|
Enviro-Incentives
Hybrid vehicle owners get parking perks next year
By Ben Torter
 |
|
This car, developed by EnergyCS and Valence
Technology, Inc., gets 125 miles per gallon.
Photo by Getty Images |
Just in case good karma isn’t enough of an incentive for you to help
reduce global warming, the city of
Miami Beach will begin giving parking discounts and
other rewards to people who drive hybrids and
low-emissions vehicles (ILEV) on Jan. 15.
People driving state-approved environmentally friendly vehicles can
get 25 percent off the price of residential parking
permits and monthly parking rates at municipal
garages and lots in
Miami Beach. The first 500 takers can purchase
decals that allow them to park in any on-street
metered space for up to 15 hours per day for $365
per year, or $1 per day. Additionally, the city has
set aside six spots in its 42nd Street garage for
environmentally friendly vehicles.
Miami Beach Commissioner Richard Steinberg sponsored the 12-month
pilot program that he said he hopes to expand. The
commission unanimously voted it into action Dec. 12.
“Today, we must take measures to address the environmental issues
that affect our communities and, ultimately, our
quality of life,” Steinberg said. “If everyone does
their part, we can reverse the trends of global
warming.”
Scientists have proven that greenhouse gases, namely carbon
dioxide, emitted by cars and trucks are major
contributors to global warming and the melting of
the polar icecaps, which in turn is causing sea
levels to rise. This is of particular concern in
coastal cities such as
Miami Beach. A one-meter sea level rise would put
most of Miami Beach under water. With Arctic Sea ice
melting at a record-breaking rate this summer,
experts worry the rise in sea levels is occurring
faster than previously thought. The warmer ocean
temperatures also make way for stronger and more
frequent hurricanes.
Steinberg heralded his green parking program as the first in the
state, and hopes other cities will follow suit.
The Florida Department of Transportation already allows drivers of
hybrids and low-emissions vehicles to drive in
high-occupancy vehicle lanes without any passengers.
And Gov. Charlie Crist has talked about following
California’s lead and setting higher gas mileage and
emission standards than the federal government
requires.
That effort suffered a blow on Dec. 19, when President George W.
Bush signed an energy bill requiring automakers to
increase average fuel efficiency by 40 percent to 35
miles per gallon on new vehicles by 2020. The bill
also takes away the rights of individual states to
increase efficiency requirements for car
manufacturers.
“It is disappointing that the federal government is standing in our
way and ignoring the will of tens of millions of
people across the nation,” California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger said after Bush signed the bill into
law. He vowed to fight it.
Most hybrid vehicles already meet the Bush administration’s 2020
goals for fuel efficiency.
While the 2008 Toyota Prius gets an estimated 48 miles per gallon
in the city and 45 on the highway, the most
efficient American-made hybrid, the Ford Escape
Hybrid, only gets 34 miles per gallon in the city
and 30 on the highway.
Miami Beach’s
fleet management department owns both vehicles — the
parking department uses two Toyota Priuses and the
public works department has a Ford Escape.
“We are currently looking at other areas where we can place future
[hybrid/ILEV] vehicles,” media relations officer
Nannette Rodriguez said.
Hybrid vehicles combine traditional gasoline-powered engines with
electrical power. They switch, in varying degrees,
from one to the other depending on driving
conditions. When stopped at a light, for instance,
the hybrid automatically switches to electric power,
which is part of the reason they tend to get even
better gas mileage in the city.
Lyle Wexler, who doesn’t drive a hybrid but who does hunt for a
parking space in South Beach every day, thinks the
parking incentives are a good thing, but isn’t so
sure they do much to make hybrid drivers’ lives any
easier.
“God bless them, but good luck in finding that cheap parking spot,”
Wexler said. “In all seriousness, we’ve got a real
situation with natural energy in this world. The
truth of the matter is, we’re going to have to
eventually do something, because not only are we
killing the planet, but we’re running out of natural
resources. Actually, I think it’s a good idea. We’ve
got to change people’s mind-sets away from buying
cars with 500 horsepower that get eight miles to the
gallon.”
Luiz Rodrigues, executive director of the Environmental Coalition
of Miami Beach, said the parking incentives are a
good first step but that they don’t go far enough.
“Definitively giving more incentives to alternative vehicle owners
is very important,” Rodrigues said. “But I’d like to
see no charge at all. Even 50 percent would have
been good, but 25 percent wasn’t enough.”
For a list of vehicles that qualify for the pilot program, visit
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor
Vehicles Web site at www.hsmv.state.fl.us/dmv/HOV.html
and click on the ILEV/Hybrid List link.
Hybrid parking permits will go on sale Jan. 15 at the Miami Beach
Parking Department,
309 23rd St.,
Miami Beach. For more information, call
305-673-7505.
Comments? E-mail
ben@miamisunpost.com |
