Manhattan residents worry congestion pricing will lead to commuters snatching up free parking spaces
NEW YORK -- With congestion pricing coming closer to a reality, there's now a worry that parking will become harder to find for New Yorkers.
Manhattan residents who spoke to CBS2's Astrid Martinez say they fear commuters driving into the city will snatch up free parking spaces in their neighborhoods to avoid congestion fees below 60th Street.
Janine took a chance parking on the Upper West Side on Friday morning, risking a ticket from street cleaning enforcement.
"I chose to, and I was right. I did get a ticket, $65," she said.
READ MORE: MTA report details plan for congestion pricing and how much drivers will have to pay
Finding quick affordable parking is just one of the many struggles New Yorkers are up against when looking for parking.
"You ride around for an hour looking," Upper West Side resident Joe Klinkov said.
"The garages are impossible as far as financing that once a month," Upper West Side resident Curtis Horne said.
The task, for many, can feel like a competitive sport.
"You have a lot of people with cars because they don't want to take metro transit anymore because of all the violence," Horne said.
Parking in the city is about to get worse. A study by Clarion Research shows that by 2023, there will be a rise in private cars jamming the central business district from 911,000 per day to 1,017,000 per day.
Residents believe commuters will dump their car outside the pricing zone rather than pay a toll costing up to $23 for private cars once the congestion toll program charging drivers to enter the city below 60th Street goes into effect
"I think we should have parking permits," Klinkov said.
"And my constituents are very concerned about them parking legally and illegally, either taking up their parking spaces or having traffic backups," District 6 City Councilmember Gale Brewer said.
Brewer says parking permits are not an easy fix.
"If there is residential parking, will I be able to get a parking space? What does it guarantee me? How much as they're gonna cost me?" she said.
Those are questions city leaders have yet to answer, and residents are urgently in need of solutions.
