No more Muni for nothing.
City Council members want to give drivers a grace period at Muni Meters so they no longer have to feed the machines past the time when paid-parking rules end for the day.
The legislation, set to be introduced Wednesday, seeks to “round up” the time stamp on Muni Meter pay stubs, eliminating the common practice of drivers paying for unnecessary parking time.
For example, someone who pays for street parking through 6:49 p.m. — in a zone where paid parking ends at 7 p.m. — would have their payment extended through 7 p.m.
The time extension would be printed on the pay stub in order to prevent traffic- enforcement officers from having to do the math for each vehicle whose time stamp expires before the conclusion of parking rules.
The exact length of the grace period would be determined by the smallest unit of time that can be bought for each parking zone — such as 15 minutes per quarter in some areas.
“It is not only inconvenient for people to have to stop whatever they are doing and run out and pay a meter when there are only a few minutes left before the parking rules are no longer in effect – but when they do, in most cases they are paying a fee for a service they are not receiving,” said minority leader Vincent Ignizio (R-Staten Island), the lead sponsor of the initiative.
At some Muni Meters, drivers are forced to shell out as much as $3.50 in unnecessary payments just to gain a few extra minutes of parking time.
The measure already has the support of 21 other members – meaning it’s is just four votes shy of passing the 51-member body even though it hasn’t yet been formally introduced.
If approved, the law would not apply to drivers who first park at a Muni-meter just before parking rules end for the day.
Only drivers who have previously put in money would be eligible for the grace period.
Council sources said they didn’t have an immediate estimate of how much revenue the city was poised to lose if the measure passes, but that it could result in fewer parking tickets being issued.
The initiative would cover Muni-meters – or any parking meter that dispenses a pay stub for display in vehicle windows – in all five boroughs.