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Car-Share Program Could Cost Drivers Parking Spots In Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's a new chapter in the city's parking wars. Soon, car owners will be giving up their spots to those who have decided to share theirs.

Nancy Tavera told CBS2's John Dias that the main struggle of owning a car in Brooklyn in parking.

"Oh my god, it's very frustrating," she said.

She was happy to find the perfect spot for her SUV at the corner of Union and Columbia Streets in Carrol Gardens.

"Sometimes I sleep in the car for two hours, three hours, waiting for parking," she said.

Soon, fewer spots may be available to Brooklynites. The city is eyeing many street corners for its new 'car share pilot program' which will take spots away from drivers who park on the street.

"That's the biggest annoyance. So now it will be rough that there will be fewer spaces," Dana Seay.

The program connects drivers willing to share with rental companies to cut down the number of cars on the road.

Eventually, the program will turn 600 spaces city-wide into spots specifically for those who use car sharing such as Car 2 Go and ReachNow. The city is launching part of the pilot in northwest Brooklyn neighborhoods like Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, and Cobble Hill where parking is already hard to come by.

"You have to drive around for like an hour looking for a spot," Sondra Fink said.

Officials are trying to keep positive.

In a statement, Councilman Brad Lander said in part, "if just a handful of neighbors who join the car share program decide they don't need a car... over time we will end up with fewer cars competing for on-street parking."

That's exactly what the DOT and optimistic New Yorkers want.

"You got to think of the future," Hanna Alexander said.

"At the same time, maybe I won't drive and I'll do the Zipcar," Chad Coleman added.

The New York City Car Share Pilot Program is scheduled to start in the spring.

 

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