By Gus Saltonstall
Major changes are coming to the streetscape of a 15-block stretch on the Upper West Side, including more parking meters, loading zones, electric charging stations, bike corrals, and a significant loss of parking space.
Those proposed changes will be part of the Smart Curbs pilot program from the city, which was originally announced in the fall with the goal of finding a way to better use the curb space and adjacent lane in one of the most densely populated residential neighborhoods in the five boroughs.
Following a months long community input process that featured multiple public meetings — a representative from the Department of Transportation presented the agency’s “action plan” Tuesday night to Community Board 7 — for the streets between West 72nd and 86th streets, from Broadway to Central Park West.
Here are the main changes expected to take place as part of the pilot program, according to the DOT.
- 23 new loading zones for trucks
- 3 new freight microhubs for package delivery companies
- 120 new commercial metered parking spaces
- 80 net new passenger metered parking spaces
- 5 new bike parking corrals
- 5 new electric vehicle charging stations
The changes will result in the approximate loss of 175 parking spaces, according to the DOT.
While the DOT used the word proposal during its presentation for these additions, the agency also said that the installation of the loading zones, microhubs, added parking meters, bike corrals and loss of parking spaces were all expected to begin by the end of 2024.
“If this goes well, we will continue to use this approach around the city,” the spokesperson from the DOT leading the presentation said. “There is a lot of competition for extremely limited space along the curb.”
Through these changes, the DOT is hoping to “improve safety,” “reduce congestion,” “create a vibrant and clean public realm,” “support orderly local deliveries,” and “test new technology.”
The DOT did not say during the meeting how long the Smart Curb pilot program will last, once the new measures are installed.
Here are slides from the presentation with more details on the streetscape changes, and where in the neighborhood they are expected to take place.
As explained by the DOT spokesperson, the goal of the freight microhubs will be to stop the large delivery trucks from double parking on a street and unloading their hundreds of packages, before then taking them to their final locations.
“I see this issue in this neighborhood (Upper West Side) more than anywhere else, the trucks that stop, in the best case scenario in the parking lanem but usually in the travel lane, and unload 300 packages into the roadway,” the DOT spokesperson said. “In this neighborhood, there are so many packages ordered, they’re going a very short distance.”
The spokesperson added that the delivery companies have been asking for more dedicated zones for a “long time,” and that the current conditions are unsafe for the employees.
“What will propel a delivery service to use the loading zones or microhubs, rather than the point closest to their intended delivery?” one Upper West Side Community Board 7 member asked.
The DOT spokesperson called it a fantastic question.
“That will be what the pilot evaluates,” he said. “We’ll be watching to see if that’s the case. We’re not going to give a dedicated space, if they’re (delivery company) just going to do the same old behavior.”
Here are the additions that would be made to the parking meter side of things.
The DOT spokesperson reiterated on multiple occasions that parking meters “are the best tool to manage commercial activity on local streets.” The meters would still turn off overnight.
The pilot program will also see the installation of bike corrals.
All of the changes in the above three slides were labeled “short-term anticipated goals” set to begin sometime in 2024.
Additionally, the DOT will install new electric charging stations within the 14-block Upper West Side range, but this project has a longer timeline. The installations would not be expected to begin until the 2025 winter.
Community Board 7 did not offer a resolution on the presented project due to the scope of new information, and instead will look to create a resolution at some point later this summer, when the DOT comes before the board again in the run up to the actual installation of the changes.
You can watch the full DOT presentation on Tuesday night for yourself — HERE.
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Great! Especially the loading zones, metered commercial spots, and freight microhubs. More spaces for commercial vehicles to pull out of the way of the flow of traffic means less congestion and prioritizes folks who actually DO need to drive for work.
Now if only the courts would tell Congestion Kathy what we all know: her 11th hour cowardice in an attempt to win over New Jerseyians and Bridge and Tunnel folk who will never vote for her or Congressional Dems anyway is illegal and congestion pricing must be implemented as meticulously and strenuously studied and planned.
Upper West Siders feel that they are justified to reverse commute to New Jersey and elsewhere by car, but when those folks want to come to the Upper West Side by car, you do not want them to.
The problem is that they don’t work. Cars with placards and construction workers with vests in their windows hog most of the spots. Double and triple parking happens where there are loading zones. Just look at what goes on at Fairway every day. There is no enforcement anymore.
Tired of seeing contractors taking spots meant for residents. They hang around starting @ 5:30 AM & then start filling the empty spots. All of these contractors should be in parking lots & there are plenty, they should just charge their clients back. Same goes for film & movies. Those folks are earning plenty, park in a lot & put it on your generous expense account. I’m in favor of residential only parking & not difficult to figure out. Prove your car is registered @ an UWS addy & get a sticker that’s renewable. Everyone else gets a ticket from DOT. There are plenty of opportunities for the city to earn $$$. Just be creative & get it from someone else for a change.
The UWS is not midtown. Try doing a commute from New Jersey or Westchester or Rockland. UWS residents want their cars to reverse commute to the Bronx or drive their cars to Queens to canvass for Tom Suozzi when he was running for congress, but do not want non residents driving here. You cannot have it both ways.
The simple fix would be for NYPD to actually do the enforcement. If they see traffic enforcement as beneath them, move the traffic police under DoT.
I think all enforcement responsibilities should be shifted to the NYC Sheriff Dept. They’re motivated and know how to get things down.
Exactly this – Broadway in front of Fairway is sometimes down to a single lane for traffic. Trader Joes on 72nd St often has delivery trucks taking up one or 2 lanes on the southbound side of 72nd (and the trucks some times park in the middle lane even when the curbside area is available).
Exactly. Trader Joe’s has an enormous loading dock that can easily accommodate one of their trailers off-street. Why don’t they use it as it was built and intended to be used?
It doesn’t matter what resolution Community Board 7 comes up with. The DOT as usual will do whatever it wants to. For DOToresentation to community boards are just a mere formality. What the community boards recommend means nothing to the all knowing DOT.
It’s not a loss of 175 parking spaces – it’s a loss of 175 FREE parking spaces!
The sidewalk is free for everyone too, so are parks. Should we have to give them away too?
That’s next on their agenda….
What is your point? That a benefit we’ve had in NYC for 100 years should be willy, nilly, taken away from us? We are the people who live here, support the economy by shopping locally. We will not be able to do that, with no place to park for 10 minutes and spend money here. Instead, we will leave the City and shop else where! Even meteres are increcibly annoying and expensive in Manhattan. What is the point of killing the economy further. It’s already on its death bed as follows: hundreds of businesses have remained shuttered since the pandemic, already a period of 4 years. People have fled the City because they can’t afford to park. On the UWS, parking in residential builidings is already 700 a month. To say nothing of the fact that many of us own cars in reliance on the fact that the streets will be provided, not taken away. Similarly, with parking. The more it’s taken away, the less mobility people have.
it’s a bit much that you absolutely need a car to shop in your own neighborhood.
Kickbacks from these companies. That’s all this about! Worst DOT Commissioner NYC ever had!! A complete nincompoop who can’t even speak English properly!
It is a loss of 175 parking spaces that is a giveaway to corporate interests. We have already lost thousands of spaces since 2007.
a lot of that 175 number are still parking spaces- they are just being converted to passenger metered or commercial metered parking spots. All of those metered spots can still be parked in overnight for FREE.
Which benefits reverse commuters who are UWS residents and makes it harder for workers and visitors.
The nine most terrifying words in the English language are “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”
Ronald Reagan.
It’s such a great idea they have to put smart in the name.
Racist, corrupt, classist, homophobic nightmare of a president.
Tens of millions of now-free Eastern Europeans who were once trapped behind the Iron Curtain of the USSR would disagree. That includes me. But thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Reagan was a trainwreck. So is neoliberal ideology
Good. Street parking should be residentially permitted and highly restricted.
… and not free
Great news. The “loss” of parking space is actually a win for 80% of us, since just 20% of Manhattanites own cars.
It’s not “great” news & it’s not a ‘win’ as you put it & it’s a selfish entitled remark. Some folks need vehicles for various legitimate reasons. If you don’t like cars please don’t use Uber or taxis to go to work or party w/ friends because then you may become part of that 20%. Furthermore it doesn’t matter if 20% or 2% use cars tax payers contribute to all sorts of government programs, like sanitation, public schools & the freedom to park.
And as some people complained about parking for free? like sanitation, public schools & the freedom to park. Maybe the complainers should pay for these services. And oops! If your children are grown, maybe you shouldn’t have to pay taxes that go to educaton??
I don’t have children in school but don’t mind paying taxes for educated because an educated population is good for society. Though I do wish those taxes were used more effectively.
Ubers / Taxis don’t spend 95% of their time parked motionless on the curb. If you ‘need’ a car, you are welcome to pay to store your car at a garage.
At $900. per month. No thank you to the anti-car Uber Eats crowd from the high tech and finance world. You might find this hard to believe but not everyone in NY has starting salaries of $200,000 a year on up. You might want to start picking up your own food instead of having it delivered and find out more about the people and the community you are living in.
Yes storing a car is expensive, why should NYers pay the costs of keeping a car for the (on average) much wealthier folks who do drive? If a car is so important and necessary for you, then you should pay to store it.
A total non sequitur but I prefer to sit down at one of the many fantastic local restaurants than get food delivered…
How wild that you think only wealthy people own cars. Completely wrong on that. Working class and middle class people own cars here for work, to take care of their families who don’t live in the city, to commute outside the city for work-in other words-to live productive lives. For those of you new transplants to NY have you ever thought of having some respect for the people who made this city what it is so that you might be gainfully employed here? Do you know this city was largely a burnt out ghetto from the 70’s well into the 80’s? And the people you want to boss around worked to make these communities the way they are. But you arrive and decide to tell lifelong New Yorkers how they should live. Arrogance or what?. We park cars on streets. We educate our children even those of us who don’t have children by paying taxes FOREVER! Should we demand that we not do that anymore? That you’re parking your child for free in a school I pay for?? God I certainly hope not.
If you don’t like the way we do things in NY there are always the suburbs. You might find you need to be a little nicer to your next door neighbor when you have to see him or her everyday.
Respectfully, we don’t need to guess at who owns cars in Manhattan, there is real data: https://wellango.github.io/posts/2021/06/who-owns-cars-in-nyc/
“On average, car-owning households are richer than non-car-owning households in every neighborhood.” This is pretty intuitive since car ownership is expensive. It’s a free country, you can live how you like, but public space in NYC is in high demand, so why should we be giving it away for free?
Suggest you give the book ‘The High Cost of Free Parking’ a read, this is a pretty good summary: https://parkade.com/post/donald-shoup-the-high-cost-of-free-parking-summarized
It is always going to be extremes on either end skewing the data.
Ulrika,
Anyone getting regular ecommerce is contributing to vehicles.
Same for Uber.
Looks like a great solution that will improve the situation on our streets! Can’t wait for Hochul to squash it at the last minute…
I agree – I think this is a positive for the community. The real question for me is whether it will have a real impact or not. The skeptical part of me thinks that most commercial trucks will still double and triple park…
I was in one of those community discussion groups and there was a strong interest in exploring resident parking permits. I wonder why that wasn’t picked up. Residents of the community should be able to park their cars free of charge.
I think that it was outside the scope of this project but it was referenced in the presentation.
Why? We all have storage need and have to pay for them. Why should we take public space and donate the value to car owners?
Your comments are not constructive. They are vindictive and don’t offer solutions. Did you go to public schools for free? We paid for them with our taxes. How about sanitation? How about infrastructure?
Cause car owners pay taxes on owning and using cars…..
Resident parking permits would ensure that curb space is only for those who can afford to live on the Upper West Side in the first place and would be detrimental to those who work here. Even this current plan with more metered spaces disproportionately impacts those who work here by taking parking from them while those who live here and reverse commute to Long Island or New Jersey can do so in peace and drive there.
So bicyclists who routinely ignore traffic rules (go through red lights, go the wrong way, ignore bike lanes) and endanger pedestrians – get rewarded.
Wow
I can say the same thing about pedestrians who couldn’t care less about the laws that apply to them.
Of course you can say what you want but there is no equivalency here.
Yes, lock them up. Especially those walking dogs. So stressful to see those unrestrained pedestrians all over the sidewalks. And when it rains, those umbrellas…………….
Boris, when was the last time a pedestrian knocked you over at 25mph? Pedestrians who don’t obey traffic lights only endanger themselves; bikers and cars who ignore the laws endanger others.
It’s not true that pedestrians endanger only themselves when they don’t obey the laws that apply to them. Plenty of cyclists get seriously injured when errant pedestrian behavior forces them into dangerous situations. No cyclists wants to hit a pedestrian because they’re just as likely to be injured.
You’re rationalizing pedestrians’ bad behavior to justify your bias against bikes. Cherry-picking which laws you want to abide by is not defensible.
I’m sorry if errant pedestrians get in your way while you’re biking; of course they ought to follow the laws for your sake as well as theirs. But please don’t tell me what my biases are. You have no idea how I feel about bicycles and their riders: You are making an assumption based on your own biases.
Boris,
I don’t see how pedestrians get rewarded?
Things get worse for pedestrians, subway riders and bus riders….
At the same time, bicyclists keep getting more….
Didn’t mean to imply they get rewarded…just commenting that pedestrians have responsibilities, too, which shouldn’t be minimized.
This is largely because of the power of the hedge fund backed lobby Trans Alt who seems to have unbridled influence on the DOT and the Mayor. Trans Alt is AGAINST any regulation of e-bikes, e-scooters in that they want NO licensing, NO registration and NO insurance. They also do not want the police to enforce the laws that e-bikers break! This is why you literally can take your life into your hands by crossing the street with the light or simply walking on the sidewalk! I told a young woman riding down the center of the sidewalk in front of my building to not ride on the sidewalk. She went into a vile tirade against me that was insane. Had I not been with 2 other people at the time I don’t know what might have happened. She parked the Citibike and came back and continued her tirade! I did call the police-not that they did anything.
We have been betrayed by our city.
It looks like the parklet is on the west side of Columbus 72-73?
A block from Central Park.
A block from Verdi Square.
Not understanding why the BID wants this?
And when is DOT going to end Open Streets and return full bus access?
People are entitled to public transit.
Incredible that DOT prioritizes brunch over essential public transit.
So, the Fascist DOT stikes again. How about getting rid of unnecessary bike corrals which are trash-riddled migrant beaches, and rid the city of ridiculous Citibike racks, especially those illegally stationed on sidewalks. Is there no end to Ydanis Rodriguez clueless dictatorship? Who is paying him. I WONDER > Lyft? This plan serves Mark Gortons Tower Capital / Open Plans agenda. Can’t he just go away and take his fat corrupt deranged head and all his filthy money to the moon where there is alot of Open Space? It’s disgusting.
Will they charge the delivery companies for use of these freight hubs? I hope so. We shouldn’t be subsidizing them.
Yes you will, with prices on whatever they bring to manhattan
If anything the delivery companies should rent out store space that is being usurped by smoke shops and have residents go and pick up packages from those stores or have delivery workers deliver them from those stores. It would cut down on package thefts and allow our cops to expend resources on violent crime not property crime.
Yes-but it wouldn’t be free then would it? The city is trying hard to accommodate the Amazon’s, GrubHubs, DoorDashes, Citibikes (Lyft) and Ubers of the world, not to mention restaurant lobby at the expense of those for whom the public spaces were created and who pay taxes for them! I asked at the DOT meeting on this some months ago why they just didn’t have the private companies do the presentation as this had nothing to do with what the role of government should be. We have and continue to cede the public streets and sidewalks to private corporations to make money on them!! And the DOT and community boards are all in on it. How much more should we pay in taxes to have little use of those public spaces which have become dangerous as a result of this, and the bike-o-rama in our midst.
Amazon can afford the $12k a month in rent smoke shops are paying.
Really interesting, excited to see how this goes. We need to start being more nimble and just try things.
This is the worst idea and we must fight it. DOT is making decisions with no input from tax paying New Yorkers. Our community boards aren’t reflecting the majority of our opinions, but instead the opinion of Mark Levine. We csnt count on them. We live in a democracy NOT an autocracy. This pilpt program is in line with the ‘Transportation Alternatives Takeover’ of our streets. This is exactly like the disaterous “e bike pilot program in all of our parks and on greenways which has created an increase in serious injuries from crashes and an increase in crime- the ONE place we could escape the madness was our parks! The DOT has become the Dept of ‘Transportation Alternatives’. This curbs pilot program is too extreme and must be calied out and stopped. Make your voices heard. Call 311 and file a fornal complaint to both Mayor and DOT about curbs pilot program and the Mayor’s and the e-bikes in parks pilot program’. The UWS has become unrecognizable with dining sheds, bike corrals, e bikes and mopeds riding all over sidewalks. And please stop ordering delivery unless you are disabled or elderly and cant pick up your own food. We are perpetuating this crisis. Our businesses are losing revenue to big app companies and our sidewalks and crosswalks are very dangerous.
If you agree that YOU should have part in the decision of our STREET DESIGN, rather than decisions being made for you by special interest groups funded by hedgefund billionaires with a major agenda, then please call and email your legislators to let them know how you feel.; Gale Brewer, Brad Hoylman, Linda Rosenthal, Shaun Abreu. A “ pilot program “ is almost never intended to be a trial. It is all but a DONE DEAL unless WE the people, stop it. Please help us regain the power of the people and TAKE BACK our streets from Transportation Alternatives.
In fact there was community input on the street design at multiple public meetings as was reported in the WSR, this pilot is the result of community demand and input.
https://www.westsiderag.com/2024/01/10/insights-from-upper-west-siders-on-the-smart-curbs-pilot-2nd-virtual-public-meeting-tonight
The pilot is NOT the result of community input or demand! I was at that meeting and the design was already created! This was a sham so that the DOT could say they involved the public. They did not even allow comments in the meeting so as to quell the fury of the community!! Imagine public hearings with no talk from the public!! Instead they sat attendees at separate tables to view their designs and give a few suggestions like school children.
The DOT is so out of control and I agree with Janet Schroeder that it is really the Department of Transportation Alternatives. It should be changed from DOT to DTA! I believe if this kind of governing continues we seriously need to consider the payment of the extraordinary taxes we pay to live here. Taxation without representation anyone?
I was also @ that meeting. A class action suit by UWS residents could possibly be a first step to put an end to this nonsense. The more we don’t respond , the more they will continue w/ their antics
Area workers must be included in such a lawsuit. Actually workers from Jersey could have a case under dormant commerce clause, ada, 14th amendment right to travel.
I’m sure the originalists on the supreme court will decide that the founding fathers had the primacy of personal vehicles in mind all along.
In the interest of transparency let’s start by requiring that those planning this transportation future for the UWS declare where they reside and how they deal with their own cars. Something tells me they don’t live in our neighborhood, but rather commute in.
There are people who drive to work on the UWS.
Oh how right you are! God bless you for your common sense voice!!!!!
This will destroy the UWS and make it unlivable or incredibly inconvenient and expensive for so many families, middle class workers, doormen, etc. the hateful anti-car zealots could care less about their own neighborhoods and celebrate this move that harms so many for no reason except spite. It’s actually sickening and shameful. Shame on the DOT and any politicians that support this.
Come on ‘destroy the UWS’ – I don’t get why people get so hysterical over the loss of free parking in one of the densest neighborhoods in the country. I care about making the UWS less car dominated precisely because it would make the neighborhood cleaner and safer for families.
The vast majority of middle class workers and families take the train, we should not turn our neighborhood over to a loud minority used to getting public space for free…
Dad, I agree and I HAVE a car here. I brought it in after much thought recently so I could drive to see family more easily. I’m just gobsmacked how my neighbors insist free parking is a right. I keep saying Ive finally arrived now that I too can sit in the car during street sweeping. My privilege isn’t the reason to keep more free spots. Where is our care for people?
The people who work here and do business here want those free parking spaces. We pay for it in taxes and other charges. The MTA cannot and will not be everything. UWS residents do not have the experience of LIRR management telling you if you have an issue with their service go drive instead. They do not have the experience of NYC Transit service planners being condescending and arrogant. A transit utopia sounds great until you meet MTA service planners such as Norman Silverman who thankfully is now retired.
It’s a fair question to ask the planners what the vision is for residents of the UWS. Do they really see a future where everyone either pays $10,000 a year to garage their car or they don’t own a car at all?
Will the changes be accompanied by better enforcement to deter double parking?
Small reminder that the UWS is one of the heaviest users of delivery app, around 10k deliveries a day brought to you by the people we recently called “essential workers”. Think about that next time you try to argue that bikes are not for people making a living.
This all feeds the gentrification industrial complex
We are losing 175+ parking spaces so private companies and delivery companies get free access and parking? Terrible. Any loss of parking is always a business killer. So fewer people can now park and go to a store or restaurant.
People who live on the UWS do not drive a car to eat at a restaurant on the UWS or to go to a store. We walk, take the bus or the subway.
People on the UWS love to reverse commute to work not using transit and are above using transit to leave Manhattan. Look at how Manhattan Democrats during the NY-3 special election chartered a private bus this past January to go to Bayside in Queens instead of doing the same two fare zone commute Queens residents do.
But many of us are older and can’t do lots of walking! You want to shut us in?
I am now “older” too. You don’t have to have a car to get around. Use the bus. I know the subway stairs are getting harder to use as we age but there is still the bus. The Half Price Metro card is great! Then you can walk from the bus stop.
Speaking of “loading zones”, 72nd between Columbus and CPW is overrun by delivery trucks, contractors, ubers, and lazy pedestrians Every. Single Day. It chokes down the road to 1 or 0.5 lanes and creates havoc.
Do you think they just drive to park there, and kill the time? Obviously they come to do work, do delivery, whatever has to be deliver. Its getting harder and harder with traffic and parking, for people who come to SERVE!!!! UPPER WEST SIDE! and you all are going to pay from you pockets for it. All who live on uws. Just think!
These proposals will do little to “make our streets safer”! We live with 0 law enforcement for anything now. More safety should be placed by the reckless driving e-Vehicles. If we weren’t dodging e-bikes constantly our streets would be safer!!
We also need free parking for cars. Those New Jersyites ,borough and Long Island commuters come not only work here, but bring more revenue…go out to dinner, concerts, museums and shows. Parking garages are expensive and also get filled up. Why do you want to deter anyone from coming in or out of the city?
It makes everyone safer when cars cannot park right by intersections. I am so happy for this change!
Has anyone considered what it will be like to have Fresh Direct trucks parked in residential areas with their engines running for hours while they unload and deliver? ( They keep their engines on the maintain refrigeration). I have seen it and heard it on Broadway – it would not be nice living with it. These commercial truck zones should not be allowed on residential streets – only commercial avenues. A car parked all day emits no pollution or noise .
I personally don’t drive – but feel necessary to relay that a number of elected officials who consistently support restricting cars/restricting parking etc have been thrilled and thankful for a neighbor who regularly uses his car to transport donations for migrant families at various hotels in Manhattan.
Would be interested in hearing thoughts about this…..
As usual whatever developers and the big money men want they get. Free everything for big delivery corporations. Why should they pay for parking after all they are so kind and beneficent to the rest of us..
When someone calls something a pilot program we all think it’s temporary but don’t be fooled once the beneficiaries get a taste there won’t be any going back.
Think about who causes congestion….Uber and Lyft roaming around waiting for fares and there will be no limit on them. In fact, I heard this morning there will be more of them. This isn’t about congestion it’s about getting rid of personal cars and forcing everyone to use Urber and the rest. Residents of NY will get to pay even though they already pay massive property taxes.
The same people who want this destroyed the taxi business and many of the drivers who invested in their medallions. They build high rises to the sky and say housing is an issue but it’s not housing it’s affordable housing.
In short, it’s all bait and switch.
The middle class is being squeezed and that exactly what the Bloomberg acolytes want. Get that pesky middle class out!
I would like to know how much bike owners will pay for the “corral” and how much delivery companies are going to pay for the “hubs” and why more metered parking? Fewer spaces but more meters? What’s that about?
It is basically realizing your dream of resident only private car parking without saying so. When more spots become loading zones or metered parking during weekdays, it deters area workers from parking there.
Good. As a non car owner I don’t like paying for free parking for my neighbors. Cars are a luxury in this area. We have ample mass transit. Time to move into the modern age.
It’s not a bad idea if it will reduce traffic by getting trucks out of the traffic lane (especially with congestion being all the rage these days). However it doesn’t solve the issue of limited parking options. I’m not sure what the solution here is as we cant print more roads besides adding more garages (potential for conversion of old non landmarked buildings?), but to round out this proposal something needs to be done to add more parking, specifically for people living in the area.
All this sounds OK except for the electric charging stations. Electric cars are slightly better than other cars but theres no reason to reserve spots just for them on the street. Plus the chargers have these long wires that connect to the cars and take up a lot of space. Otherwise it’s fine let’s see what happens. The fact is there are a lot of deliveries that need to be accommodated.
this plan is just another oppty to chase us all out of NYC
NO MORE TAKING CARE OF OUR ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED AS IT IS THEY CANNOT EVEN WALK FROM A CAR TO THEIR DOCTORS OFFICE , THE CHANCE OF GETTING SLAMMED W BIKES AND SCOOTERS, NO MORE CHARITY OR TAKING SICK PEOPLE TO TREATMENTS BECASUE YOU CANOT GET OUT OF YOUR CAR TO HELP THEM INTO THE OFFICES
THIS IS AN ABSURD IDEA TO CONTINUE THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS CITY
WHAT A SHAME NO MORE COMPASSION, NO MORE CARING ABOUT HANDICAPPED
WHAT ABOUT ALL THE AUTISTIC KIDS AND BLIND PEOPLE WHO STILL CAN GET AROUND THE STREETS THATS OVER
WE ARE BECOMING SEDOM AND GEMORE
SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING THIS CITY TO GO AGAINST ALL WORK OF CARING FOR YOUR FELLOW MAN
You’ll be able to walk from a car into your doctor’s office, don’t worry Susan.
The goal of the City, though it hasn’t been explicitly announced as such,is to make it all but impossible for private cars to drive or even reside in Manhattan, except for the really wealthy. Instead of enacting a total ban, the City has slowly achieved this goal inrcementally, with this recent proposal simply the latest step. Sooner or later, the car haters (largely the envious who have no place to go on weekends) will prevail.
So, with the new loading zones and microhubs will come stringent enforcement of existing laws for commercial vehicles loading and unloading, right? Right?
And in the meantime, instead of messaging to encourage use of essential MTA bus and subway, City DOT is spending its time and budget on doing PR to get people to bike.
Kind of like City DOT is trying to deter bus and subway use.
The DOT manages all types of transportation in the City so there’s no good reason they shouldn’t encourage biking. Just for health reasons alone, it makes sense. When you’re out walking late at night, wouldn’t you rather have people cycling around you for safety reasons? You’re more likely to find a cyclist to help you than a cop.
The DOT already eliminated more than 500 parking spots just for the bike lane along Central Park West. Let us not even think about all the other barking spots that have been eliminated. Thanks to bike lanes and other DOT initiatives. The DOT operates as a fascist organization, doing exactly as it pleases, and doesn’t fulfill its promises.
Here is the link to the slides for anyone interested: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/smart-curbs-upper-west-side-jun2024.pdf
I grew up in this neighborhood and am now trying to raise young children here. I dislike living here more and more each day. My child is disabled and I need a car to get him around. They make it as difficult as possible to live here and it seems just cater to the folks from middle America who move here for a few years, want bike lanes and no cars and then move home. I can’t wait to have enough money saved up to get out of here — because I am not the wealthy person with a car all these politicians and activists say are the only Manhattanites who can afford a vehicle.