Forget Kingsbridge. The neighborhood should be renamed “Parkingsbridge.” On Monday, January 4, the city suspended alternate side parking rules in east Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights and Van Cortlandt Village.
Residents and visitors will park without fear of street sweepers for six to eight weeks while the city Department of Transportation replaces alternate side parking signs.
The DOT has already replaced signs in Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Marble Hill and Kingsbridge west of Broadway, where new parking rules will take effect on Monday, January 11. Under the relaxed rules, some vehicles will only need to be moved once a week rather than twice a week. The city Sanitation Department agreed to the change in response to a Community Board 8 request.
When signs are replaced in east Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights and Van Cortlandt Village, those neighborhoods will also benefit from the new rules.
The rule changes in Community Board 8, similar to those that took effect last year in parts of Brooklyn, comprise a DOT and Sanitation Department pilot program. The city expects the new rules to ease the parking burden on residents.
More than 3,600 signs will be replaced in Community Board 8 before the pilot is done. In some cases, vehicles will only need to be moved for 90 minutes, rather than three hours. In other cases, the time of day for alternate side parking will change.
None of the changes affect 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. parking rules or meter regulations, or any other standard parking rules. The DOT has promised to send residents notification before enforcement of the new rules begins.
Alternate side parking rules will be suspended for at least six months in the north, on Van Cortlandt Park South between Broadway and Mosholu Parkway.
The rules will be suspended in the east on Mosholu Parkway between Van Cortlandt Park South and Sedgwick Avenue; on Sedgwick Avenue between Mosholu Parkway and Goulden Avenue; on the west side of Goulden Avenue between Bedford Park Boulevard and W. 197th Street; on the north side of W. 197th Street between Goulden Avenue and Reservoir Avenue; and on the west side of Reservoir Avenue between W. 197th Street and W. Kingsbridge Road.
The rules will also be suspended in the south on the north side of W. Kingsbridge Road between Reservoir Avenue and Major Deegan Expressway; and on the north side of W. 225th Street between Major Deegan Expressway and Broadway.
Finally, the rules will be suspended in the west on Broadway between W. 225th Street and Van Cortlandt South.
Reach reporter Daniel Beekman at 718 742-3383 or dbeekman@cnglocal.com
