Thomas MacMillan File Photo
Aldermen approved a deal with a car-sharing company — with a condition that may pave the way for expansion of the service into “underserved areas” of the city.
The approval came at Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Board of Aldermen, where legislators considered a deal with Zipcar, the short-term car rental outfit. The company bills itself as a cheap and environmentally friendly way for people without cars to run errands and do day trips.
Under the deal, the city will enter into an agreement with Zipcar, Yale University, and the parking authority. Zipcar will have two dedicated spots in the parking garage at Union Station to store its cars. They will join 26 other Zipcars currently available — all on the Yale campus — for hire in New Haven. Zipcar members pay an annual fee and then an hourly rate for their use of the cars.
The deal has been revised several times as a result of objections from West Rock Alderman Darnell Goldson. After doing away with a clause that could have forced the parking authority to pay Zipcar a monthly fee, Goldson objected to the city giving away parking spots for free in a garage with a five-year waiting list. He also called on the company to expand it service into some of New Haven’s poorer neighborhoods.
Thomas MacMillan File Photo
On Tuesday night, Goldson (pictured) won approval for an amendment that could help with that expansion. He convinced his colleagues to unanimously pass an amendment ordering the city’s Office of Sustainability to present a plan to alderman within 60 days outlining the “ways and means to ensure that any additional Zipcar locations are first put in the underserved neighborhoods of New Haven including but not limited to: West Rock, Dixwell, Fair Haven Newhallville, the Hill, Cedar Hill, Dwight and West River.”
That won’t necessarily force Zipcar to put vehicles in West Rock, but it could provide aldermen with leverage next time Zipcar wants to expand its operation in New Haven.
East Rock Alderman Justin Elicker, chair of the City Services and Environmental Policy Committee that vetted the deal, recognized Goldson’s bargaining skills. “I’d like to thanks my colleague from the 30th Ward for helping us get a better deal with Zipcar.”
Elicker went on to praise the deal as a means to provide “economically challenged” New Haveners with a means of getting around.
“I still have a level of uncomfortableness with this item,” Goldson said. “We are giving away a resource for nothing.” He mentioned a five-year waiting list for spots in the Union Station parking garage. He then offered his amendment, calling for a expansion plan study. “If we’re going to give away a resource, let’s at least get something in return.”
Elicker noted that Church Street South, the housing project near the train station, will now have easy access to Zipcars.
Goldson’s amendment and the approval of the Zipcar deal both passed unanimously. Fair Haven Alderwoman Migdalia Castro, an employee of the New Haven Parking Authority, abstained.