More Roosevelt Island Parking Problems With SouthTown's Riverwalk Area Losing Several Spaces - Should Car Usage Be Discouraged On RI?
Due to the limited size of Roosevelt Island, street parking is a constant bone of contention with some residents wishing for more and others less. There is a 1900 space car parking garage at the Motorgate though advocates for more street parking say that the Motorgate garage is just too far from their homes to be convenient.
Southtown's Riverwalk car owners are the furthest from Motorgate - a 15 minute walk or 5 minute Red Bus ride away. As a reader of this post commented:
The distance to Motorgate is a HUGE drawback to living in Southtown. Look at Octagon, Queens West, Jersey City - every modern residential complex built today outside of Manhattan (and face it, folks - we're outside of Manhattan) includes parking. The first few above-ground levels of the unbuilt Southtown ought to contain parking.Other readers responded:
I agree with anonymous saying that "The distance to Motorgate is HUGE" but it is the same distance as it has been from the beginning.And:
Conversely R.Island was planned to be virtually car free on Main Street. The second "anonymous" dream was once reality.
Owning a car is a privilege and not a right. If RI wants to make it hard to own a car I am all for it. There are way too many of those on this island where none are actually essential. We have cheap and decent public transit on this island. It is the perfect place to - gasp - walk.Reacting to the loss of several Southtown parking spots a reader and Riverwalk resident asks:
The less parking opportunities on RI the better. Period. That's my opinion.
Now that the red bus stops on East Drive, Southtown drivers have lost at least two scarce parking spots. When will RIOC persuade Goldwater to permit weekend parking on their East Drive?
I inquired of Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. (RIOC) President Steve Shane:
Now that the Red Bus, Q102 Bus and trucks are using the south bound East Channel Road in Southtown on a temporary basis during the Tram outage, is there any possibility of also experimenting with allowing parking on the West Channel road in Southtown? During the RIRA meeting when Fernando Martinez presented this idea, he mentioned that there might be some additional parking spots available on the West Channel if the Red Bus Route was changed to the East Channel.
Also, is there any update on discussions with Goldwater Hospital to allow weekend parking on the Queens side of their facility - either in the empty street or empty parking lots without the danger of being ticketed.
Mr. Shane replied:
I will inquire about parking on West Channel, but suspect that the existing congestion at the subway makes it unlikely. We have engaged a traffic engineer who will be able to make recommendations.In the meantime, be careful where you park or you will be ticketed by Public Safety Department as these car owners were last Monday.
We are checking back with the hospital about weekends on the east side and will advise.