DOT TRIES NEW PARKING PROGRAM

By [Dan Rivoli] Parking is one of the classic problems of New York living. Countless minutes are spent circling around a neighborhood in an effort to find a free parking spot on the street. On the Upper East Side, where good parking spots are a commodity, the Department of Transportation has been testing out a new pilot program called Park Smart, [according to Streetsblog.org, a transportation news website](http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/08/26/ues-park-smart-pilot-goes-where-nyc-meter-rates-have-never-gone-before/). Initiated this past June, the program is intended to free up parking spots by charging more money during peak parking times. The program is supposed to encourage drivers to park for only as long as they need and not feed the meter. The pilot area spans five blocks of East 86th Street between Madison and First avenues, and Madison Avenue between East 79th and East 86th streets. Between noon and 4 p.m., parking spots in front of Muni-Meters with the Park Smart logo will cost 75 cents for 12 minutes. To park in the morning's from 9 a.m. to noon's and in the evening's 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.'s drivers must pay 50 cents for 12 minutes. Other Upper East Side parking meters will remain $1.50 for an hour between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., according to the Department of Transportation. Data from the pilot program and feedback will be collected in fall 2010. This is the city"s third Park Smart pilot location. The parking program was instituted in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and Greenwich Village earlier in the year. If you have used the new parking system, email [editorial@manhattanmedia.com](mailto:editorial@manhattanmedia.com) and tell us about it.