Commuting to work via train is exasperating and expensive—add on the stress of parking and the threat of tickets, and it becomes madness.
At the Hicksville Long Island Railroad (LIRR) station, there are 2,603 total spots, which includes 1,440 in the town parking garage. Of the total spots, 1,531 are permit spots and 618 are unrestricted, according to the Town of Oyster Bay public information office. Though that sounds like plenty, the sheer volume of passengers commuting from the station makes every morning a mad dash for parking.
Danny Alter from Plainview commutes to the city via the Hicksville train and parks at the garage at the corner of Duffy Avenue and Newbridge Road. He usually gets there before 7:30 a.m., but says it’s a chaotic scene.
“The line of cars goes back to Broadway. You get cars from all directions,” says Alter. “And once it’s filled you have no chance.”
He says he usually leaves himself an hour buffer before his train but there have been occasions where he hasn’t found a spot in the garage or lot, and has had to drive into the city to get to work.
“I’ve been late a few times,” says Alter. “We need more spaces and other places to park because there’s nowhere else after the garage and lot, there’s no side streets or alternatives so you get locked out.”
Hicksville’s Ness Tarhan also parks at the garage and says its usually pretty busy, with the exception of Fridays. Most days, she gets to the garage by 7:30 a.m.
“They do a good job of managing the garage, but I wish there was another level. There’s much more demand than what’s available,” said Tarhan. “Sometimes I go to another lot and just pay for parking.”
For some commuters, getting a spot closer to the station is essential. Hicksville’s Joe Giammanco gets to the station 30 minutes before his 6:25 a.m. train to make sure he can get a handicapped spot. There are 52 handicap spots, and Giammanco says they go fast.
“If I go any later than 6 a.m., I have to park far away and walk,” says Giammanco, who has been commuting for 30 years. “They should add a second row for handicapped parking.”
The Town of Oyster Bay oversees parking lots at the Hicksville, Syosset, Bethpage, Massapequa, Glen Head, Locust Valley and Oyster Bay train stations. In those stations combined, there are less than 10,000 town permit parking spots available—however, the town said it currently has 27,604 active permits issued.
According to the public information office, the town issues more parking permits than there are spaces because “many town residents only use parking periodically.” They also said residents can use their Town parking permit at other stations within the town.
In a statement, the Town of Oyster Bay said, “the Town of Oyster Bay is consistently working with its residents to meet the demands for railroad station parking, especially at its most utilized lots. This process is a delicate balance between an increasing ridership and a limited amount of parking. The town is also working with the MTA, which ultimately is the beneficiary of increased ridership, to address the concerns commuters have expressed with respect to limited parking and increased demand for spots.”
While more residents will head into the city by rail road from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, MTA officials say the increased ridership is typically during its off-peak period, like weekends and evenings. Passengers who plan to leave for the city before daily commuters can get back to their cars will face a parking shortage.
“People should know that if they are planning to go into the city, parking [around the station] can be a little bit of a problem,” said LIRR spokesman Salvatore Arena. “Parking availability becomes more difficult during the holiday season simply because of the volume.”
Even so, Arena said people should not be deterred from taking mass transit. “It’s better to go into the city by train rather than by car,” Arena said. “Even after the morning rush, you tend to have a simpler day if you use mass transit.”
—Additional reporting by Dan Offner
