By Sam Schwartz
Dear Transit Sam,
Can you buy 50 cents or 15 minutes of parking on a muni-meter with a credit card? The other day, the machine would only let me buy $2 increments or an hour of parking. Is this how all muni-meters operate or is this a mistake? Is the machine broken?
Douglas, W. Village
Dear Douglas,
All muni-meters should allow you to purchase the minimum increment with either credit card or coin. And according to a N.Y.C. Dept. of Transportation spokesperson, D.O.T. technicians went out and ran a test of the meter in question, and they were successfully able to purchase 15 minute increments with a credit card for 50 cents. I would try to use the machine again and if a problem still exists, we’ll go back to square one and investigate even further.
Transit Sam
Dear Transit Sam,
Frequently at night, there are black town cars waiting for pick-ups at the World Financial Center (1 block away) that park next to the building along North End Ave (including in the “No Standing Zone”) and, idle, pumping carbon monoxide into the windows on the east side of the building. Perhaps, we can get some pressure if this is an environmental hazard. With the warm weather coming and residents wanting to open their windows, this problem will only intensify. Residents as well as building personnel have repeatedly called 311 and the local precinct to report this problem. Some residents have even spoken to the duty officer in the neighborhood, but all to no avail. Isn’t it true that there is an idling law that prevents vehicles from idling in one spot for more than a certain amount of time?
William
Dear William,
Yes there is. In N.Y.C., it’s three minutes and in the state, it’s five, but the problem is enforcement. However, there’s some good news on that front. Legislation recently went into effect as a way to increase enforcement. First, the law expanded enforcement powers to the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Sanitation (in addition to N.Y.P.D. and Department of Environmental Protection). Second, the law reduced the amount of time vehicles are allowed to idle adjacent to a school from three minutes to one minute. Third, the law requires annual reports on the number of idling violations issued and total fines assessed. And now the city is considering legislation to allow all 2,300 traffic agents to enforce idling laws on their handheld computers (and/or have the capability to do so). Hopefully you’ll see more enforcement in the coming months but in the meantime, continue to write me or continue to call 311, reporting any further idling issues.
Transit Sam
Sam Schwartz, a former first deputy commissioner of city transportation, is president and C.E.O. of Sam Schwartz Engineering, a traffic engineering consulting firm to private and public entities including the Port Authority at the World Trade Center site. Email your questions to TransitSam@DowntownExpress.com
