Dot Announces Installation Of Credit Card Friendly Muni-meters For Bensonhurst

New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan today joined State Senator Marty Golden to announce the installation of credit card friendly Muni-Meters along 86th Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The Department of Transportation (DOT) installed 58 Muni-Meters along the busy commercial strip and the adjacent north/south streets between Bay 14th Street and 21st Avenue, replacing roughly 330 traditional single space meters.

“Parking just became a little easier for drivers who visit one of Brooklyn’s busiest shopping centers,” said Commissioner Sadik-Khan. “But Muni-Meters do more than provide additional payment options for drivers; they also help reduce clutter on the sidewalks and improving the quality of our public spaces is an important component of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative.”

“By installing these Muni-Meters we are creating much needed parking along one of our busiest and finest shopping districts in Brooklyn,” said Senator Marty Golden. “I commend Commissioner Sadik-Khan and the Department of Transportation for recognizing the significance of this location. Bensonhurst welcomes this change—the storeowners, the shoppers and the community.”

Muni-Meters were first introduced in 1996 and offer numerous advantages to traditional single space meters. For drivers, they increase parking capacity by allowing cars to park closer together. They also enable the City to improve traffic flow by charging vehicles progressively higher fees for longer stays, encouraging shorter stays and creating more turnover. This increased turnover reduces double parking and cuts the amount of time drivers spend “cruising” for a parking spot. Muni-Meters also allow for more flexible payment options and they create more sidewalk space for pedestrians – one Muni-Meter can replace up to six single space meters.

Since the completion of a 2005 pilot project in Midtown Manhattan, DOT has installed or upgraded 1,300 Muni-Meters to accept credit cards along commercial strips in all five boroughs. Some recent installations and upgrades include:

In Brooklyn:
· 58 meters along 86^th Street
· 39 meters along Atlantic Avenue
· 13 meters on Bay Parkway

In Queens:
· 63 meters along Union Turnpike
· 36 meters along Main Street
· 25 meters along Queens Boulevard
· 21 meters along Metropolitan Avenue.

In Manhattan:
· 94 meters along Broadway from Central Park South to 86^th Street
· 38 meters in Greenwich Village
· 24 meters along Canal Street
· 20 meters along 9^th Avenue
· 19 meters along East 86^th Street
· 7 meters along West 57^th Street

In Staten Island:
· 13 meters around University Hospital

In The Bronx:
· 21 meters around Metropolitan Oval

Muni-Meters accept quarters, dollar coins and payments made with NYC Parking Cards. Roughly 1,300 Muni-Meters, including the new meters on 86^th Street, also accept personal credit cards. DOT is in the process of updating the city’s 2,800 Muni-Meters with secure, wireless credit card technology.

New York City Parking Cards can be purchased which in $20, $50 and $100 denominations through the DOT Web site, by mail and at City Store locations. A complete list of commercial and passenger vehicle Muni-Meter locations is available at www.nyc.gov/dot. For information, please call 311.

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