th! I'll be parking on 15th from now on...
I hope this doesn't mean parking will be WORSE and people from surrounding hoods will be dumping their cars for months on end...

bluecat

while I'll enjoy not having to move the car this seems brainless to me. Why does DOT need the entire summer to replace a few street signs? They already have the 90 minute routes mapped out. This change-over could be done in one week. It's a money loser for the city and months of no street cleaning (as lame as those trucks are) will make many streets into eyesores.

Here's the city's press release:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2008/pr08_013.shtml

-blue

jamzer

I agree with Mamacita. This is good for some people who have cars, but bad for everyone else. Parking will get worse and the residential streets will get nasty dirty. There is a reason why they have those street sweepers. Lets pray for a lot of rain this summer (on Mondays!).

longtimesloper

I care about how my block looks-but, I am also tired of driving around and around looking for parking all the time. I guess also-my block is always very clean-even without the street sweepers, I think people on my block at least I know I will, will clean up in front of their houses.

drunken revival

Wait a second....

Does anyone here for one moment think this is a good thing?

This new twist on parking in Park Slope is going to send demand through the roof...

You are removing the biggest hurdle preventing people from owning a car in park slope (aside from gas and the cost of the car). Demand for parking in park slope will spike and the already stressed supply will, well, be even more stressed.

And the streets are going to be a fucking mess... Who is going to clean up after all the block parties?

kosherdave

Drunken Revival wrote: Wait a second....

You are removing the biggest hurdle preventing people from owning a car in park slope (aside from gas and the cost of the car).

It's temporary. No one's going to go out and buy a car because of this.

drunken revival

I, for one, am going to bring my car down from upstate because of this...

People in neighboring hoods might Park here knowing they can leave it as long as they want. I'd bet that you'll be able to find some discounts at parking garages in the near future.. People's plans will change, and they will change with a heavy emphasis on parking in park slope.

Point is that parking is tough EVEN if you ignore the hassle of the current alternate side parking.

Demand will skyrocket and the supply isn't changing... do the math.

arches

Drunken Revival wrote: Wait a second....

Does anyone here for one moment think this is a good thing?

Since you just announced your intention to bring your car from upstate, I think its fair to say that at least one person thinks this is a good thing.

longtimesloper

Drunken Revival wrote: I, for one, am going to bring my car down from upstate because of this...

People in neighboring hoods might Park here knowing they can leave it as long as they want. I'd bet that you'll be able to find some discounts at parking garages in the near future.. People's plans will change, and they will change with a heavy emphasis on parking in park slope.

Point is that parking is tough EVEN if you ignore the hassle of the current alternate side parking.

Demand will skyrocket and the supply isn't changing... do the math.

It is temporary, for the summer only! Stop making it sound as if park Slope is now going to become the parking mecca of NY!

drunken revival

Well.. it won't the mecca of parking forever... just for the summer.

metalnyc

Drunken Revival wrote: I, for one, am going to bring my car down from upstate because of this...

i think you should heed your warning and not bring your car down.

Drunken Revival wrote:
Demand will skyrocket and the supply isn't changing... do the math.

well, we at least know of +1. thanks.

drunken revival

Actually, metalnyc... I'm brining the car down so it will be easier to visit my mother who is in the hospital dying of cancer...

bluecat

Drunken Revival wrote: I, for one, am going to bring my car down from upstate because of this...

We are going away for 10 days this summer and were expecting to leave our car w/a relative in the suburbs. Guess what - now we can leave it parked on the street right here in Brooklyn. Might be good for us but I don't think this Alt Side Parking suspension will be good for the neighborhood. If I lived in a nearby neighborhood like PH I would definitely park my car in the Slope this summer. In fact PH residents might be the big beneficiary of all this - if you live in PH finding a spot on your street this summer should be a cakewalk.

longtimesloper

^^Alternate side or no alternate side, I don't think i's a good idea to leave your car sitting in the same spot in Brooklyn unattended for 10 days straight. You are just inviting it to be broken into or stolen.

bluecat

LongTimeSloper wrote: ^^Alternate side or no alternate side, I don't think i's a good idea to leave your car sitting in the same spot in Brooklyn unattended for 10 days straight. You are just inviting it to be broken into or stolen.

Who's going to notice? After Monday every block will have a bunch of non-moving cars.

eggcream

Subject: Re: It's a Dream Come True! Well, Minus the Dirt....

Thanks for posting this. Not sure how I feel. I do like not having to be a slave to AP but I'm concerned there will be some people dumping their cars here all summer.

Also 90 minutes versus 3 hours will be a big adjustment. I can get a lot of errands done in 3 hours, not so 90 minutes and I always had a spot after the 3 hours.

It's too bad some people are slobs and we have to worry about who will clean up after them. Whoever runs the block party make them responsible, if not call the Sanitation Dept. to give them a ticket.

eggcream

Drunken Revival wrote: Actually, metalnyc... I'm brining the car down so it will be easier to visit my mother who is in the hospital dying of cancer...

Well, you did say you're bringing your car down because of this new ruling.

belzjm

any parents with teens out there who want to make a few extra bucks broom sweeping the residential streets this summer...?

could make a windfall...

longtimesloper

bluecat wrote: [quote=LongTimeSloper]^^Alternate side or no alternate side, I don't think i's a good idea to leave your car sitting in the same spot in Brooklyn unattended for 10 days straight. You are just inviting it to be broken into or stolen.

Who's going to notice? After Monday every block will have a bunch of non-moving cars.

hey, do what you want, but, crooks scoping out cars to steal or break into will notice a car that hasn't been touched or moved for that long.

willregistersoon

Does anyone think those street cleaners actually do anything to begin with? Whenever I see one go by, the cleaning liquid is barely dribbling out and the brushes hardly touch the ground. I'm curious to see if I can notice the streets getting any dirtier by not having them around. The only thing that truly cleans the streets is rain.

I am a car owner so I am thrilled, but I do think that people from surrounding neighborhoods are going to start storing their cars here. In the end it could make it harder to find a spot. We'll see I guess.

ic96

My only concern is that it might get WORSE, if people just leave their car parked for weeks on end. I'd prefer where there was only one day per block, instead of 2. I live on a Thurs/Fri street, so after work drinks are always out for me. Will be nice to go out for a drink, or hit the gym without having to run home and move the car.

bluecat

LongTimeSloper wrote:

Who's going to notice? After Monday every block will have a bunch of non-moving cars.

hey, do what you want, but, crooks scoping out cars to steal or break into will notice a car that hasn't been touched or moved for that long.

I appreciate the concern and may adjust my plans. My point is there will be maybe 40 other cars on each and every block that won't be moving for days on end. I do agree that this alt parking suspension has potential to increase incidence of car vandalism.

-blue

transplant

I've often thought that Park Slope would be an ideal location to try out a sort of "community clean-up" idea, in which neighborhoods or even individual streets organize a group of locals who are willing to take an hour or so each week and walk a defined area (e.g. - 3rd St, btw 4th and 5th Aves) and clean up the trash.

Granted, you wouldn't get everything that is underneath the parked cars, but in the course of a week it would usually get washed or blown out to a spot where it can be grabbed the following week. Benefits of this system would be numerous and diverse:

- Increased community unity - neighbors would get to know each other, and we'd get a little exercise while doing some good

- Enhancing neighborhood pride - if it is known that local residents are responsible for the appearence of their street, they'll be more inclined to pick up after themselves

- Decreased pollution and traffic - vast numbers of people driving in Park Slope are simply looking for a spot - eliminating the alternate side parking, even on some of the streets, would do wonders for the traffic and resulting pollution levels in the neighborhood; furthermore, the street sweeping trucks would no longer have to venture into the Slope

If this can work anywhere in the city, it is in Park Slope - I've only been here two years, but our neighborhood has more pride and seeming willingness to do the right thing than anywhere else I've lived. These factors are a big part of what makes the Slope such a great place to live. Harnessing this spirit for the good of the neighborhood would be a great way to set an example for the rest of the city. Just a thought.

If this sounds feasible to anyone, particularly anyone who has any experience or know-how in getting something like this off the ground, feel free to get in touch. With the suspension of the alternate side parking for the summer, this would be a great opportunity to at least take this idea for a trial run...

new2hood

I'd volunteer for a trash pickup on my street, absolutely.

carmen

I'm not totally convinced that street cleaning actually does anything. After living in bedstuy where cleaning is twice a week and the streets are totally disgusting 24/7 (even the days of street cleaning) I'm beginning to think that it's just a ploy to ticket/tow cars and make revenue for the city.

transplant

Carmen, despite the difference in neighborhoods, I completely agree with your thought that the street-cleaning doesn't really seem to do much, particularly for the time, money, and effort put into the whole operation.

Between the manpower, tax money, and gas consumed by the city getting the sweeping trucks out there and the time, frustration, and gas spent by people simply trying to repark their cars, I'm convinced that groups of local volunteers could do a much more efficient job of it, while saving a substantial quantity of resources.