NEW YORK – The New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez is announcing the launch of the agency’s Overnight Truck Parking Pilot, which introduces a new metered parking option in select industrial business zones (IBZ) for commercial vehicles, including large tractor trailers, in an effort to improve parking compliance and minimize overnight truck parking in residential areas.
“As the nation’s largest city and a global hub for commerce, New York City depends on the movement of goods to drive our economy forward, but we must also protect neighborhood livability and street safety,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This Overnight Truck Parking Pilot is a win-win that will add 45 spaces for tractor trailers to communities long burdened by unregulated truck parking — supporting our vital trucking industry, reducing illegal overnight parking in our residential communities, and providing truck drivers with the rest they need in a safe and regulated environment. We will continue to build a city where safety, commerce, and quality of life can all thrive together.”
One Year Trial
The pilot will run for one year encouraging businesses to ensure compliance with parking regulations while providing drivers with safe and convenient parking options during legally-mandated rest periods, according to a NYCDOT press release.
“We understand the importance of truck deliveries in New York City and our goals is to make them as safe, seamless, and environmentally-friendly as possible,” said Ydanis Rodriguez NYCDOT Commissioner. “Too often, residential areas and working-class communities bear the burden of illegal overnight truck parking. This pilot will address this inequity by offering legal spaces for truck drivers to park in select industrial business zones.”
Selected Zones
The three IBZs selected for the pilot cover areas in three outer boroughs that have been plagued by illegal overnight parking. The pilot will cover corridors within the following IBZs.
- Flatlands/Fairfield IBZ in Brooklyn (Flatlands Avenue from Erskine Street to Fountain Avenue).
- Hunts Point IBZ in The Bronx (Ryawa Avenue from Manida Street to Halleck Street).
- Maspeth IBZ in Queens (56th Road from 43rd Street to 49th Street).
ParkNYC App
According to the release, truck operators will be able to use the ParkNYC app to pay for parking, which will be available 24 hours a day in eight-hour increments at $10 for each 8-hour session Monday through Saturday (there is no payment for parking citywide on Sundays).
“To facilitate seamless parking payments, businesses are encouraged to sign up for a Park NYC Business Account, which will allow for all employee parking transactions to be managed centrally by the business,” the release said. “This account allows companies to manage all employee parking transactions through a single Park NYC wallet, simplifying the payment process for fleet operations. Businesses can ensure compliance with parking regulations while providing drivers with safe and convenient parking options during their mandated rest periods. Truck operators may park for consecutive eight-hour periods, if they choose.”
Freight Managements Efforts
The pilot launch is the latest step in NYCDOT’s freight management efforts to address challenges presented by the increased ordering of goods online and subsequent truck deliveries, which account for nearly 90% of goods, according to the release.
To date, these efforts include:
- Loading Zones: Using its web platform and public feedback, NYCDOT continues to build upon its success in installing loading zones, with over 3,000 loading zones since December 2021 and 500 new ones added last year to combat double parking and blocked bike/bus lanes.
- Blue Highways: This initiative encompasses NYCDOT’s efforts with New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to promote the use of NYC’s waterways to complement roadways, to transport goods in and around the city. By adding marine facilities to the freight effort, the city can reduce its over-reliance on trucks, reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.
- Microhubs: NYCDOT proposed rules last month allowing for a three-year microhubs pilot program to offer safe, dedicated spaces for truck operators to transfer deliveries onto safer and more sustainable modes of transportation for the last leg of delivery, including e-cargo bikes, handcarts, and smaller electric sprinter vans. The rules allow for dedicated on-street spaces for delivery vehicles to transfer goods to safer and more sustainable delivery modes. On-street microhub zones will be about 80-100 feet in length and NYC DOT expects to launch 20 microhubs over the next year.
- Off-Hour Deliveries: NYC DOT’s Off-Hour Deliveries (OHD) program encourages goods delivery during the off-peak hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. in efforts to decrease congestion, double parking, and truck emissions. NYC DOT recently launched its OHD incentives program, offering one-time monetary reimbursements to help businesses make the switch to off-peak deliveries. For more information visit nyc.gov/ohd.
- Commercial Cargo Bikes: Another initiative to address last-mile deliveries in NYC is NYC DOT’s Commercial Cargo Bicycle Program, which encourages companies to use cargo bicycles to make local deliveries by allowing participants to load and unload in commercial vehicle loading zones and at designated cargo bicycle corrals.
- LockerNYC: NYC DOT launched the LockerNYC year-long pilot program last April to give New Yorkers a safe and secure option for package deliveries and returns to cut down on package thefts and reduce the number of delivery truck trips.
- Automatic Camera Enforcement: The city is also enhancing double parking enforcement through its Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) program. In partnership with the MTA, over 1,000 buses across dozens of routes are equipped with cameras that automatically capture double parking violations and bus lane obstructions. Once captured by the cameras, video, images, license plate, location and time stamp information are then transmitted to NYC DOT for review and processing.
Illegal Parking
“Illegally parked trucks have long been a nuisance in Maspeth and many other parts of Queens, so I am happy the DOT is taking steps to address this problem,” said Donovan Richards Jr., Queens Borough president. “This new pilot program will hopefully encourage truck drivers to take advantage of legal parking options in Maspeth and elsewhere and keep trucks from parking overnight in residential neighborhoods. Thank you to Commissioner Rodriguez and his entire team at DOT for being responsive to the public’s concerns about this issue.”
State Senator Roxanne Persuad noted that the program “takes a thoughtful approach to addressing the challenges of illegal overnight truck parking in our neighborhoods.” She also said she was please with the pilot program because it ensures that commercial operations can efficiently manage their fleets while minimizing disruptions to our local communities, calling it “crucial step in the broader efforts to modernize our city’s freight management, reduce congestion, and enhance the quality of life for all New Yorkers.”
Support from other Politicians
“The Overnight Truck Parking Pilot is an important step to bringing much-needed relief to residents who have endured congestion and disruption, as well as to truck operators who have not been given clear guidance on how and where to park their vehicles,” said Claire Valdez, assembly member. “I thank NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez for prioritizing the needs of neighbors, all while enhancing safety for workers and ensuring companies are accountable for a more orderly and better-managed parking system for their employees.”
Council member Chris Banks said the pilot is a step forward in addressing the persistent issue of illegal overnight truck parking in District 42.
“Our residential areas should not be overly congested with commercial vehicles,” Banks said. “This pilot provides businesses with a clear, safe parking option for their drivers, and helps maintain the safety and character of our neighborhoods. I look forward to seeing the launch of this pilot program and other initiatives begin to improve the movement of goods while minimizing the impact it has on our communities. It is important to balance economic needs with quality of life for our residents, and we must keep making strides to make our city safer, more livable, more clean, and more efficient. These efforts will benefit not only businesses and truck drivers but also ensure that our neighborhoods remain vibrant and accessible for everyone.”
Deliveries Increase Truck Traffic
“Deliveries constantly go in and out of the Maspeth IBZ, meaning increased truck traffic and double parking while drivers stop to make deliveries,” said Julie Won, council member. “DOT’s Overnight Truck Parking Pilot will give truck drivers sanctioned spaces to park their trucks while resting, making the streets a safer place for pedestrians, bike riders, and other drivers. Constituents across our district have voiced safety concerns about illegal truck parking and the street safety risks they pose. We look forward to seeing improvements to street congestion and safety as this program progresses.”
Lack of Truck Parking
“Nationally there are 11 trucks on the road for every one parking space nationally,” said Zach Miller, Trucking Association of New York vice president of government affairs. “In a dense urban environment like New York City, this shortage is far worse. The consequences of this shortage force truck drivers to either violate federal hours-of-service regulations that mandate rest breaks, or park in unsafe or unauthorized locations. This is a dangerous choice and is unfair to both the driver and the residents and communities that are impacted. This pilot program represents a meaningful step in the right direction—ensuring that drivers have access to parking during their rest hours so that freight can continue to move safely and efficiently throughout the five boroughs, while providing relief to neighborhoods that are impacted by overnight truck parking.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
