Park your wallet right here, drivers.
City officials want a widespread expansion of a pilot program where parking-meter rates are dramatically raised depending on where and what time a motorist is hunting for a spot, sources said yesterday.
The plan comes a day after Mayor Bloomberg revealed his budget for next fiscal year, which includes hiking rates at more than 60,000 Muni and single-space meters from 75 cents to $1 per hour in residential areas and from $2.50 to $3 in commercial zones.
Under the new proposal, the price to park would be higher during the busiest times at certain locations around the city — with the intention to bring metered rates more in line with the demands of the consumer market.
Currently, a driver can park for several hours in a metered spot for only a few dollars, while a nearby parking garage may cost 10 to 20 times as much.
It’s not clear how high rates would rise and when they would go into effect, and sources said different prices could be charged in different sections of the city.
Drivers were fuming at the idea.
“I’m absolutely outraged,” said Cynthia Santiago, 23, who works in the West Village. “Parking in New York is unbelievable.”
Drivers said it’s just another way for the city to nickel-and-dime taxpayers. “It’s a rip-off,” said Alecsey Boldeskul, 39, of Brooklyn. “The city needs to close a gap in the budget and one way to do it is raise parking prices. Mayor Bloomberg should leave drivers alone.”
The city recently completed a pilot program to increase meter rates in three neighborhoods — the West Village, Park Slope in Brooklyn and the Upper East Side — in an attempt to free up parking spaces near businesses.
Last year, 71 Muni Meters in the West Village were permanently changed to $3.75 per hour from noon to 4 p.m., and $2.50 per hour at other times.
“Parking-space occupancy declined from 77 percent to 71 percent on Tuesdays and from 75 percent to 69 percent on Fridays during the noon-to-4 p.m. period,” a final study found.
Also, the number of drivers who parked for less than one hour increased from 48 percent to 60 percent.
More than half of the business owners and drivers in the area said parking became easier once the more expensive pilot program went into effect.
That will likely act as the blueprint for expanding the higher rates to Midtown and other neighborhoods, sources said.
In Park Slope, meter rates went to $1.50 per hour from noon to 4 p.m. and 75 cents per hour at all other times. On the Upper East Side, meter rates were hiked to $3.75 per hour during those peak times and were $2.50 per hour all other times.
More ‘change’ a-comin’
* 25-cent increase per hour for parking and Muni meters in residential areas around city
* Plans to expand pilot program where rates are increased at peak hours in some neighborhoods. For instance:
> West Village and Upper East Side: $3.75/hr. from noon-4 p.m., otherwise $2.50
> Park Slope: $1.50/hr. from noon-4 p.m., otherwise 75 cents
* Idea is to discourage motorists from hogging spots near businesses