Residents in Pelham Parkway say hard-to-find parking is about to get even more difficult once the parking lot at the corner of Bronx Park East and Bronxdale Avenue turns into a permit-only parking lot.

The Department of Transportation says it has had this plan in the works since at least late 2022 when it was presented to Community Board 11’s Transportation Committee, per a DOT document shared within Community Board 11.

The move came in part to make room for electric vehicles and charging stations.

DOT sources tell News 12 that the plan is also “providing more ADA accessible spaces, creating more permit parking in the area by moving the White Plains [Road parking lot] permits to the new Bronxdale municipal lot, and creating metered parking for daily use.”

However, residents tell News 12 that they relied on the accessible and safe parking provided by this once-free and unregulated lot.

Now, to park here, residents will need a quarterly permit, which the DOT says costs $290.

Additionally, already-existing permits at the nearby White Plains Road Municipal North Lot were moved to the Bronxdale lot. Neighbors like longtime resident Diana Finch say by the time they caught wind of the changes, many of the permits for this upcoming quarter of Sept. 1-Nov. 30 were already taken by drivers from the White Plains Road lot. Finch also says DOT told her that local residents could not be prioritized in the permit application process in emails shared with News 12.

If you need to purchase a permit, the application process for the next quarter starts on Sept. 1, and applications must be postmarked Sept. 1 or later.

Nevertheless, other groups are still pushing back against the changes. The Friends of Pelham Parkway is holding a rally on Saturday Aug. 24 at the Bronxdale lot at 11:30 a.m. Roxanne Delgado of the group told News 12 in a statement that the Department of Transportation has not addressed the community’s concerns over affordable parking.