Rampant UES Double-Parking Would Be Curbed By New Rules

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A pair of plans that aim to cut down on rampant double-parking on the Upper East Side were unveiled this week by the Department of Transportation.

The first is a change in parking rules along Third Avenue between East 61st and 95th streets: an area with "a lot of high-demand commercial need with little commercial regulations," DOT staffer Katrina Casey told Community Board 8 during a Wednesday meeting.

Specifically, those blocks are plagued by delivery trucks that clog the avenue while pulling over to unload products. As it stands, the trucks are mostly banned from accessing the curb directly, forcing them to stall in traffic lanes — where they pose hazards for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

The new rules would add metered parking for commercial vehicles on weekdays, which Casey said will "decrease double-parking, encourage short-term stays and provide space to more users."

Meanwhile, the city's second proposal will create 37 "neighborhood loading zones" on narrow residential streets around the Upper East Side.

Also targeting double-parked cars, the program removes parking spots and replaces them with designated areas for package deliveries, pick-ups and drop-offs by taxis and car services, and the unloading of personal vehicles.

Board members mostly applauded the plan — but some expressed dismay that it applies to only small vehicles rather than box trucks. Resident Joe Sullivan pointed to the recent death of a delivery cyclist on East 76th Street in a crash involving a FreshDirect delivery truck double-parked on First Avenue — a corner not included in the loading zone program.

"We notoriously have a FreshDirect truck that just sits there in perpetuity," Sullivan said.

First piloted in 2019, the loading zone program has won praise from safe-streets advocates for prioritizing traffic safety over private car parking.

The community board's transportation committee voted to support both proposals — though the city could implement them regardless of the board's position. The Upper East Side's initial 37 loading zones will likely be expanded in the future to include more streets, DOT representative Colleen Chattergoon said.

Read the DOT's full list of 37 loading zones here, and learn more about the Third Avenue parking rules here.

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