Brother, can you spare an overnight parking space? (continued)

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Washington Park and parts of Elmwood were selected for the pilot primarily because Luna and Aponte were willing guinea pigs, and both, with Segal and one other councilor, contributed city bond money for a study of the issue. Although there has not yet been a public meeting to explain the program — informational meetings for pilot-area residents will be held after this article is published — Segal says, "It seems like their neighborhood is generally overwhelmingly supportive, whereas other neighborhoods are of mixed opinion." One of the neighborhoods where opinion is most divided is Segal’s own Ward 1, where the mostly affluent members of the College Hill Neighborhood Association (CHNA) remain staunchly opposed to doing away with the overnight ban.

Looking out the window onto her own driveway, which has enough asphalt to make the mouths of the parking-challenged water, Antoinette Breed shakes her head in disbelief. A longtime East Sider and CHNA member, Breed feels adamant that "the East Side is a residential neighborhood," and keeping it that way is one of the stated goals in CHNA’s by-laws. Will Touret, the CHNA’s treasurer, echoes Breed, saying, "On-street overnight parking will never work on the East Side; the city has been unable to enforce even what they have now."

Enforcement, however, may not be as difficult as in the past, especially if the police support the program. Lieutenant Alfred Zonfrilli of District 3, which encompasses Washington Park and parts of Elmwood, thinks on-street parking is a good idea, and he hates that his officers have to give out overnight tickets, "especially if there’s nowhere [for cars] to go."

But even if the police do impose strict enforcement, ticketing all cars lacking the overnight permit in the pilot area, this does not eliminate fears that on-street parking will ultimately bring more cars into an already congested city. Breed is baffled by how "Segal — a Green — would support more cars." Segal, though, insists that such a fear is unfounded. "Cars are a consequence of economics," he says. "People don’t have a car behind their backs that they’re waiting to lay out. Cars involve a lot of cost — there’s insurance, maintenance, gas. Parking is just 10 or 15 percent of [the cost of] owning a car in a year."

Indeed, at $76.78 per $1000 (the first $5000 is tax-free), Providence’s car tax is the highest in the state, 40 percent higher than that in Pawtucket, which has the next highest rate. According to Alex Prignano, Providence’s director of finance, "Most states don’t even have car tax, so even if Rhode Island charged $1 per car, we’d be higher than other states."

Even if the Washington Park/Elmwood pilot program meets proponents’ high expectations, Segal insists that it is not a sign of things to come for the rest of the city. Although he is hopeful that the pilot will prove itself, making overnight parking less offensive to opponents, Segal adds, "I will support its expansion on a democratic basis — if 75 percent of residents in the historic district [on the East Side] oppose it, it won’t be an issue."

MORE THAN A PARKING SPACE

Residents like Washington Park’s Ray Dempsey, for whom pickings are slim at best, have been eager to park (legally) on the street for a while. Luna — who receives occasional calls from Dempsey, inquiring when the program will begin — says the priority is to first help those residents with no parking, and then those who live in multi-family homes where the driveway is too small to fit multiple cars. "You end up having to buy a car that fits your driveway, not your family," says Luna who shuttles his three children in an SUV.

As we drive through Washington Park, Luna’s enthusiasm for the pilot increases visibly with each house we pass. "The solution is obvious," he says, gesturing wildly at cars parked two abreast on front lawns. "Let people park in the street."

In response to concerns that streets will be too narrow with cars lining the curb, organizers promise minimum-width requirement for a street to be included. And Luna, like most proponents, views on-street parking as a natural barrier against speeding. "That’s the best part of this thing," he says. "You really won’t be able to speed, because you know if you don’t slow down you’re going to hit cars. The city will save thousands of dollars in damaged property." Up ahead, a group of kids chase a ball into the road. As Luna brakes to let them pass, he notes how they are most likely playing in the street because their backyards have been paved over to make space for parking.

Indeed, away from the East Side and a few other parts of town, asphalt grows like grass, and grass, well, makes way for asphalt. An environmental consequence of these tar-studded yards is the "heat island" effect: when vegetation is replaced with pavement, the surface absorbs the sun’s heat, rather than reflecting it, causing both surface and air temperatures to rise. A 2003 study that mapped vegetative cover and daytime land-surface temperature in Providence, conducted by Brown’s Department of Environmental Studies, found that the surface temperature was as high as 109 degrees on summer days in the city’s densest residential and commercial districts (13 degrees higher than those neighborhoods, like College Hill or Blackstone, with plenty of trees). Not surprisingly, the hottest areas were found in the dense center and southeastern parts of the city, encompassing Dempsey’s residence in Washington Park.

A related concern for activists such as Rachel Newman Greene, the neighborhood revitalization coordinator for the Elmwood Foundation, is how air quality is worse in areas with less green space, causing higher asthma rates. And while some feel safer with fewer cars parked overnight, Greene takes a different view. Citing a lack of "safe, normal nighttime activity," she feels that "without people on the street, those who would be there for legitimate reasons get filled in by people who are there for illegitimate reasons." Similarly, Segal voices concern for residents who have to walk "late at night or early in the morning," when forced to park their car in a lot blocks from their residence.

Paving over green space also raises concerns about the hydrological effects of storm run-off. While water that falls on vegetation is soaked up by soil, water falling on pavement has nowhere to go. The run-off created by impermeable surfaces can pose serious threats since the running water picks up chemicals and other city waste along the way (exemplified by the toxic waters flooding New Orleans). Jennifer Cole, of the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program, explains that the more impermeable the surface, the dirtier the water, forcing the city to install more extensive drainage and filtration systems.

But as with Greene, the appeal of on-street parking resonates with Cole foremost as a resident. "I don’t want to hear any complaining from anybody until we’ve tried it," she says. "It’s a quality of life issue. When backyards are paved for parking, people lose their ability to have backyard interactions with their neighbors." To make some neighborhoods better, she says, "You have to allow people to keep their green space."

Indeed, a "livable" city is a literal concern for the city’s lowest-income residents since the cost of monthly parking becomes another hurdle in the hunt for affordable housing. A parking space can increase rent $50 to $100 per month, depending on the neighborhood. For low-income car-owners, housing costs often preclude a legal place to park their car. In the same way, landlords sometimes have difficulty finding suitable tenants when parking is not provided.

Under the right circumstances, the automobile persists as an American icon of freedom and mobility. But with the hassle of finding a parking place in many Providence neighborhoods – on top on surging gas prices, high taxes, insurance costs, and even the president urging Americans not to drive so much — a car can increasingly become a burden.

Sarah Goldstein can be reached at sarahgo@gmail.com.