So, what firm is in charge of prepaid parking for Brooklyn arena-goers? ParkWhiz gets some press, while official operator Click and Park seems not quite finished with its plan
There was an odd article posted yesterday on Capital New York headlined A Chicago parking company prepares to take advantage of a 'bad situation' at Barclays Arena, since it focused on what is apparently an upstart competitor to the Barclays Center's planned parking partner, with no mention of the latter.
After sketching the neighborhood demand for residential permit parking and the arena operators' emphasis on mass transit, the article states:
The article seemed based on a press release or tip from ParkWhiz, not ongoing coverage of Atlantic Yards.
As I commented, ParkWhiz has a national competitor called Click and Park.
Since May, Barclays Center operators have said they're working with Click and Park to sign up most of the parking garages close to the arena and that arena goers will be able to reserve parking space when they buy tickets on the arena web site.
While the Click and Park website does not mention the Barclays Center connection, it does operate a website called BarclayParking, which is not quite ready for prime time, since, as shown below, the "General Information" section contains placeholder latinate.
Nor is it possible to buy parking--or "parking permits"--at this point.
However, as the map above indicates, Click and Park has signed up several garages, including at Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Center mall and at the Newswalk building at 700 Pacific Street. No pricing is yet available.
The back story
As I wrote 5/25/12, summarizing the release of the Barclays Center Transportation Demand Management plan, arena consultant Sam Schwartz explained, "We've engaged with a firm... Click and Park, an online parking management system. The software will be seamless with the Barclays Center software. So when you've gone through all the discouragements of driving, and you elect to drive, you will then go to the Click and Park site... we will try to entice you with low-cost parking at the remote parking facility. That low-cost parking will be pegged at at least 50% off the market rate at the arena."
"If not, we will connect with some of the off-site parking facilities--again, a reservation system so you can directly to that parking facility without doing circulation," he said. "One of the worst problems that could come up is circulation. If we can get people directly into parking facilities where they've already reserved, we will reduce circulation."
"And also we will have HOV [high occupancy vehicles] spaces... to have three or more people in their cars," he said. "That way you can also reduce the number of cars to the arena." Unmentioned: the number of HOV spaces on-site has been cut.
"Again, for those people who still decide to try to drive to the arena, we're going to spread them out," he said, "in some 20 locations that are within a half mile or less, walking distance, to the arena. Click and Park is in the process of meeting with these parking operators, to get them to sign up to the parking reservation system.... Money doesn't change hands. Everything is done electronically."
An odd map
Note that the map on the Click and Park site (right) is misleading, since it doesn't outline the arena building and highlights the entrance to the arena plaza.
I suspect the entrances along Dean Street and Atlantic Avenue more likely would be used by arena-goers coming from the south and east.
After sketching the neighborhood demand for residential permit parking and the arena operators' emphasis on mass transit, the article states:
Where's Click and Park?Meanwhile, a Chicago-based company that allows drivers to find nearby parking lots online and book spaces ahead of time, is preparing to capitalize on the chaos.
Map from ParkWhiz, with arena at center
"We want to be here to help people make the best of a bad situation," said Justin Baker, the marketing manager of the company, ParkWhiz, which positions itself as the Expedia of the driving world and connects drivers with millions of parking spots via its website.
...In April, the site began marketing parking spots in two private lots within walking distance of the arena: the Prospect Heights ParkRight at 315 St. Mark's Avenue, between Underhill and Washington avenues, about 10 blocks from the stadium; and the Downtown Brooklyn ParkRight at Gold and Tillary streets, also about a 10-block hike. Six more are expected to go live before Jay-Z's opening show in September.
By the way, the lowest prices at the more distant ParkWhiz lot, at Gold and Tillary, are quite reasonable: $7.70 (with fees) for a show. It is a hike down Flatbush Avenue, perhaps worth a subway or bus ride. And it would become less attractive in colder weather.
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| Map from Click and Park, with arena at center |
As I commented, ParkWhiz has a national competitor called Click and Park.
Since May, Barclays Center operators have said they're working with Click and Park to sign up most of the parking garages close to the arena and that arena goers will be able to reserve parking space when they buy tickets on the arena web site.
While the Click and Park website does not mention the Barclays Center connection, it does operate a website called BarclayParking, which is not quite ready for prime time, since, as shown below, the "General Information" section contains placeholder latinate.
Nor is it possible to buy parking--or "parking permits"--at this point.
However, as the map above indicates, Click and Park has signed up several garages, including at Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Center mall and at the Newswalk building at 700 Pacific Street. No pricing is yet available.
The back story
As I wrote 5/25/12, summarizing the release of the Barclays Center Transportation Demand Management plan, arena consultant Sam Schwartz explained, "We've engaged with a firm... Click and Park, an online parking management system. The software will be seamless with the Barclays Center software. So when you've gone through all the discouragements of driving, and you elect to drive, you will then go to the Click and Park site... we will try to entice you with low-cost parking at the remote parking facility. That low-cost parking will be pegged at at least 50% off the market rate at the arena."
"If not, we will connect with some of the off-site parking facilities--again, a reservation system so you can directly to that parking facility without doing circulation," he said. "One of the worst problems that could come up is circulation. If we can get people directly into parking facilities where they've already reserved, we will reduce circulation."
"And also we will have HOV [high occupancy vehicles] spaces... to have three or more people in their cars," he said. "That way you can also reduce the number of cars to the arena." Unmentioned: the number of HOV spaces on-site has been cut.
"Again, for those people who still decide to try to drive to the arena, we're going to spread them out," he said, "in some 20 locations that are within a half mile or less, walking distance, to the arena. Click and Park is in the process of meeting with these parking operators, to get them to sign up to the parking reservation system.... Money doesn't change hands. Everything is done electronically."
An odd map
Note that the map on the Click and Park site (right) is misleading, since it doesn't outline the arena building and highlights the entrance to the arena plaza.
I suspect the entrances along Dean Street and Atlantic Avenue more likely would be used by arena-goers coming from the south and east.
Are people really going to walk that far to park? Won't they be more likely to jam the locations closer to the arena, including street parking?
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