Published Friday, March 7, 2008, by the New York Times

Editorial

For decades, parking passes have been distributed too freely to New
York City workers, many of whom abused the privilege to leave their
cars, penalty-free, almost anywhere. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is right
to vow to take the passes away from city workers who view what should
be a rare perk as an entitlement.

Earlier this year, the mayor said, too ambitiously, that by now he
would have the number of placards down by 20 percent. That's still
the goal, but it will take more time, in part because the problem
is bigger than anyone knew. An inventory counted 142,000 passes --
more than twice the number estimated. And that doesn't include
counterfeits that may number in the tens of thousands.

To put the number in perspective, the entire city has about 18,500
metered parking spaces, according to Transportation Alternatives,
which advocates for less automobile dependency. Most parking is
unmetered, with alternate side of the street rules that make legal
parking spots temporary prizes. Having a parking placard is like
hitting the jackpot at everyone else's expense.

As he presses for congestion pricing to relieve gridlock and
pollution, the mayor has rightly recognized that reducing the number
of placards is important to curbing congestion and improving safety.
His administration plans to impose central control on the passes,
instead of allowing agencies to dole them out, which would help to
ensure more responsible use. There will also be tougher enforcement
through a unit being created in the Internal Affairs Bureau at the
Police Department, which alone has some 58,000 passes.

That's a good approach, but there's no reason to delay cracking down
on abusers now.

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