It turns out that New York City�s streets actually are paved with gold�its tens of thousands of parking meters could be worth $5 billion or more if privatized.

City officials are looking at how other cash-strapped municipalities have already auctioned off the long-term rights to their meters for hundreds of millions of dollars�and say the move could work for the Apple.

Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith�assigned by Mayor Bloomberg to find innovative ways to cut spending and increase revenues�liked the idea enough to bring it up at a city Department of Transportation meeting.

Officials confirmed that the proposal had been discussed. Still, they added that it�s not likely to be acted on in the immediate future, given that such a one-shot sell-off of such a revenue generator is out of line with Bloomberg�s pledge not to saddle future generations with debts.

�We�re always looking at different opportunities for new good ideas,� said mayoral spokesman Marc LaVorgna. �But it�s not something we�re pursuing right now.�

Still, if the city�s fiscal situation gets desperate enough, the plan could shift quickly to cashing in on the meters.

New York City�s meters produced $138.9 million for the city treasury last year and provided jobs to 125 Department of Transportation employees who repair and maintain them.

By some estimates, the city�s 50,402 single-space meters and 4,834 Muni Meters could command at least $5 billion if sold to a private firm to run.

Goldsmith was enthusiastic about the idea even before he took office.

�This isn�t rocket science,� he wrote in Governing magazine in January, six months before he joined the administration. �Most citizens couldn�t care less who takes the coins out of their parking meters.�

Chicago became the first city in the nation to privatize its meters in December 2008, but not without controversy.

For an upfront payment of $1.15 billion, Mayor Richard Daley gave up revenues from 36,000 downtown meters for 75 years. He also gave up the hefty maintenance bill for the meters.

Critics denounced the deal as a giveaway, especially after the proceeds were used to prop up Chicago�s budget that year instead of being invested in long-term capital projects or a rainy-day fund.

�Oh, no!� Chicago Alderman Scott Wauguespack exclaimed after being told that New York officials were studying what his city had done.

�It filled the budget gap for one year,� he said. �Now, we�ve lost our revenue stream for the next 70 or so years.�

Parking rates in some Chicago neighborhoods quadrupled as part of the agreement with a private investor group led by Morgan Stanley.

The highest rate increase was in the section of Chicago known as the Loop, where the rate jumped 75 cents in January, to $4.25 an hour.

Last week, Pittsburgh followed Chicago�s example and sold a 50-year lease on its parking meters for $452 million. The money will go to shore up its pension funds.

Indianapolis�which Goldsmith once headed as mayor�and Los Angeles are examining similar moves.

(Source: NY Post)