Park Slope Parking Reprieve Made No Difference

Earlier this year the DOT announced that alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules in Park Slope would be suspended for several months while workers changed the signs. Local drivers were worried their precious spots would be overwhelmed with outsiders angling for parking, but according to a study released by the DOT yesterday, the increased number of parking spaces made no difference, and finding a spot in Park Slope was no more aggravating than usual. Bruce Schaller, the deputy commissioner of transportation, tells the Times the suspension of parking rules "had no effect on how hard it is to find a parking place, and no effect on how often people used their cars." And according to a survey, the average length of residents’ quests for parking was 27 minutes, though 40% claimed they found parking in 10 minutes or less (and they haven't stopped bragging about it).