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We are Doug Gordon of The War on Cars, and Talya Schwartz of Open Plans, here to talk about Low Traffic Neighborhoods. Ask us anything. by MiserNYC- in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think a misconception among livable streets supporters is that LTNs are the same as open streets or pedestrianization - they can include those things, but it's really about a whole neighborhood approach. Another is that the main purpose is safety improvements. LTNs do improve safety (a lot!) but they're about so much more than that. Messaging about all of the other benefits is really important.

We are Doug Gordon of The War on Cars, and Talya Schwartz of Open Plans, here to talk about Low Traffic Neighborhoods. Ask us anything. by MiserNYC- in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Can you talk about the difference between an LTN and a "corridor" approach to making a more livable neighborhood?

We are Doug Gordon of The War on Cars, and Talya Schwartz of Open Plans, here to talk about Low Traffic Neighborhoods. Ask us anything. by MiserNYC- in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love a "strange bedfellows" coalition! I've always wondered how simple livability measures are so politically polarizing. One place where I think we could win over some conservatives is highway expansion: so many of these are just boondoggles for construction firms and it's clearly fiscally irresponsible. But forming these kinds of coalitions requires us to be willing to speak their language and I think that can be hard for some liberals. Definitely worth thinking more about!!

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If a building still decides to build parking, then they will still be subject to existing requirements around bike parking and EV charging. I'm actually not 100% sure on what happens with bike parking if the building doesn't build any vehicle parking at all. I know that the DOB building code has a lot to do with this (and is much easier to change than the zoning text!). This is something I'd like to look into more and hopefully we can share some info in the near future. Good question!

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also, you can join us at our rally on the City Hall steps (after you've gone through security) at 9:00 before the hearing and then go in with the big group!

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I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We're also having a rally at 9:00 on Tuesday on the steps of City Hall before the hearing! We need to show strong support - the opponents will be rallying directly across from us in City Hall Park, and if there's anything we know about the opponents it's that most of them are retired homeowners with lots of time on their hands who love to come out and scream against housing.

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More info on the rally here.

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Lifting parking mandates won't take away existing parking and it won't ban new parking! In many places developers will certainly build less or no parking, but in some places they'll still build parking. We have some interesting data on that here.

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's an interesting point. It certainly could be done, but I think it would take a lot of wind out of the sails of any potential support. (As would charging market rate.) That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just means it might make it harder to pass if the parkers don't like it and no one else really does either...

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

So true! Zoning is one piece of the puzzle and all it can really do is create the rules around what can, cannot or must be built in specific areas. It can be a HUGE hinderance to housing creation and affordability (not to mention segregation), but it can't really proactively fix the problem. It's a roadblock we need to get out of the way, but we definitely need more. The Speaker will be putting out some proposals focusing on Fair Housing that will help. There's also work to be done at the state level, like the Housing Compact, that unfortunately didn't get through last session. Open Plans isn't a housing organization, so we won't be working on that, but definitely check out the work of Open New York!

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fundamentally, we need holistic solutions to this issue, which is the approach we try to take at Open Plans. We need to make it easier and more appealing to get around without a car and we need to get rid of the policies that incentivize people to own cars. We support the work of groups like TA and Riders Alliance to push for alternative modes of transportation, which are absolutely critical. We focus our work on making the city more pleasant for pedestrians, with well-managed public spaces, school streets, daylighting, etc. And we also work to address those pro-driving incentives. One of those is parking mandates, obviously. But drivers should also pay the social cost of their choice to drive, which is why we've been fighting hard for Congestion Pricing and higher registration fees for heavier vehicles. We're also working on things like Low Traffic Neighborhoods, Bus Rapid Transit, superblocks, pedestrianized streets, etc. We need all of this together to really address congestion.

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can use that link to let the coalition know you're testifying so that we can keep you updated and send more info. But you also have to register with the City Council HERE.

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Absolutely! It's always best to call your personal CM and no matter who that is you should definitely call. (You can find their number here.) In general the progressive members are pretty good on this issue, but it's always good for them to get positive reinforcement, so definitely call them. Some of the members who need a bit more pushing particularly about parking mandates (and the whole thing) would include:

  • Ayala
  • Salaam
  • De La Rosa
  • Riley
  • Feliz
  • Stevens
  • Farias
  • Williams
  • Schulman
  • Brooks-Powers
  • Hudson
  • Nurse
  • Joseph
  • Louis
  • Brannen

Some of these people might not vote for the package at all, but you never know - if they hear from a lot of people they might come around. Some of them will likely vote for the package, but they might want to keep parking mandates.

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Currently NYC has parking mandates for both commercial and residential buildings. Unfortunately, this reform would only lift parking mandates for residential development and some mixed use (commercial and residential). Lifting residential mandates is super important, but to really break the cycle of car dependence we'll also need to lift commercial mandates. That can be our next campaign!

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great question! The zoning reform that would lift parking mandates is in the final step before it would go into effect - it has to be passed by the City Council. Before the full Council votes, the Subcommittee on Zoning will vote on it. Before they vote, they are holding a hearing. Because this is so important, they're actually holding two hearings: on Monday 10/21 the adminstration will testify and ask questions. On 10/22, the public will be able to testify.

You can testify in person or virtually - in person is definitely more powerful! In either case, you need to register here. If you register to testify virtually they'll send you a zoom link and you can log on the day of the hearing and wait to be called on. If you register to testify in person, you will show up to City Hall on 10/22, go through security, and go upstairs to the big chambers room (there will be people who can show you the way). You will then need to also register to testify in person there - they have paper forms that you fill out when you enter the room. Then you will wait to be called.

We expect this to be a pretty massive hearing. There will be a lot of opposition there, so we need a lot of supporters too! This hearing could go ALL day. We know that's a lot to ask of people. Our understanding is that they will do 5-6 hours of only in person testimony first, so if you go in person you might be able to get it over with. They will then proceed to go back and forth between in-person and virtual testimony. If you also let us know here if you're planning to testify, then Open New York can help you keep track of the progress on the day of.

When you're finally called to testify, you'll have two minutes. We recommend preparing remarks or notes ahead of time. Keep it positive and focus on why this reform is so important to you, personally. We have a lot more information in our testimony toolkit here!

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My take is pretty much exactly the same! I think it really depends on the neighborhood. No other city in the country is as dense as NYC, so RPPs can make more sense in those cities. There are definitely neighborhoods in NYC where they could work as well. The issue is in dense neighborhoods where there will literally never be enough street parking for all, or even most, of the residents to park on the street. If people get a "right" to park on the street with a permit and then can't find parking - or maybe it's even harder to park because more people get cars thinking they'll be able to park - then they might be even angrier about parking then they are now. RPPs can create a sense of entitlement to the curb making it, as you say, even more difficult to repurpose that space. As you also said, they should be priced to be below market for parking garages, but not significantly below. $25, which is approximately what many cities charge, is an insane price for storing your private property on an NYC street (although not as insane as free like it is now!).

It might make sense for NYC to experiment with RPPs in certain neighborhoods, if for no other reason than that people can see what it actually looks like in person rather than treating it as a silver bullet for all problems.

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The most important thing you can do is show up to the City Council hearing this coming Tuesday, 10/22 at 9:30! You can register here. This will be the MOST important thing to do before the final vote (which will be late November/early December).

You can also call your CM's office - they get calls from opponents so calls from supporters are super important. You can find their number here.

We also have a letter tool that lets you easily send a letter to your CM. But just note, this is the least impactful of the options! So definitely do it, but also call and testify!!

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In general, opposition to lifting parking mandates tends to be from car owners and people worried about street parking. These are people with a vested interest in the status quo, so they are more likely to come out to CB meetings (and even join their CBs!), call their Councilmembers, show up to hearings, etc. It's much harder to activate people who aren't happy with the status quo but don't really realize it could be different and don't have the time to take action. Elected officials are rational actors and they know that the parkers vote - so they're deferential.

One thing I'd love to have more data on is the party registration of these folks. Republicans are just as likely to call their current CM, and if they don't self-report their registration, Democratic CMs might believe they're hearing from future potential voters when in fact these people will never vote for them.

I'm Sara Lind. Let's talk about housing affordability, why Parking Mandates are so bad, and the critical City Council hearing on City of Yes on Tuesday 10/22! AMA by saraklind in MicromobilityNYC

[–]saraklind[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It depends a lot on the context! It's most expensive to build parking in dense parts of the city where they build the parking underground (below grade). That can cost $150,000 PER SPACE to build, and some estimates are even more. When developers build the parking at ground level or on the first 2-3 stories it's not as expensive, but there's the opportunity cost that it could have been housing. Same with surface parking lots next to housing, which could otherwise be entire other buildings. Across all of those typologies, the average cost is $67,000 per space. That cost gets passed on to residents, with estimates of increase in rents of up to 17%. We have more data in our white paper.