Crowded lot gets 25 spots added by town

The Island Now

Twenty-five parking spaces have been added to the Long Island Rail Road station lot in Roslyn in response to commuter complaints about a lack of available spots.

The North Hempstead-owned lot is primarily used by commuters taking the train to Manhattan for work, but lot users were reporting that about 20 spaces were being taken by noncommuters, Councilman Peter Zuckerman said.

A number of new office buildings and businesses near the train station added to the congestion in the lot, according to a news release issued on Thursday.

As a fix, the town had the lot re-striped to create more spaces, increasing the total number to 263.

“We are hoping that the addition of 25 parking spaces will alleviate the lack of parking issue and will make our constituents’ daily commute a bit less stressful,” Zuckerman said.

In June, the town  began seeking remedies for the limited parking, including the addition of spaces and the possibility of  paid permits restricting lot use during commuter hours.

Nearby train lots, such as the Manhasset and Port Washington stations, have a parking permit system, which charges drivers to preserve their use as  commuter lots. 

The Roslyn station currently doesn’t have a fee system and Zuckerman said he fears the added spaces will continue to be used by noncommuters if there is no restriction in place.

Depending on how the space increase goes, a survey of lot users may be conducted to determine how frequently they use the lot and gauge opinion on a fee system, according to the release.

“Nothing has been finalized,” Zuckerman said in June. “We want to hear from the commuters. We don’t want to do anything the residents don’t want.”

Since the parking lot was acquired by North Hempstead in the 1980s, an agreement between LIRR and the state prevented regulation of the lot’s use based on residency.

Other stations with a permit system have restricted hours during commuter times, only allowing permit-holders to use the lot. 

Outside of those hours, available spaces are open to everyone.

Officials are continuing to look at options that will relieve commuter parking issues in Roslyn.

“The town has also been in discussions with the LIRR to determine if any other changes can be made to the lot that would further increase the number of available spaces,” Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said. “We are doing all that we can to alleviate the parking difficulties with some creative solutions.”

by Chris Adams

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