NYC advances ‘commonsense’ solution to address truck parking

A bill approved unanimously by the New York City Council requires the city’s Department of Transportation to create overnight truck parking in industrial business zones.

The city recently passed Intro 99-B, which expands the city’s overnight truck parking pilot program introduced earlier this year. The bill focuses on commercial vehicle parking in areas not included in the initial program.

Parking will be available only overnight. Designated parking spots will be inactive from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Trucking Association of New York applauded the passing of the bill. The lack of truck parking is a nationwide problem.

“For far too long, the shortage of overnight parking for truck drivers in New York City has forced trucks to park in areas that they shouldn’t be,” Zach Miller, TANY’s vice president of government affairs, said in a statement. “This problem has been exacerbated by next-day and same-day demand and strict federal hours-of-service regulations. This creates an unsafe environment for both drivers and the surrounding communities. We want to thank City Council Member Dr. Nantasha Williams, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Selvena N. Brooks-Powers and the bill’s co-sponsors for their commitment to advancing commonsense solutions to address existing challenges around overnight truck parking.”

Before these truck parking areas are created, the NYC DOT must reach out to community boards and council members in the industrial zones. It also needs to connect with trucking stakeholders.

In March, the NYC DOT announced a “metered pay-by-app, overnight truck parking pilot.”

That program differs from the one established by the bill. It creates 45 parking spaces that are available 24 hours a day. Parking costs $10 every eight hours.

However, the program will last for only one year and is limited to three of the 20 industrial business zones. The exclusion of Southeast Queens led to an uproar among residents and community leaders, including Williams, who introduced Intro 99-B to address parking in her district. With the bill passed, more parking may be added in other affected areas. LL