EDC spokeswoman Patterson defended the off-season parking by saying that it “addresses the community’s desire to have access to the facilities to reduce congestion from on-street parking that has not been previously available since the garages were not open on non-game days."
Congestion, already a major problem in the community, is said to be caused by the many people who work in the neighborhood rather than by local residents. According to state Sen. José M. Serrano, who represents the area, these commuters are currently more likely to use public transport because of the difficulty of finding somewhere to park if they came by car. Hence, it is likely that the availability of parking year-round would increase actual traffic coming to the neighborhood.
“Opening the parking lots will only create that parking lot effect outside of the zone that we want to avoid,” said Serrano, who favors congestion pricing but opposes opening the parking lots on non-game days. “So it's very important we don't create an environment that allows for that parking lot syndrome in poor communities of color that are already facing high asthma rates.”
The congestion pricing plan is not yet city policy. A commission on traffic mitigation was created by the state legislature in July following opposition to Bloomberg's plan. It's been holding public hearings through the fall and plans to issue recommendations on the topic by the end of the month. The commission released an interim report last week, and a public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16 to discuss it. It analyzes the pros and cons of different congestion reduction plans: the Mayor's congestion pricing plan, an alternative one, a bridge toll plan and a license plate rationing system. All four have the common trait of increasing park-and-ride activity "adjacent to major transit hubs if measures are not taken by the City to manage parking." The plan has to be voted on, first by the City Council, then by state legislators, before March 31.
This story has been corrected to accurately reflect that City Councilwoman Helen D. Foster has not consistently opposed the new stadium. 1/15/08
