Submitted by Jo Anne Simon, May 8, 2007 12:55

Traffic to (and through) downtown Brooklyn has grown tremendously over the past ten years. It is expected that traffic will continue to grow given ongoing and planned development in the area. Representatives of the three initial neighborhoods (Fort Greene, Boerum Hill Nad Brooklyn Heights) proposed a broad-brush plan. No specific answers yet to many of the questions people may City DOT begins to explore this in more detail and involves the public in the plan. We also respectfully suggest that the neighborhoods that ring Downtown Brooklyn that already have a commuter parking problem, could benefit form resident parking permits and indeed those discussions are occurring and are receiving positive response. Below are some facts we have shared with our neighbors. Residential Permit Parking is one solution to protect residential neighborhoods from the onslaught of commuter parking. It has been implemented in many cities all over the United States, including Boston, Washington D.C, Chicago, and even nearby Hoboken. In June, 2004 Council Members James and Yassky secured a commitment from the Bloomberg administration to do a study in order to assess the need for residential permit parking (RPP). It was done in the three Community Board 2 neighborhoods immediately surrounding downtown Brooklyn. In addition the Administration committed to a pilot program ?should the study find that commuter vehicles make up a significant percentage of vehicles parked in residential neighborhoods?. The study showed percentages of commuter parkers to be 46.82 percent for the entire study area after accounting for local residents who registered their cars out of the city. While this meets all known standards to qualify for residential permit parking, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has thus far refused to institute the residential permit parking pilot. We hope this will change with the Mayor's leadership. What You Should Know About Residential Permit Parking It benefits all neighborhood residents because it discourages people from searching for free street parking. This will reduce traffic congestion, make streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, and improve air quality for everyone Residential permit parking restricts un-metered street parking to local residents who have a permit to park in that area during certain hours. Its purpose is not to guarantee every resident with a car a parking space. It would, if enforced correctly, prevent competition from commuter parkers during the hours it is in effect and residents an advantage in finding parking in their neighborhood. There will be a charge for residential parking permits to help defray the costs of administering it. In most cities it is a nominal fee. Local groups have recommended $30 a year for the first car in a household, with larger fees for additional cars. Local groups have recommended visitors permits for up to 3 days and that shoppers and visitors could park for up to 2 hours. Other cities have visitor permits with varying durations. It is assumed that enforcement would be by the traffic agents who enforce other parking regulations. In order to qualify for a residential permit, the vehicle would have to be registered to a local address. Residential Permit Parking is not a solution to all the parking problems and traffic congestion in downtown Brooklyn. It is a sensible first step to toward achieving good traffic and parking management. Downtown Brooklyn is also plagued by parking placards, both those that are offcially issued and those that are illegal, the "faux" permit, so to speak. Perhaps the City DOT could study this prpoblem in downtown Brooklyn, which has many of the same problems as lower Manhattan in this regard. Jo Anne Simon former president, Boerum Hill Association NYS Committeewoman, 52nd AD

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