Loading Zones Regulations

Online comments: 41

• Michael

  I support the amendment but there also needs to be further enforcement and potential significant others penalty for serial abusers.

  The regulation in it’s current form is constantly being abused and not enforced in Manhattan.

  Comment added January 10, 2023 8:56am

• cee

  Need to include language about no idling–turn off motors.
  The current loading/unloading of food items to restaurants from trucks often lasts more than an hour in some areas.
  The current waiting time to pick up passengers from bars and restaurants often lasts more than 1/2 hour in some areas.
  The current loading/unloading of furniture from people moving in and out of apartments often lasts more than an hour in some areas.
  I know that this is currently illegal for short periods of time… but seldom enforced. Meanwhile our air is getting more and more polluted from this practice.
  Once again, you can put these laws into effect; however, if there is no enforcement of the rules, it’s just a waste of time and a lot of hot air coming out of politicians’ mouths and vehicles’ mufflers.

  Comment added January 13, 2023 5:31pm

• Ronnie Wolf

  The use of loading zones in the evenings across or set under a residential building is very problematic in the evening. Who is going to monitor the voices of individuals conversing loudly when they “ think” the area is empty? How about their vehicles idling so they can keep warm or use its lights? DOT must promise the taxpayers who will be most impacted by this action, that these zones won’t be used evenings, under or across the street from residential buildings.

  Comment added January 24, 2023 5:09am

• Richard Morrill

  I support this amendment. I live on Broadway in Tribeca, and parking placard abusers occupy the entirety of the loading zones on my block during working hours. I frequently see the same vehicles parked in loading zones all day every day. This makes it dangerous and inconvenient for me to enter and exit taxis and rideshare vehicles, as I am forced to do so while the vehicle is double parked. Also, because the section of Broadway on which I live only has a single general-purpose traffic lane, the rampant double-parking forces traffic into the bus lane, which degrades bus service.

  I support this rule change specifically banning parking placard from being used in loading zones, and would support even stricter rules to restrict the areas and situations in which parking placard can be used. Our streets are for the benefit of the public, not a handful of city employees who do not want to pay for parking like the rest of us.

  Comment added February 5, 2023 6:40pm

• Sarah

  Please bring attention to the fact that so many city employees use placards for their personal benefit. I see FDNY placards on cars that are parked on the sidewalk, illegal. Double parked, illegal. And my fave on cars with license plates from Jersey and Pennsylvania.

  Comment added February 5, 2023 8:27pm

• Matthew

  The amount of placard abuse in this city is unbelievable. Please do something about it. It’s a both a transportation issue as well as a safety issue. How easy would it be for a terrorist or a mass shooter to fake a placard and park anywhere and kill people? Fix the issue!

  Comment added February 5, 2023 8:39pm

• Pedro Rodriguez

  I agree with this amendment. Loading zones are critical for businesses and residential areas alike. They need to be respected by everyone, even placard users.

  Though I would question the reasoning behind placard use, to begin with. The city needs to stop using cars and parking abuse as a perk for city workers, and that includes the NYPD. The city should start removing placards from circulation and only leave the ones that are truly necessary.

  Comment added February 5, 2023 9:45pm

• Ben

  Placard abuse is costing the city thousands of dollars. The city already subsidizes car ownership with so much available free parking that allows people to leave their private property in public space. So much placard abuse perpetrated by city officials. Increased enforcement is required as well as stronger rules.

  Comment added February 5, 2023 10:08pm

• Paul

  The amount of orange and yellow vests and blatantly fake parking placards is absurd. The fact that the majority of the time, city employees are using these tactics is disturbing. The city needs to focus on ticketing or fining these folks to disincentivise this practice and put that money towards bike lanes and public transit improvements.

  Comment added February 5, 2023 10:29pm

• MICHAEL W SHERMAN

  Very much in favor, loading only zones will improve traffic considerably.

  Comment added February 5, 2023 10:37pm

• Mike b

  Why aren’t all parking placards banned? Do teachers get special privileges to park wherever they please? These abusers should be taking public transportation like the rest of us. Maybe the system would be properly invested in if more people who worked for the city used it.

  Comment added February 5, 2023 10:59pm

• Max Allstadt

  Placard abuse regulations are not going to be enforced until you create a regulatory regime that punishes NYPD Traffic officers who fail to ticket a vehicle that’s abusing a city placard.

  Make it a $100 fine for the first offense. Occasionally send NYPD internal affairs out to try to talk their way out of a placard ticket.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 12:16am

• George

  Thank you for working on codifying rules for unloading goods. Your rules need to include limits on the amount of time a truck can be parked in the loading zones. No more of the 24/7 abuse of public streets like Fresh Direct was guilty of for over a decade at Columbus at 59th st. (until extended water main work and resurfacing chased away the trucks): https://www.reddit.com/r/nyc/comments/n6o046/why_is_freshdirect_allowed_to_let_a_trailer_truck/
  And please enforce this. In California (I don’t know they still do this) they would have a city employee with a brush covered in chalk brush tires and when they returned and the chalk was still there they could ticket the vehicle.
  And as per your intention, definitely forbid blocking of bike lanes with goods, as you can see here: https://imgur.com/SKyZHLv

  Comment added February 6, 2023 3:43am

• Andreas Martinez

  Why are city vehicles made to look like unmarked police vehicles? For instance: FDNY GMC’s are blacked out, you would think they were some type of escort vehicle.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 4:39am

• Binyamin Radensky

  We need more loading zones wherever possible. We also need to ensure that are reserved for those that need them so that UPS, FedEx, moving, and commercial trucks are able to utilize them.

  They are especially important in places that have bike lanes since that is where the deliveries will resort to parking if no loading zone is available.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 7:53am

• John Dillworth

  Who is going to enforce the rules? We have tons of parking regulations, few of which are ever enforced. How will violations be reported? 311? NYPD routinely ignores 311 reports or simply closes them without investigation, particularly when someone with a placard or NYPD paraphernalia is the offender. Unless there is a proposal for real , consistent, fair enforcement any new “rules” are absolutely useless. NYPD can not be counted on to enforce exiting parking laws. Unless you can fix enforcement, save your breath. Marked loading zones = free cop parking. All you are proposing is making more free parking for cops.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 8:13am

• Jason Gers

  Hello and thanks for considering this rule change.
  Loading zones are badly needed across all five boros and all types of neighborhoods. Everyone in this city gets mail and needs food delivered to stores that serve them. Almost everyone takes a taxi once in a while or gets an e-commerce package delivery.
  Loading zones reduce the cost of doing business and prioritize curb space for essential work rather than car storage. They reduce double parking and speed road travel. They reduce bike and bus lane blocking as well as hydrant blocking.
  NYC should adopt loading zones fully and on a massive scale, and adapt whatever rules are necessary to support this evolution.
  Thanks JG 11237

  Comment added February 6, 2023 8:47am

• Ian MacAllen

  It makes no sense to add new rules that will not be enforced. The placard corruption under Mayor Adams has only gotten worse, and illegally parked cars are far more of a problem than delivery vehicles. Mayor Adams talks about law and order, but allows his cronies to park wherever they would like. Law breaks should not be law makers. Adding new laws that will simply be ignored by the very police who expected to enforce them and who are often the same people parking illegally and blocking traffic, loading zones, crosswalks, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes only adds to confusion for actual taxpayers. Before making new parking restrictions, the city first must address the culture of corruption fostered at the top by Mayor Eric Adams, and supported by the corrupt NYPD leadership. End the placard abuse before adding new laws.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 9:28am

• Daniel

  Placard abuse is out of control

  Comment added February 6, 2023 9:47am

• Katya Willard

  Hello,
  I am writing in favor of the proposed amendments in regards to loading zone regulations. Keeping placard owners out of loading zones is something I support.
  Thank you,
  Katya Willard

  Comment added February 6, 2023 9:57am

• Rachel Anderson

  Loading zones are an essential need to keep traffic flowing in the city. Individuals who use placards, whether real or fraudulent, contribute to worse traffic, delays to workers and businesses, and flout existing NYC laws. Tightening up laws and stepping up enforcement of loading zone restriction is essential to the functioning of this city.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 10:08am

• Tom Bachant

  I support this amendment. Placard abuse is a serious problem in this city and reflects a culture of corruption and special treatment where people are above the law. We also need to increase enforcement of these rules, as we already see our streets littered with illegally parked cars.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 10:27am

• Lisa Brassell

  I agree with this rule. Streets get clogged, and double parking makes it dangerous for real New Yorkers who often are walking or taking transit. Buses get blocked, and cars will swerve around others without regard for people walking. We need more dedicated space for deliveries that keep our streets safe from those who would clog them with parked cars.
  People who work as public servants in the city should not get free parking benefits, and should endeavor to commute into the city via transit. They should be a part of our community, and not just drive in, take up space, and then drive out.
  I would argue that it does not go far enough- people who abuse their placards often do not get ticketed or towed. There should be an enforcement mechanism that allows for these vehicles to be moved away from illegal spots.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 10:43am

• ANL

  There are too many city-issued placards incentivizing a privatization of public space that endangers the tax payers of NYC and is contrary to NYC climate goals.

  “§ 3. Subparagraph (ii) of Paragraph (3)“ should not carve out an exception for private vehicles to park in public spaces. Liability should be created in this way in the case that injuries or damages occur as a result of city-endorsed parking in no-parking zones. It is not acceptable to expose tax payers to liabilities in this way. Moreover, this liability could entail physically endangering or harming people in NYC, and should not be tolerated.

  Placards should never be issued for initial to-from work commuting. (Retroactive, full-cost accounting should be completed to estimate the amount of benefit this provided to placard holders. The tax forms of these placard holders should be evaluated to ensure that these taxes of benefits were indeed paid to federal, state, and local tax authorities. If these taxes have not been paid, then NYC has itself been complicit in massive tax fraud.

  In the case that vehicles are required for NYC civil servants to conduct their jobs during working hours, vehicles should be issued where those vehicles can be evaluated for weight and emissions and safety in line with NYC’s goals and priorities. In the case that public transportation is possible, NYC should not issue vehicles, but should require public transportation be taken. Micromobility solutions should also be explored.
  Public transportation should be considered possible where the labor costs of additional transit times are double* the cost of NYC buying and maintaining that vehicle.
  *: an explicit evaluation should be designed to address the value to NYC in aligning its vehicle policies with its climate and mobility goals.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 10:57am

• Sam Olsen

  Placard abuse is rampant in this area. I see FDNY and NYPD placards on cars that are parked on the sidewalk, illegal. Double parked, illegal.

  Regulations need to take human behavior into account and create an area where the lawbreaking public servants can park their cars in peace without bothering the residents of the five boroughs. It’s important to me that the cop driving in daily from Westchester is able to have free parking, but maybe we could move him from the sidewalk to someplace more practical, like in front of a school or a fire hydrant.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 11:01am

• Peter V Milo

  Placard abuse makes it harder for a pedestrian / cyclist to get around. They block crosswalks, bikelanes, and will even park in the sidewalks and parks.

  It’s time the system is revisited and abusers are held accountable.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 11:41am

• David Valerio

  Great rule that I support, but it will be made completely worthless without proper enforcement. Loading zones are incredibly important and without enforcement of the placard abuse this will be pointless.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 12:45pm

• Anonymous Brooklyn Resident

  The city should expand loading zones as much as possible so that delivery vehicles can park safely instead of blocking crosswalks, bike lanes, or intersection visibility. In addition to the “loading only” designation, DOT should add community enforcement through 311, in which community members report using photo evidence and DOT fines those in violation. Community enforcement is needed because NYPD regularly closes out cases of illegal parking without enforcing it. Additionally, drivers of city agency vehicles are often to blame for illegal parking and do not face consequences.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 12:57pm

• Jackson

  Would love to see more enforcement and expansion of loading zones. They benefit many more people than those fortunate enough to have a car and keep said cars from blocking the efficient delivery of goods.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 1:10pm

• John Smith

  Parking placard abuse is a real problem and I support this amendment. Disregard and abuse of rules impacts quality of life for all!

  Comment added February 6, 2023 1:12pm

• Emily Watson

  I fully support the creation and regulation of loading zones all around New York City. Having lived here for nearly 13 years and riding a bike as my main form of transportation for 12 of those years, I can say double parking is one of the biggest reasons for congestion on most city streets. Delivery workers should have their own dedicated space to do their jobs in this city, and they should be able to do it in a way that doesn’t endanger pedestrians and cyclists. We must stop placing free parking for private vehicles (and even paid parking in some instances) above the needs of NYC residents, the majority of whom do not own cars. Thank you!

  Comment added February 6, 2023 4:23pm

• Emily Watson

  I fully support the creation and regulation of loading zones all around New York City. Having lived here for nearly 13 years and riding a bike as my main form of transportation for 12 of those years, I can say double parking is one of the biggest reasons for congestion on most city streets. Delivery workers should have their own dedicated space to do their jobs in this city, and they should be able to do it in a way that doesn’t endanger pedestrians and cyclists. We must stop placing free parking for private vehicles (and even paid parking in some instances) above the needs of NYC residents, the majority of whom do not own cars.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 4:24pm

• Nicholas Marshall

  Establish protected/fined loading zones on as many streets as possible. But even more importantly: ENFORCE THEM. Also, the bill to allow citizen-reported parking/bike lane/idling/bus lane/etc violations needs to go through!!

  Comment added February 6, 2023 5:58pm

• Steve Frucht

  Placards exist for the same reason that cops freely park on the sidewalks near their precincts, for the same reason motorbikes are on bike lanes going 30 MPH with zero enforcement. It is because many, many public servants have nothing but disdain for the average car free New Yorker who manages to get by using public transportation, bikes and walking.

  Fix placard abuse. Arrest cops who park on the sidewalk. Arrest cops who cover every time one of their buddies has a DUI. Reform the police. Reform placards.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 7:02pm

• Jennifer

  I support this amendment however without enforcement it really doesn’t matter what the law says.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 8:44pm

• Nancy Cruz

  Why not limit all truck deliveries to evenings and to end by 7:00 a.m. Including sanitation. Then you wont have cars double parked and crowding streets. And you wont have dangerous trucks speeding past school zones.

  Comment added February 6, 2023 9:01pm

• Aaron

  I’m in favor but would also like to see rules against idling and also additional enforcement. Repeat offenders should have increasing penalties to discourage companies taking advantage of lax enforcement or mild penalties.

  Comment added February 7, 2023 2:45am

• Emily

  I strongly agree with this amendment. We need more loading zones in all neighborhoods to ensure that our streets are safe and double parked cars are not increasing congestion and putting pedestrians at risk. Loading zones are critical for both businesses and residential areas and can make it safer for bikers and drivers alike. Delivery trucks are often blocking our streets and making it unsafe, but it’s only because they don’t have a designated area to park when they need to drop off packages.

  The placard abuse in the city is out of control and there needs to be more fines and regulations put in place. Too many city employees are taking advantage of this and the city should not be encouraging their employees to drive and create more traffic. Our streets are public spaces that should prioritize all road users, not just folks that have placards.

  Comment added February 7, 2023 9:48am

• Jesse Aman on behalf of Axel Carrion, UPS

  See attached document.

  Comment attachment
  February-2023-Comments-on-Loading-Zone-Rules-Amendment_Final-2.7.2023.docx

  Comment added February 7, 2023 10:29am

• Megan Fitzpatrick

  Placard abuse is such a disheartening issue – when the people we should be able to trust to hold themselves to highest standard reveal themselves as above the law. And the lack of enforcement is even more frustrating.

  It’s so common to see NYPD personal cars parked illegally, with many out-of-state licenses among the bunch. If they’re not going to live in our city or use the subway, they could at least have the decency to pay for legal parking and stay off our sidewalks.

  This amendment is a step in the right direction, but so much more of this corruption needs to be addressed.

  Comment added February 7, 2023 5:40pm

• Piotr Kaps

  I enthusiastically support the construction of the new loading/unloading zones that the DOT is proposing, and believe that it’s a major step in the right direction for reducing automobile congestion, street chaos, and stress for delivery drivers and average drivers alike. As add-ons to the existing idea, based on my education from the courses I have taken in urbanism, and lived experience, I’d like to contribute the following 7 points:

  1. Loading/unloading zones should be painted to some extent to demarcate them from other parking. Painting can range from a painted X in a box to the range of the zone being completely covered in a certain, distinct color.

  2. Loading/unloading zones should be placed on side streets as much as possible to reduce congestion on the main artery being served.

  3. Existing/future bike lanes near these loading/unloading zones should have features that calm the flow of bikers near them so that the risk of collisions between bikers and delivery drivers remains minimal.

  4. Parking spaces for regular vehicles in the vicinity of loading/unloading zones should each be demarcated with paint to ensure drivers waste as little space as possible when parking their vehicles.

  5. Parking spaces for handicapped drivers should be created in tandem with (and likely closeby) loading/unloading zones, as these drivers need to drive to get to certain locations and deserve to have spaces reserved for them at said locations.

  6. Park-o-meters should be created, similar to those for private drivers, that have delivery drivers pay to use the space for a certain amount of time to ensure that the space is open to all delivery drivers that need to use it, and not just a few.

  7. Hearings should be held on weekends in the mid-afternoon, to ensure that maximal participation in them is ensured. During weekdays at 10 AM, most people are either at work or in school/class, and thus cannot attend.

  Comment added February 7, 2023 9:39pm