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bmwguydc, you speak like a lawyer. that is a compliment. I am referring to your ability to use language really well (like the word "predicated").
remember though that the other issue is the double parking that delivery vehicles do due to a lack of loading zones with hours sufficient to prevent them from having to double park on streets where buses run. but again if they eliminated street parking spaces to add loading zones and increase loading zone hours, people could just use garages.
there is still a problem because you might have places where somebody wants to build a garage to compensate for eliminated street parking spaces (since nobody would agree to give up the parking spaces outright) but nobody wants the garage built because they want the space to be used for stores or residential buildings instead..do newly built public garages decrease property values?
Thank you for the compliment.
I agree that delivery driver parking is a huge problem, both in terms of running up the costs because it's built into service prices as a nuisance fee for FedEx and UPS, for example, as well as into the cost of goods sold, such as groceries and household items in congested areas.
The lack of parking mandated by the city, and the elimination of mandated parking requirements for new structures is a step in the wrong direction. New structures in prime neighborhoods can absorb added costs for the requirement, especially if height allowances were adjusted moderately upward for properties that included parking and loading/delivery zones on the premises. NYC has no municipal garages where parking meters could have been consolidated, leaving street parking in prime zones for loading, temporary parking (30 minutes or less), commercial parking, and deliveries. Past planning mistakes, now coupled with astronomical land prices in Manhattan, have helped to cause the problem with which we are now faced where there are areas in which it is difficult for passenger cars, trucks, and buses. Had the city had any foresight to have daily municipal garages within dense areas, prior to the resurgence of the real estate sector that began in the 1980s and 1990s, parking might not be as difficult today.
Double parking of private vehicles is incredibly self-centered, and 99% of the time it's not because someone is waiting for an elderly/physically limited passenger. I think the city should employ the tactics used at the airport, with the immediate towing and ticketing of vehicles with the special tow vehicles that are used at the airport. Lack of available options large enough, or lack of enforced commercial loading zones makes for difficulty with double parked delivery trucks, as they literally have nowhere to go in order to complete their rounds.
Unfortunately, the parking and traffic problems have been caused by years of apathy in terms of planning, and recent demographic shifts in city residents in some areas, including a larger population of people who can easily afford vehicles and their operating costs in the city, some areas are very congested. While I respect the position to use public transportation as much as possible, and not to own a vehicle, the private automobile is an integral means of transportation for many modern households. Better education and enforced parking etiquette, especially when blocking travel lanes, would make for a better system than what exists today, especially designating bus streets as through streets with higher fines, quicker tows, and vigilant enforcement.
A vehicle can be a transportation tool that is an option for many, but as with any such tool, it needs to be used responsibly, something that I do think to be possible in much of the city, even if some motorists need to be better educated in terms of responsible automobile operation.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
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Probably still cheaper or costs the same and is practical to live in a safe place in NYC that is not Manhattan or LIC or Downtown BK or Park Slope and not own a car than to live in the outskirts of NYC and own a car.
my post #99 was lacking. I do not disagree with your post #102 G-Dale, but let me clarify for all that one of the neighborhoods I had in mind that is like the outskirts but also not very far from the city is Flatbush/Nostrand Aves. more on that (Flatbush / Midwood area) in post #97.
also I gotta hand it to people like bmwguydc and queensgrl for speaking in a civil manner throughout this thread.
Last edited by detroitdiesel; 05-26-2013 at 11:24 PM..
With all the money the MTA wastes and overspends every year on over-inflated salaries, pensions, and service/ construction contracts, whatever you want could be built without any tax increases.
The MTA is spending about $1.3bn on pensions alone this year and pension costs are climbing.
The MTA spends close to $600MM on overtime last year with an already bloated workforce.
They signed contracts on those pension obligations, and those costs are not going anywhere unless a court approves it. And the courts would sign with the unions on that, as historically the state (unions are politically powerful here).
With the contracts, they had competitive bidding. I think they go out for the best deal they can get. Building new subway lines in already developed areas is going to be massively expensive and there is no way to do it on the cheap.
The MTA isn't going to get much in the way from labor.
They could do more to develop and lease out their real estate assets. They sold the airrights over the Hudson Yards for a billion. A lot of stations could be developed and have more space in them rented out to restaurants, starbucks, or other businesses. But they've gotten a lot better on this in recent years. The Apple store pays one million dollars of rent for space to the MTA in Grand Central. Shake Shack is moving in there soon, too, Soo the MTA will be renting out the Fulton Street complex. They already rented out a lot of space in the new Coney Island Station, and on 74th Street/Broadway/Roosevelt Avenue, they've rented out space to La Famiglia.
To be fair to the MTA, they did replace a number of token booth clerks with vending machines.
Have a car because it takes me to places faster. Also, don't have to wait for trains/buses and don't have to deal with the overcrowded buses/train with a bunch of crazies/bums/beggars/gangbangers breathing down my neck.
My question is, why wouldn't you have a car?
Last edited by DoubleXAs; 05-27-2013 at 10:25 AM..
I live and grew up in Staten Island. We need cars here, period. The MTA does not offer adequate transportation options in most neighborhoods. Besides that fact, being dependent on planned schedules and routes does not afford one the freedom to travel that I am used to. I go many places - and participate in many activities - that are not at all conducive to public transportation of any type. There's no public conveyance to transport guns, ammo, and harvested animals when hunting.
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