This fall, San Francisco hopes to do what New York City didn't: successfully combat congestion.

But the city's plan isn't to control the number of people entering the city. Instead, San Francisco hopes to cut congestion by reducing the number of drivers roaming the blocks in search of curbside parking.

Not-so-fun fact: According to the city's DOT, it's illegal to lock you bike to anything other than a bicycle rack. Thankfully, it's not a law that seems to be enforced, but anyone who's commuted by bicycle long enough will have the experience of finding the sign you locked your bike to removed so workers can tear up the sidewalk.

When Carlos Martinez bicycles to work in Manhattan from his home in Jackson Heights, Queens, he must ride along Northern Boulevard, a broad and busy thoroughfare, before crossing the Queensboro Bridge and heading south on Second Avenue toward the East Village. It is a commute that few bicyclists would relish.

And this is the compromise? The judge who oversees the Supreme Court workers who park their cars in a section of Columbus Park next to Borough Hall will now allow Brooklyn Law School students to park in the lot after hours. The move comes after the judge, former Councilman Abe Gerges, vowed to find a compromise that would satisfy his car-driving judges and Brooklyn Heights resident who want their park back. Those residents say Gerges failed miserably.

The small tree-lined parking area adjacent to 360 Adams St. has been used as a judicial parking lot for a number of years. And this, surprisingly, seems to rankle some people.

In the interests of full disclosure, I confess that I once regularly used this parking area on a regular basis. Granted it was a different time and a different era -- it was when I was a hard-working night student at Brooklyn Law School.

NEW YORK — New York City drivers waste hundreds of thousands of miles just looking for a parking space.

That's the finding of a new study by the group Transportation Alternatives.

The study estimates that circling for a space burns $130,000 a year in gas – not to mention about 50,000 hours of the drivers' time. And the resulting emissions hurt the environment.

Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal is urging the city's Department of Transportation to explore changes in the parking meter system.

NEW YORK - New York City drivers waste hundreds of thousands of miles just looking for a parking space.

That's the finding of a new study by the group Transportation Alternatives.

The study estimates that circling for a space burns $130,000 a year in gas - not to mention about 50,000 hours of the drivers' time. And the resulting emissions hurt the environment.

Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal is urging the city's Department of Transportation to explore changes in the parking meter system.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City drivers waste hundreds of thousands of miles just looking for a parking space.

That's the finding of a new study by the group Transportation Alternatives.

The study estimates that circling for a space burns $130,000 a year in gas - not to mention about 50,000 hours of the drivers' time. And the resulting emissions hurt the environment.

Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal is urging the city's Department of Transportation to explore changes in the parking meter system.

NEW YORK -- New York City drivers waste hundreds of thousands of miles just looking for a parking space.

That's the finding of a new study by the group Transportation Alternatives.

The study estimates that circling for a space burns $130,000 a year in gas -- not to mention about 50,000 hours of the drivers' time. And the resulting emissions hurt the environment.

Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal is urging the city's Department of Transportation to explore changes in the parking meter system.

Transportation Alternatives announces the launch of "Designing the 21st Century Street," an open design competition that will challenge New Yorkers to safely accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, trucks and cars on the same "complete street" – something that still eludes New York City street design. Those interested in entering must register by July 18th and submit their entries by August 18th.