DOT studies impact of congestion pricing plan

Residential parking permits could be on the horizon for Queens neighborhoods crammed with commuter cars, as could more Muni-meters, changes in parking fees and additional parking studies.
The city is in the early stages of studying five neighborhoods - two in western Queens - to counteract the potential impact of the mayor’s congestion pricing plan. Preliminary workshops on the issues were held in November, and a second set will take place at the end of the month.
On Tuesday, January 29, officials from the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) will speak with local residents and business owners in Long Island City, and on the following day - on Wednesday, January 30 - a meeting will be held in Forest Hills.
According to the DOT, feedback from the meetings could affect the agency’s plans to develop new parking management strategies - and to counteract potential “park and ride” problems in areas close to Manhattan.
“The first round of workshops collected invaluable feedback across a spectrum of parking concerns,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, the DOT commissioner, in a statement. “Having studied these areas, we are now ready to come back out to the community and talk about what citywide parking strategies might really look like.”
The agency hopes to use studies, which were undertaken in conjunction with the city Economic Development Corp. (EDC) and called the PlaNYC Parking Strategies Studies, and suggestions from community members from Long Island City and Forest Hills to develop strategies for similar areas in the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan.
However, community leaders in both Forest Hills and Long Island City complained that a common aspect of the parking woes in these communities already stems from commuters dropping their cars off in the neighborhoods to take public transportation into Manhattan.
“A lot of people come in and jump on the LIRR [Long Island Rail Road] to get into the city so they are taking the spots from outside the neighborhood,” said Frank Gulluscio, the District Manager of Community Board 6, which serves Forest Hills. “And then you have people who come in and jump on the regular train to get into the city in 10 minutes.”
As for one of the main commercial hubs - Austin Street - business owners and their employees often take spots for the day, said Leslie Brown, the President and Executive Director of the Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce.
“That takes up a valuable space from the customers,” Brown said, later adding, “Unfortunately we don’t have sufficient parking here.”
Oddly, two parking garages on Austin Street - one of which charges $3 for two hours - are often unfilled, Gulluscio said, adding, “There are people who just want to drive around the block, looking for metered parking.”
If congestion pricing takes effect, the area could face an even larger parking crunch, Brown and Gulluscio worried.
“It’s a topic of the day. It’s going to have a major impact on everybody,” Gulluscio said, adding that community members should raise their concerns with DOT at the upcoming meeting.
In Long Island City, residential and commercial development is worsening the “park and ride” problem, said George Delis, the District Manager of Community Board 1, pointing to a project with 300 new apartments nearby Queens Plaza, which are being constructed without onsite parking.
“I don’t see a solution to the traffic problem,” Delis said. “How do you stop people from moving in and buying cars? You can’t.”
Jerry Walsh, President of the Dutch Kills Civic Association worried that the price of parking spots could rise exorbitantly if the congestion pricing plan is accepted.
“Now people are paying $150 a month to park their cars behind someone’s house,” Walsh said, “Imagine if there is congestion pricing. The spot would be worth at least $300.”
“If they do go with congestion pricing what they have to do is resident parking,” Walsh said, later adding, “What the city is saying to us is, ‘Give up driving.’”
The Long Island City PlaNYC workshop will begin at 6:30 p.m. - with doors opening at 6 p.m. at the Citicorp Building, which is located at 1 Court Square. The Forest Hills meeting will take place from 7 until 9 p.m. - with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. - at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, located at 106-06 Queens Boulevard.