This little device could be the key to transforming parking on Roosevelt Island (and elsewhere in New York City). Photo: Matthew Roth

New York City is about to get a taste of what cutting-edge parking policy could look like over on Roosevelt Island. The island will soon be installing parking sensors under 29 spaces, local blogs Roosevelt Islander and Roosevelt Island 360 reported this week. By providing real-time data about what actually happens in those spaces, the sensors can help enforce parking laws, move toward smart and flexible curbside pricing, and prevent cruising and traffic congestion.

NYC DOT is sure to be watching Roosevelt Island’s progress. This September, the agency sent out a notice expressing interest in parking technology systems that include sensors.

The parking sensors on Roosevelt Island are made by the Streetline company, which supplied the 8,255 sensors that form the technological backbone of San Francisco’s innovative SFPark system (be sure to check out Streetsblog San Francisco’s coverage of the program here, here, and here).

The sensor uses a magnetometer to detect the presence of a vehicle, explained Streetline VP Ken Voss, as well as the moment when a car enters or leaves the space. “It also takes a magnetic signature of the vehicle and can detect if it’s the exact same vehicle that’s been sitting there,” he said. Finally, the sensors’ data can be linked with parking meters, revealing whether parkers are paying or not.

That kind of rigorous, real-time information is the key to making the most of on-street parking. If you want to price parking based on demand, for example, sensor data can provide the foundation for setting the right price block-by-block or hour-by-hour. If you want to accurately enforce time limits or make sure that parkers adhere to the time they paid for, real-time info can send enforcement officers directly to the scene of a violation. Or if you want to cut down on the miles of cruising drivers often resort to while searching for a parking space, sensors can direct them straight to an open spot.

Jonathan Kalkin, the head of Roosevelt Island’s operations committee and the prime mover behind the project, explained that he hopes to pursue each of those three goals. “We have an issue with people feeding the meter all day long,” he explained. “It’s very hard to enforce, because we have a small group of public safety officers.” With sensors, he expects, long-term parkers will stop hogging the spaces entirely.

Kalkin also said that the sensor data would be used to recalibrate the price of parking on the island. Right now, he said, Roosevelt Island’s on-street parking and its parking garage have very different price schemes. Using the sensor data, they should be able to intelligently reduce the garage’s prices for certain lengths of stay and open up on-street spaces for those frequenting a local merchant, for example.

Finally, he said, Streetline is developing an app that leads drivers to an open space. “It’ll be sophisticated enough to give you turn-by-turn directions,” he said. That could have a big environmental benefit for the island by cutting down on cruising. “Right now, you spend an hour and a half to park in a space to do something for five minutes.”

Voss added that Streetline can provide dynamic signage as well, and can provide the prices of available spots to allow drivers to make fully informed decisions.

The program is just a pilot for now, said Kalkin, and only needed the approval of the operations committee. The 29 spaces that will receive sensors were recently added when a stretch of road was converted from two-way flow to one-way for safety reasons. If it’s successful, the plan is to put it to the full board and expand it to the entire island by the spring.

One selling point of the program is that it cuts costs. “Because police officers can focus on other things, that saves money. It kind of pays for itself with that,” said Kalkin.

The sensors are part of a larger effort to use technology to help Roosevelt Islanders move around better. Kalkin said that the island was the first place in the city to have NextBus technology, which shows bus riders real-time arrival information, and is looking to use tidal power for new electric car charging stations.

Kalkin also wants to introduce “smart parking meters” that allow for payment with tap credit cards and cell phones.

“Roosevelt Island is leading. We’re the first East Coast city to have this technology,” said Kalkin.

The rest of New York City might be close behind. The city DOT put out a request for expression of interest for a parking sensor program in September [PDF]. “They’re definitely interested,” said Voss.

The RFEI doesn’t reveal too much about DOT’s intentions, but there are a few fascinating facts to pick out:

• DOT is looking for a program that can “provide the basis for dynamic pricing of parking.”
• They want a system that can tell the NYPD about both parking meter violations and stolen plates.
• DOT showed interest in using the sensors to finally get parking placard abuse under control. They’re looking for a system that could integrate with placards.
• They also asked about the possibility of integrating with pay-by-phone parking and off-street garages.

A rendering of a bike-sharing station at the Roosevelt Island F train station. Image: AccessRI/Hunter College Dept. of Urban Affairs and Planning.

Enthusiasm for bike-sharing was evident at a demo station set up by the company B-Cycle on the island yesterday afternoon. "We've had a bunch of people come by, use the bikes and test them out," said Erica Wilder of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, the island's governing body. "Everyone's been pretty favorable."

RIOC recorded reactions through surveys taken at the demo site. With only one station, yesterday's demo was really showing off the value of bike rentals. Enthusiasm may have been even higher if Roosevelt Islanders could experience the convenience of real bike sharing, hopping on a bike at the F Train, say, and then dropping it off at a station near their apartment. 

That's the ultimate vision for the program, said Wilder, who said that the goal is to install at least three stations on the two mile-long island.

Bikes can make it down Roosevelt Island much faster than other travel options. Image: AccessRI/Hunter College.

About 12,500 people live on Roosevelt Island, according to a study of accessibility on the island by a team at Hunter College. If bike-sharing eventually makes it to the whole island, the Hunter team found that it could reshape the way residents and visitors get around.

It currently takes 22 minutes to walk from the Octagon, a landmark toward the northern end of the island, to the Roosevelt Island tram into Midtown. Using the Island's Red Bus only saves a little bit of time; including the average wait, the same trip takes 15 minutes, or 18.5 minutes at night. In contrast, you could cover that distance in five minutes on a bike. According to the Hunter study, that sort of time savings could convince people to use transit instead of driving to leave the island.

In addition to the Hunter College team, an independent group of researchers from Columbia University [PDF] also recommended bike-sharing as well-suited for self-contained Roosevelt Island. The two studies played a large role in bringing the concept to the RIOC's attention, said Wilder.

Wilder expects bike-sharing to be used for all kinds of trips, from commutes to errands and recreation. "We have a lot of bike riders on the island," she explained, noting that bike racks are consistently packed full.

Once the surveys gathered yesterday are compiled, said Wilder, "it's just figuring out the funding aspect of it." She estimated that setting up the program would cost the RIOC around $3,500 per bike, although membership and rental fees would repay some of that cost. "At first we'll take a hit, but in the end, it'll pay for itself within a two-year, three-year period," she said.

For now, Roosevelt Island is moving toward bike-sharing on its own. "It would be great if we could be the pilot location for New York City," said Wilder, who added that integration into a citywide bike-sharing system would be the preferred model. "But if New York City doesn't want to bring it," she shrugged, "folks can always come and this will be an attraction."

Mission accomplished? Plenty of room at the RI subway station rack. Photo: Roosevelt Islander

Now, reports Roosevelt Islander, the RIOC is making allowances for late-night cyclists -- providing they let the agency know who they are ahead of time.

Roosevelt Island Public Safety Director [Keith] Guerra advises that bikes may be locked up at the tram and subway bike racks during the 2-5 AM hours but there has been no change in the policy that prohibits overnight storage of bikes on a regular basis. The intent of this policy is to allow late night commuters to use the bike racks, not to allow residents to use these bike racks as a permanent storage area as some have previously been doing. As of now, contact the Public Safety Department each day you plan on having your bicycle locked up at the Subway or Tram bike racks during the 2-5 AM hours and it will not be removed. If you need your bike locked up during these hours on a regular basis, advise the Public Safety Department of your situation. They will attempt to work out a solution.

Does this sound like a viable step to meet regular island cyclists halfway -- or is it, however well-intentioned, another obstacle to getting around by bike? We're especially interested in hearing from cyclists who have, or will be, "registering" with RIOC.

Photo: Roosevelt Island 360

An email exchange between RI 360 and the RIOC reveals that, as of yesterday, one bike had been claimed "without incident" from the island's Department of Public Safety, where confiscated bikes are to be held 48 hours before being donated to a thrift store. Wrote public safety director Keith Guerra:

We are noticing that many residents have removed their bikes on their own and there is now plenty of room for those that wish to use the bike racks.

Gotta hand it to those Roosevelt Island bureaucrats: They sure have a way with words.

Photo: Roosevelt Island 360

Following up on last week's news from Roosevelt Island, where cyclists were informed that they would no longer be allowed to store bikes on public racks overnight, Roosevelt Island 360 reports that the warning signs are out.

According to an e-mail from Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation President Steve Shane, however, enforcement will not begin until next week. At that point, any bike found on a rack between 2 and 5 a.m. will be confiscated, says the RIOC, and owners will have 48 hours to claim them before they are donated to a thrift store.

Shane told Streetsblog that the RIOC only wants to stop the proliferation of abandoned bikes on the racks, and that alternative suggestions were welcome (Streetsbloggers offered several). But for now at least it looks like it's full steam ahead with the original mass confiscation plan.

Follow the jump for a close-up of the RIOC flier. RI 360 has asked for more prominent signage.

Photo: Roosevelt Island 360

While we wish to encourage residents continuing to ride their bicycles as it is a healthy activity, we wish to discourage residents from storing their bicycles overnight on the bicycle racks throughout the island.

Bicycles will be removed by the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. and stored at Public Safety for a period of 48 hours. If the owner retrieves their bicycle during the 48 hour period there will be no charge for storing their bicycle. If the owner does not retrieve their bicycle during the 48 hour period it will be donated to the Thrift Shop.

Storing the bicycles on the bike racks has been a quality of life issue for many residents, thus we wish to address this quality of life issue.

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

How using a bike rack for its intended purpose could offend one's quality of life sensibilities is an open question, and we have a call in to the RIOC for clarification. In the meantime, wonders one Roosevelt Island 360 reader:

Where else are we supposed to park our bikes over night? Is the RIOC going to offer us any alternative? Are we supposed to bring our bikes into our apartments now? How about we don't allow cars to park on the streets over night anymore?

Update: We got a call from RIOC President Steve Shane, who basically confirmed what Eric of Roosevelt Island 360 had to say. According to Shane, the new no-overnight parking rule is meant to keep racks clear of "rusty, abandoned bikes," and to make it easier for regular commuters and recreational cyclists to use them. Shane says the abundance of derelict bikes has caused an unwelcome "spillover," leading cyclists to chain up wherever they can. RIOC is still working on a permanent fix. "We are never finished looking at ideas," Shane said.