Scarsdale 10583

In the early days of the Christie Place garage, few Village residents were willing to pay the additional fee required to park there. Indeed, there were so few takers, the Village allowed commuters to swap their Freightway permits for Christie Place permits in order to generate buzz about the new garage.

Today, demand is so high that the Village is holding a lottery for the privilege of using the Christie Place garage from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013. As a result, commuters who currently park at Christie Place may be forced to make alternative arrangements in the year to come, and many of them aren’t happy about it.

The increased demand for Christie Place parking permits has, undoubtedly, been driven by the construction project on Popham Road. It’s now harder than ever to get to and from the Freightway garage, both by car and on foot. Commuters who have opted for Freightway in the past because parking permits cost hundreds of dollars less than those for Christie Place are fed up with the time-consuming hassle, and they’re demanding spots in Christie Place. These demands pit historically budget-conscience residents with those who’ve been willing to pay a premium for the “right side of the tracks” convenience of Christie Place.

In an attempt to treat all of these commuters in a similar manner, the Village recently abandoned its practice of selling parking permits on a “first come, first served” basis in favor of a lottery. Although the previous system didn’t guarantee residents an ongoing right to park in the garage of their choosing, longtime permit holders were cognizant of the June 1 date for submitting a new application and, in general, were able to renew their permits from year-to-year. This year’s lottery, however, casts doubt on the value of the calendar-watching on which permit holders have relied in the past.

One commuter, who asked not to be identified, said that “the imposition of a lottery tells me that the Village doesn’t care that I’ve paid a $400 annual premium to park in Christie Place since 2009. If this decision was made by the Village Board, then our mayor and trustees apparently value equality over loyalty, and they’re out-of-touch with the mores of our community. My kids and I look forward to the elimination of the ‘adult only’ lap lanes at the municipal pool this weekend.”

Applications for parking permits will be accepted by mail from Friday, June 1 through 5 p.m. on Monday, June 10. A lottery to select applications is scheduled for Tuesday, June 12. The cost of an annual permit to park in Christie Place was recently raised to $1,450 (vs. $1,250 for 2011/2012). A permit to park in the Freightway garage during this period is $890 (vs. $840 for 2011/2012). Additional information is available on the village website .

Comments (9)

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written by Jack, June 03, 2012

Is it just me or is "One commuter, who asked not to be identified" a total prick?

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written by Metro-North Commuter, May 31, 2012

One additional observation - Metro-North owns many of the parking lots that serve stations along the Harlem, Hudson and New Haven train lines, and it's hired a company called LAZ Parking to manage many of those lots. According to LAZ's web site:

"Renewal permits should be acquired from the Parking Customer Service Center prior to the expiration date."

"At certain Metro-North stations, the demand for permit parking will exceed the number of permit spaces available. At these locations, customers who submitted permit parking applications after the location is sold out will be put on a waiting list in the order in which the applications were received, and notified when additional permits become available."

If I'm reading this correctly, then Scarsdale's "lottery" system is different than Metro-North's policy. For those who are interested, the 14 stations with a waiting list are Beacon, Brewster, Cold Spring, Goldens Bridge, Mamaroneck, New Hamburg, North White Plains, Pelham, Port Jervis, Poughkeepsie, Purdy's, Riverdale, Southeast and Woodlawn.

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written by Metro-North Commuter, May 31, 2012

Although Scott doesn't expressly suggest that the Village move to a Dutch auction, the idea certainly seems to make sense. Wouldn't that maximize the Village's revenues from the Christie Place garage?

As for The Dictator, did you divide the cost differential by 365? That doesn't seem "fair," given the fact that parking in Christie Place is free on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Alas, The Dictator has provided us with another good example that Mark Twain was right when he said "There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies and statistics."

Finally, how does everyone feel about a car with Florida tags having a parking permit for Christie Place? (Yes, there's a "real world" example of this. The question probably doesn't apply to Freightway, since the Village sells permits for that garage to non-residents.)

And should residents who live more than 1.5 miles from the train station have priority? (If we make 1st graders walk 1.4 miles to school, shouldn't their parents walk the same distance to the train?)

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written by Scott, May 31, 2012

As a fundraiser the village should sell permits to the highest bidders!
That way the elite (self imagined) can continue to puff out their chests and feel better about themselves!

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written by Fairness Should Trump Loyalty, May 31, 2012

I have held a Christie Place permit ever since the lot opened. And I do hope to get a permit this year through the lottery (and will be disappointed if I don't). But the idea that I should have an entrenched right to this permit is ridiculous. Why should a new resident be deprived of the same opportunity as I have to park there? In some Westchester towns, there's a 10 year long wait list for parking near the train station. That situation arises only because the entrenched "haves" could care less that the newbies don't have their privilege and those towns simply make no effort to deal with their parking problems. Everyone should have an equal shot at the permits, and maybe if the losers complain loudly enough, the Village will fix up that disgusting wreck called the Freightway.

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written by In A Hurry, May 31, 2012

This article misses the point. The current system doesn't favor loyalty - it was always a first come first served policy, renewable each year. Whether you were the first user of the Christie garage in 2009 or a new user this year, success was a matter of applying on exactly June 1. The lottery at least let's everyone have a fair chance not dependent on perfect timing of mailing in an application.

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written by The Dictator, May 31, 2012

"[O]ur mayor and trustees apparently value equality over loyalty, and they’re out-of-touch with the mores of our community. " HAHHAHA, you're so funny. Yup, you're paying a premium of over $1.09 a day!! Wowee, roll out the red carpet for YOU! I think you've shown perfectly who's out of touch, and the mores of "your community".

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written by Scarsdale Resident, May 31, 2012

As someone who has been using the freightway garage for 10+ years, I have experienced very little "hassle" getting to/from the freightway garage by car or by foot to date. I found the construction process to be as considerate as possible of the commuters and look forward to the overall improvements (which so far, are looking great).

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written by White Guy, May 30, 2012

All aspects or parking in Scarsdale is a complete fiasco. As long as the Village Hall get their cash they could care less. Do you think the employees of the Village Hall pay for a parking permit? Didn't think so. Tony Soprano would be very proud!

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