Abstract: This was a group project with two of my classmates. We wrote a Memo to the Mayor of the city raising awareness about the lack of parking places in the city. We proposed two ideas to help solve the problem.
To: Mayor De Blasio, Deputy Mayor for Operations Laura Anglin, and Department of City Planning Executive Director Anita Laremont.
From: Andres Brujan, Martin Lahoumh, Tejaswini Sudhakar
Subject: Proposals to increase parking spaces available in the city.
Date: March 29nd, 2021
Purpose
The intention of our memo to talk about the problems faced by vehicle owners to park their cars and to deliver a solution to this exasperating issue. We propose to limit outdoor dining spaces, to popularize the usage of a phone app that will show the available parking spaces in the neighborhood, and to create parking spaces on empty lots.
Summary
With the pandemic on the rise, people have been uncertain about using public transportation. More people are preferring to travel in their personal vehicle which has led to the rise of car registrations. More cars means more necessity for parking spaces. With limited indoor dining, outdoor dining spaces have been introduced which has taken up a significant amount of parking spots. Lack of parking spots has led to an increase in tardiness as it is getting more and more difficult to find parking spots.
Discussion
Throughout the pandemic there has been an increment on the amount of cars in New York City. This has resulted in chaos due to the restaurants’ new ability to create some type of outdoor restaurant in the parking area on the street which reduces the space to park by a big margin. Parking space in NYC was an issue before restaurants opened outside, however the problem has now escalated to a point where finding a parking spot could be the one of the biggest obstacles of having a car in the city. According to the Department of Transportation, “the expansion of outdoor dining has eliminated as many as 10,000 parking spots on commercial corridors. At the same time, COVID-19 lockdown has spurred more New Yorkers to purchase their first cars.” This demonstrates the fact that parking space is a major problem in a city where millions of people have a car, but doesn’t have a designated parking spot. This has also led to a rise in illegal parkings as people are desperate to park their car.
Recommendation
While outdoor dining is a big issue in NYC, there are several solutions towards it. One very obvious solution is to close all outdoor dining in NYC. Outdoor dining has been very problematic, not just for car owners, but for New Yorkers in general. People that are eating through outdoor dining are sitting together in very small places with no masks. It is very unsafe for the customers, waiters, cooks, and the civilians just walking past the people eating outside. Everyone is in such close contact without six feet distance and leads to more risk. Some may argue that it won’t be fair to close outdoor dining as these cafes and restaurants will not be able to make money to sustain their establishment. However, food deliveries can be an alternate source of income. In no circumstance should profit be valued over human life, and outdoor dining prioritises cash flow instead of making the streets safer from Covid-19. In short, outdoor dining should be dismantled and that space should be used for parking instead.
Another solution that can be implemented to make finding parking spots easier, is to promote a phone app called ParkSwap. The app enables drivers to see all available parking spots in their area right from their phone, rather than circling the block for hours. ParkSwap helps people to plan their parking beforehand and allow the drivers to be on time to their engagements. We urge all vehicle owners of the city to use this app because the more people use it, the more accurate the parking data as it also notifies other drivers (who use the app) in the area when there is a parking spot available. According to the article, ParkSwap, The Parking App, Is Solving The Parking Problem In New York City, “The process couldn’t be simpler. When leaving a spot, a driver presses a button on the app that alerts other drivers nearby. When a second driver claims the space — also at the touch of a button — ParkSwap navigates him or her to it, and the drivers swap spots. Once the new driver has parked, he or she has the option of sending a $1-$5 (or custom amount) dollar gift, via the app, to the driver who just left.” This app potentially eliminates the stress of having to spend hours searching for a parking spot, especially since outdoor dining has limited street parking.
Most government officials believe that a solution to the parking issues in NYC is to charge for parking, which means having a parking meter throughout the entire city. However, this approach will only result in chaos because people avoid having to park in these meters. This method will increase the amount of parking violations, which is already high in the current situation. We recommend creating more parking lots on empty land that is available. Parking lots provide safety from vandalism and theft which a regular parking spot can’t provide.
These executions can not only increase the parking places available in the city but also help the residents to find the spaces easily and make NYC safer. We kindly request you to give a serious consideration to our ideas and contact us to discuss the plans of administration. Thank You.
Works Cited
News/Popular Media Source:
Lewak, Doree. “NYC Street Parking Hell Is Worse than Ever Due to COVID-19 Drama.” New York Post, New York Post, 10 Nov. 2020, nypost.com/2020/11/09/nyc-street-parking-hell-worse-than-ever-due-to-covid-19-drama/.
“ParkSwap, The Parking App, Is Solving The Parking Problem In New York City.” KTVN Channel 2 – Reno Tahoe Sparks News, Weather, Video, www.ktvn.com/story/43490415/parkswap-the-parking-app-is-solving-the-parking-problem-in-new-york-city.
Rosa, Amanda. “Yes, Parking in New York Has Gotten Worse.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/nyregion/nyc-parking.html.
Scholarly Source:
Rugless,Ron. “COVID-19 Devestated NYC Restaurant Industry, State Comptroller Report Says.” Virginia Tech, 1 Oct.2020, https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/100154/covid-19-devastated-nyc-restaurant-industry-state-comptroller-s-report-says.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Team Contribution Notes
Tejaswini Sudhakar – Topic Supervisor
Introduced the topic and kept track of all project requirements. Divided everyone’s work in writing the Memo and motivating my peers to do their tasks.
Andres Brujan – Submission Manager
Compiled and submitted the team’s work. Informing my peers of their daily tasks to complete the assessment.
Martin Lahoumh – Research Director
Lead the group in researching ideas for the Memo. Recommending media and scholarly sources to incorporate into writing a credible piece.
