Sunday, May 12, 2013

Reader mailbag: Is it legal to park next to a docking station before the Citi Bikes arrive?

This weekend, several readers sent us photos of vehicles parked next to the new docking station on East Sixth Street at Avenue B...


[EVG reader Mark]


[Dave on 7th]


[EVG reader John]

The actual Citi Bikes will likely arrive on or just before the expected May 27 launch date... Once the bikes arrive, parking next to a docking station won't be possible. (Well, we'll see.)

Anyway, a reader, who wanted to be clear that he wasn't complaining about Citi Bikes, simply asked if it is legal to park next to an unoccupied docking station. Because he has a car, temporarily, and it can be tough to find a place to park around here. (And why would he have a car? To make it easier to visit his mother who's in a nursing home in a place not convenient to public transportation.)

There aren't street signs pointing to any offense by parking next to the docking station ... Along here, there's just the alternate side parking sign ...



Anyone know? Is this a parking offense that deserves a ticket?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe 311 knows. Anyone thought of asking them?

Anonymous said...

since the stations are designed to be 50% empty for return bikes clearly a car blocking would be an isse one system is running. i imagine yellow no parking strips will be painted.

for now, no biggie but one is supposed park within a foot of curbs.

Anonymous said...

Parking agent will write you a ticket for absolutely anything they so desire. (they're just making their quota). It will then be upon you to spend the time to get the ticket dismissed, if it is so deemed.

Anonymous said...

I say is it illegal for the city to take parking away. Who pays for the streets to begin with, isn't it the taxpayer? Who, when , where, why is it that the tax collector gets to decide what to do with what belongs to someone else?
There's an interesting thing I'm remembering lately from childhood. It's this thing about some tea party that happened long ago. If I remember it lead to a revolution and a way for people to begin thinking for themselves and enacting laws to live the way they choose to live. I say get the mafia out of the political offices and let's get back to the idea of revolution and making things right again!

DrGecko said...

"Is this a parking offense that deserves a ticket?"

Everyone knows that deserving a ticket has nothing to do with actually *getting* a ticket.

I'm impressed that someone would overthrow the government over a parking space. Of course, bicylists are taxpayers, too, and arguably do have rights to maybe 1% of the curbside parking spaces, but never mind that. There's another problem: the economics don't work. A violent revolution would be much more expensive than paying for space in a parking garage.

Trixie said...

"Because he has a car, temporarily, and it can be tough to find a place to park around here. (And why would he have a car? To make it easier to visit his mother who's in a nursing home in a place not convenient to public transportation.)"

Wow, are people with cars really that vilified here that all this eggshell walking must accompany this simple query?

Anonymous said...

2:39,

I agree. When do we (the taxpayers, the vast majority of which do not have cars) get to vote on limiting car parking on the streets?

Stupid King George making these draconian decisions and leaving us with no democratic platform to voice our grievances. If only there was a way to vote on the actions taken by our representatives. A "box" where we could support one candidate over another, if you will. If only we had the right to speak freely and promote some candidates over others.

/Interestingly, the Tea Act actually decreased the price of tea in the colonies. But there was a litany of other issues (real and imagined) which made it objectionable.

Anonymous said...

If all the curbside racks faced the sidewalk, there would be bikes without taking away parking.
I think a major component of this program is a beaureucratic spitefulness towards cars and vehicle owners, using the bikeshare program to hurt and punish drivers.

Anonymous said...

it's illegal for the city to sell public space to corporations, and illegal for cars to park anywhere they please.

Anonymous said...

and take away sidewalk space? no f***** way! why should cars I.E., PRIVATE PROPERTY take more space than people in a public space? I see this as a fight between corporations taking public space for their bikeshare program VERSUS cars I.E., AGAIN CARS ARE PRIVATE PROPERTY taking public space. who do you want taking public space? i'd rather have the public take back public space, not cars, not corporate biking.



RE: > If all the curbside racks faced the sidewalk, there would be bikes without taking away parking.
I think a major component of this program is a beaureucratic spitefulness towards cars and vehicle owners, using the bikeshare program to hurt and punish drivers.

Anonymous said...

"When do we (the taxpayers, the vast majority of which do not have cars) get to vote on limiting car parking on the streets?"

When do I get to vote on everything that the majority does not have, like children, playgrounds, schools, and various other stupid shit that just makes my life expensive and hell??

I am about to renovate my apartment, and you can be damn sure that I am putting the dumster needed for the renovation right in front of that useless citibank logo that was plopped in front of my building.

Anonymous said...

I'm a taxpayer and would vote to eliminate most, if not all, on-street parking in the city.

- East Villager.

Anonymous said...

If the racks faced the sidewalk,then cyclists would ride on the sidewalk to get to them. That's a hazard (and illegal).

- East Villager

Anonymous said...

It is not "illegal" for city to remove street parking.


- East Villager

Anonymous said...

i'm happy to see that the commenters here are more reasonable than some of those on facebook. people really want to trash me because i have a car? are you fucking kidding me?? god forbid i should want to take my kids and my dogs away on the weekends so i don't have to avoid the drunks who will now be riding bikes while wearing stilettos and further annoying the shit out of me. let's see how many saturday night crashes happen when those assholes decide to head over the west village to keep drinking.

vzabuser said...

Absolutely will generate a ticket-didn't everyone see this at least 30 motorists wrongly targeted by citybike:
http://gothamist.com/2013/04/30/when_citi_bike_eats_your_car_it_cos.php

glamma said...

it would be absolutely ridiculous to prevent parking next to theses monstrosities. they better now even try to go there.

Anonymous said...

Dumb@$$ drivers. I hope they got written up. Only an idiot would park that far from the curb, not knowing if those docks need to be relocates or when the docks will be filled.

Those CitiBike docks only take up a small percentage of parking spaces (like < 1%). At the same time they will serve a number of New Yorkers. Most people in NYC (and especially the Village) do not even own a car or care about parking.

It's also not YOUR (driver) space, it's OUR space. Drivers do not cover themselves via taxes at all. Roads are subsidize by us all. Not every curb side should be dedicated to parking. Especially not here in NYC.