Parking rates will soon go up citywide, and drivers who park in parts of Brooklyn and Queens may face even bigger increases with new zones, city transportation department commission Polly Trottenberg revealed on Wednesday.
The agency is working on a rate plan to implement by the end of 2018. But it also wants to add more zones so it can charge higher rates in some parts of the outer boroughs.
“The current system of three rate zones will evolved into a new system of more zones to more closer match land use and parking demand in both Manhattan the outer boroughs,” said Trottenberg. “The meters in heavily congested, transit-rich Downtown Brooklyn are priced the same as those in less dense East New York. We think modest rate increases will promote turnover in commercial areas and have a positive effect on congestion as well.”
The agency also plans to offer drivers who park below 96th Street in Manhattan a discounted second hour, she revealed at a city council transportation budget hearing.
Currently, meters below 96th Street charge $3.50 an hour, while the hourly rate between 96th and 110th Streets is $1.50. In Manhattan above 110th Street and elsewhere in the city, is costs $1.00 per hour to park at a metered space.
Parking meter rates last increased in 2013. There are currently about 85,000 metered spots throughout the city, DOT officials said.