DOT says loading zones will reduce double-parking

February 12, 2022 Jaime DeJesus

A photo of a proposed NLZ on 72nd Street.

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The Dept. of Transportation will put 31 curbside loading zones in Bay Ridge over the next several weeks.

DOT created the zones based on its own research and on dozens of suggestions residents posted on its website, said Matthew Roosa, project manager for the Neighborhood Loading Zone program (NLZ).

Roosa said the NLZs will provide safe curb spots for vehicles to pick up or drop off passengers or goods, mainly on narrow residential streets. DOT says the zones will also reduce double-parking.

There will be no parking in the zones Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

There are 146 NLZs in the five boroughs, including Park Slope, Sunset Park and Williamsburg, and DOT has plans for more.

Roosa told Community Board 10 in January that the zones will benefit wider streets like Bay Ridge Parkway between Third and Fourth Avenues.

Some at the meeting wondered if the plan will be effective for truck drivers.

A map of proposed NLZs in CB 10 Photos courtesy of DOT

“It will help,” said DOT community coordinator Leroy Branch. “But can a truck driver still double park? Yes. Will they use it? We are hoping they will. From the perspective of the truck driver, they will find it easier to pull in, unload their goods and pull right out.”

Anthony Marino, chair of CB 10’s Traffic and Transportation committee, doubted the zones will reduce double-parking.

“I understand the idea of them is great but I’m skeptical of how they are used, seeing every day how they are used and misused,” Marino said. “A lot of the time, the delivery trucks will just double park at the spot and block it anyway. They’ll just double park in front of the spot and they’ll do their deliveries.”

The committee voted to send DOT a list of recommendations, which includes reducing the number of sites, changing the hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., improving signs and launching an outreach campaign to the community and delivery companies.