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Oh. My. God. When Gothamist heard about City Councilman Vincent Gentile's plan to
allow five-minute double parking (as in, no tickets), we thought, "What the hell is the this city coming to?" New York City is practically built on the annoying and irritating institution that is double parking! Gentile thinks that the bill would help people who are just ducking into a store for an errand or people doubleparking in order to get a parking space, but what Gothamist wanted to know who the hell is monitoring the double parkee? And would people really go by a strict 5-minute rule? The social contract barely works as is! Even Mayor Bloomberg said, "I don't know that we want to have our police cars sitting there for five minutes with a stopwatch." The Post reports that Gentile says the mayor has a "lack of understanding of the reality of the streets of New York" and that "No one's asking traffic agents to stand still and watch the cars." But, dude, you're imposing this 5-minute rule - who's to say people will follow it? As New Yorkers, it's all about taking advantage and twisting the rules. Plus, the reality of the streets of New York is that they are way too filled with double parked cars and trucks. We can deal with the Haagen-Dasz truck being double parked outside the bodega, because that's our lifeblood, but other cars should circle the block!
Gothamist eagerly awaits drivers' angry perspectives.
Image from a Transportation Alternatives article about how cheap on-the-street parking causes double parking
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can you imagine the chaos this will create? New Yorkers are the ultimate at give-them-an-inch-they'll-take-a-mile. The streets are bad enough as it is without LETTING people double park.
Ach. Double parking already leads to nasty tie-ups along 7th Ave. in the Slope every day, what with a UPS truck on one side and somebody picking up laundry on the other, and a bus sitting and fuming and cars stretching past the traffic light. Less double parking, not more.
Double Parking should be a felony.
I remember one morning I was parked legally on 77th between 2nd & 3rd Ave. in Manhattan and a contractor's van double parked locking me in my space. I had to get to work.
I called the number on the side of the van, answering machine.
I called the police, they said they'd get there...eventually...
After leaning on my horn for a few solid minutes the a$$hole came out to move the van. I gave him more than an earful to say the least before I was on my way to work...
To get the Mayor to really undertand the parking situation and traffic patterns in general have him work a rush-hour shift with a traffic police officer and see how difficult to already is to enforce tickets such as running red lights, etc.
Another thought is try and get less people driving anyway. London charges a toll to cars that have to get into the "City". In Athens, Greece depending upon a code on your license plate you can only drive certain days into the central parts of the city. (Anyone who's been to Athens understand and accepts this since the pollution is so bad. But wait it's bad in New York City as well. Well that's another issue altogether.)
And now back to our regularly scheduled program...
If this rule gets passed, I wonder if car manufacturers will begin adding the feature of a five-minute timer to all cars sold in the NY Metro Area. The timer could be something that could be broadcast in radio waves to those new computers the meter maids have. The timer would render it impossible for them to ticket you during the five minute period.
and what if you roll your car forward a few feet? do you get 5 more minutes?
We should get something straight, Councilman Gentile. Sitting in your car waiting for a spot is not double-parking. Because when you are sitting in your car... you're sitting in your car! Which means, **you can move it!** LIke, say, if you're blocking the road. Or blocking someone in. Of if you've sat there too long.
I think it's the good Councilman who lacks the understanding of the streets.
There's lots of good ideas floating around out there to make traffic more manageable in NYC. Too bad this isn't one of them.
Heard this one on the radio this morning. File it under how stupid can we get. Sounds like Councilman Gentile does not spend time either walking or driving in the city.
Here is my newest suggestion: can we stop SUVs from parking on corners so we have a chance to see oncoming SUVs/Vs while crossing the street?
Figures that the city councilman looking to get this passed is from the double-park capital of the world -- Brooklyn. This has no chance of being passed and is just plain dumb.
Ack! Has anyone seen the parking lots that are the bike lanes on Fifth Avenue in the South Slope? I'm usually an inconspicuous rider who generally bikes in the car lane since most of the bike lane is taken up by people sitting in their cars as they wait for their partner-in-crime to pick up their pizza and select a video at Blockbuster. But, lately, the inner me has surfaced and started yelling at these assholes to remind them that the bike lane is for bikes, not lazy Brooklynites who refuse to walk a block to grab their nightly food and entertainment before returning to their couches to continue their near vegetative states. So, yeah, I'm mad. Will someone please start ticketing cars in the bike lanes?
gentile is still in office?...i thought he was done after that little scandal last year...i would listened anything that guy has to say
Is it not a prerequisite that you live in the 5 boroughs to be a councilman?! Where in the world is Vincent Gentile from?!
Certainly this guy has never stepped foot in this fair city, my question is, how is it that we are not now looking into how this man was elected, he is so obviously COMPLETELY out of touch with what happens on the street.
This is freightening that someone with ANY power within our government would suggest this. It is so ludicrous that someone needs to look into the motives of why he would want to do this. Who is he trying to make rich?
cars suck - gas should be more expensive, there should be constant traffic jams - eventually mankind will abondon the charming fantasy of the horseless carriage.
Oh, yeah? Double parking? Girlie man stuff! What about the triple parking that I used to see in da Bronx!!!
i'm all for it. double parking is a necessary evil. don't like it... move.
I have never understood why Brooklynites feel entitled to double park. It makes the avenues totally undrivable during the day. It is particularly amazing when people choose to park on opposite sides of a one-way street so you have to zigzag around them.
This has cemented my opinion that Gentile is a class-A moron. He lost his state seat to Golden and so now he must pander to justify his existence.
kris,
How is double parking "necessary"?
Being too lazy or incapable of managing time does not necessity make. It just makes you an asshat.
This council member is obviously a fool. The same situation currently exists with car alarms -- they're not allowed to go off for more than 3 minutes, but this is really unenforcable. Thus, the reason to ban them entirely. Too bad Miller wussed out on that.
häagen-dazs
I think is going in exactly the wrong direction.
NYC should be regulating against cars, not for them.
Especially in Manhattan, there is no excuse for using your car to go to the store. Hello? Public xport....
I like the guy who said make it a felony...
TS