Parking in Scarsdale: A Complex Issue

If you’ve ever been confused about where you are permitted to park in Scarsdale Village, for how long and how to pay, you’re not alone. Scarsdale’s parking rubric is a complex system of metered parking and permit parking which can be paid at pay stations, via Pango or through the purchase of permits of varying lengths.

Take a look at the graphic above to see the mix of parking solutions ranging from 20 minutes to 12 hour spots.

How well are Scarsdale’s parking systems serving residents, non-residents, shoppers, diners and commuters and what can be done to improve them? That was the subject of a work session of the Village Board of Trustees on June 17, 2025.

Deputy Village Manager Stephen Shallo gave a comprehensive presentation about parking permit fees, usage, demand and revenue.

Fees for parking permits, on-street meters and Pango generate significant revenue for the Village with $1,092,657 from permits, $811,376 from parking meters and $363,356 from Pango, for a total of $2.26mm per year. See the breakdown of these fees here:

The chart below shows that demand for spaces near the station and a Christie Place is strong, while the parking garage at Freightway is underutilized by both residents and non-residents.

Shallo outlined a host of questions about how to maximize usage, revenue and serve the community.

Here are some challenges

-One of the main complaints from those who visit the Village is that it is often difficult to find a place to park. According to the Scarsdale Business Alliance though merchants can park at Freightway, they often do not, citing the distance and safety concerns. This results in merchants parking in the public spaces, leaving fewer spots for customers, shoppers and diners.

-For those who use Pango, some report a lack of internet connectivity with the app in the Village. Sometimes the app prepopulates with the wrong parking zone, resulting in parking tickets. And since there are 18 Pango zones, this can be confusing. To address this, Shallo recommended consolidating these zones by parking meter limits, though consolidating the number of zones will diminish the ability of the Village to track and analyze parking by location.

-Currently, there is no overnight parking permitted in the Village. All parking ends at 11 pm. This leaves some Village residents with nowhere to leave their cars overnight.

Recommendations

Shallo reviewed some operational recommendations for permit holders using vendors IPS or FBS for the parking portals.

He recommended adjusting the time limits for meters at different locations as follows with the goal of providing drivers with more flexibility when visiting the business district:

East Parkway meters:

Increase 90 minute meters between Popham Road and Christie Place to two hours.
Decrease 8-hour meters between Christie Place and Crane Road to 4 hour meters.

Chase Road meters

Increase 90 minute meters between Popham Road and Boniface Circle to 2 hour meters.

Since different meters have different hours of operation, some beginning at 6 am and others at 8 am he recommended making these consistent to be in effect from 6 am to 6 pm.

To address the need for overnight parking for people living in the Village, he recommended offering overnight parking permits from 11 pm to 6 am at the Christie Place Garage.

Shallo said that some residents have expressed frustration with the process for renewing permits, as there is no preference given to those who currently have a permit. He recommended giving existing permit holders a two-week renewal period and then making permits available to all.

To address the issue of merchant parking, he said that currently merchants are allowed to purchase resident parking permits, which reduces the number of spaces available to residents. He recommended restricting merchants to merchant permits only. In order to encourage merchants to park in the Freightway lot, he recommended that they be permitted to park on levels 5 and 4.

Currently parking at Christie Place is free on Saturdays. In order to make parking consistent with other locations in the Village which requirement payment for Saturdays, he recommended charging for parking at Christie Place on Saturdays.

There’s more information and recommendations to review here:

Though no formal changes were made following the presentation, the board was in agreement about offering a limited number of permits for overnight parking at Christie Place from 11 pm to 6 am for those who require it.

At the conclusion of the meeting there was time for public comment.

Marian Green of 43 Butler Road who is the Chair of the Council on People with Disabilities expressed the need for accommodations for the handicapped. She suggested that people who are in handicapped parking spaces should get extra time on the meter. She said, “In White Plains you pay for 1 hour and get 3 in a handicapped spot. If you can’t find a handicapped spot, you could park with your permit and get extra time and extra space.” She asked to have some input into the parking decisions. Saying “We would like to be counted.”

Susan Douglass discussed a parking study done by the Scarsdale Forum’s Municipal Service Committee who monitored parking in Freightway, in the open lot, the Beatty lot and merchant parking. They found that Freightway was vastly underutilized.

Douglass said, “The downtown should be lively and utilized. People don’t want to park in indoor lots. They complain because the metered spots are filled. The merchants park there and fill up the spots rather than parking at Freightway. We recommend that the Village offer discounts to park at Freightway and leave the street parking for the shoppers and diners.

David Lampert said he requires overnight parking and said that excess capacity could be leveraged.

If you have questions about parking feel free to reach out to Deputy Village Manager Stephen Shallo at [email protected] or 914-722-1108.

Read the entire report here.