Department of Transportation
The New York City Department of Transportation announced this week that it has begun implementing the much-debated Smart Curbs program, which will impact the Upper West Side from West 86th to West 72nd Street and between Broadway and Central Park West.
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“Everyone wants a piece of our previous sidewalk and curb lane,” NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said in a statement. “We are prioritizing uses based on community needs, not just first-come-first-serve.”
Immediate changes in this first phase of implementation, which the DOT says will be complete before the end of 2024, include the removal of the Columbus Avenue rush hour regulation that disallowed any type of parking on the avenue’s west side between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Metered spaces on Columbus will be reserved for commercial vehicles during the day but will now allow for three hours of passenger parking in the evening, compared to two.
Other changes on the UWS–which the city is using as a sort of test case for wider Smart Curbs implementation–include the addition of six truck loading zones and 21 neighborhood loading zones. Truck loading zones will allow commercial vehicles to load and unload during the day, with passenger parking metered in the evening and free overnight. Neighborhood loading zones will allow both passenger and commercial vehicles (such as taxis) to load and unload or pick-up and drop-off during the day, with free parking available in the evenings and overnight.
The DOT is also aiming to address biker and pedestrian needs. Something called a “street seat” will provide a public space with seating and planters on the west side of Columbus just north of West 72nd Street. And curb lanes will get 30 new bike racks with the goal of getting bikes off sidewalks.
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This Smart Curbs program will ultimately result in the loss of roughly 175 parking spaces, a number cited by a DOT representative in response to questioning at a recent Community Board 7 meeting. Since its initial announcement in 2023, the program has polarized residents of the Upper West Side–the neighborhood the DOT designated for the first Smart Curbs trial due to its population density and low rate of vehicle ownership. The DOT statement says 27% of UWS households own vehicles.
Gothamist spoke to a parking expert and urban planning professor at UCLA, Donald Shoup, who felt that the Smart Curbs program isn’t doing enough.
“It’s the most unsophisticated city on earth for curb parking,” Shoup said to Gothamist. “And you’re making a mild change and you call it smart parking.”
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I’m sure this will stop Amazon Delivery trucks from illegally parking in Columbus Ave traffic lanes for hours in the West 70s and 80s. Not.
Press Release for DOT?
I’m looking forward to these reforms