New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced new incentives to help reduce truck deliveries during the busiest hours to improve traffic safety, protect the environment, and combat daytime congestion and double-parking. The agency will allocate $6 million to incentivize businesses receiving deliveries overnight.
NYC DOT’s Off-Hour Delivery program (OHD) will provide financial incentives for businesses to shift deliveries to off-peak hours, between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Excessive truck traffic during peak daytime hours contributes to congestion, increased carbon emissions, and greater safety risks to pedestrians, cyclists, and others when the streets are busier. The funding, allocated through the US DOT’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program, is part of the agency’s larger effort to rethink how the city manages deliveries and better meet the demands of e-commerce.
“New Yorkers are receiving more deliveries than ever before, and we are making them cleaner, safer, and more efficient,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “This incentive program will support local businesses and benefit all New Yorkers by reducing the number of delivery trucks on our roads during busy daytime hours.”
The Off-Hour Deliveries incentives will fund tools and strategies to make business overnight deliveries feasible. This includes installing low-noise equipment for delivery vehicles (such as newer hand pallet trucks and backup alarms), building security retrofits to enable unattended deliveries, and safety equipment such as security cameras. Participating businesses will receive one-time payments. The incentives program specifically aims to help smaller businesses that face financial barriers to transitioning to off-hour deliveries, though the program will be open to businesses of all sizes. NYC DOT will also encourage participants to consider sustainable last-mile delivery options like electric vehicles and cargo bikes. The incentive program will be managed by Arcadis, which will develop, administer, and monitor its implementation.
The Off-Hour Deliveries incentive program is part of NYC DOT’s efforts to reimagine freight delivery in New York City, restructure freight distribution, and create a sustainable last-mile delivery system for getting goods where they need to go safely and efficiently. Earlier this month, NYC DOT launched LockerNYC to combat package theft and reduce truck deliveries’ negative environmental and safety impacts.
In March, the agency authorized using e-cargo bikes on city streets to make deliveries safer and more sustainable. The agency is also working to install delivery “microhubs,” where trucks can safely offload to smaller, greener delivery modes like cargo bikes, handcarts, and electric vans. Additionally, through the Blue Highways program in coordination with EDC, the city is working to reactivate marine infrastructure helping to shift deliveries from larger trucks to our waterways.
“Off-Hour Delivery incentives should help to reduce traffic at peak hours by incentivizing receivers to demand their freight when competition for street space lowers. Parking will be easier, the need to idle will be reduced, delivery costs will be reduced, and truck utilization will improve,” said Zach Miller, director of Metro Region Operations at the Trucking Association of New York. “In addition, professional truck drivers, who operate under federal hours-of-service regulations, should have a smoother work schedule. It’s a win-win program. An example of the kind of support the trucking industry needs to improve efficiency while still ensuring New Yorkers get their goods.”
“The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce applauds the Off-Hour Deliveries incentive program. This important new DOT initiative is a sensible way to help small businesses transition to off-hour deliveries while addressing the myriad issues associated with commercial deliveries and traffic safety,” said Randy Peers, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. The Off-Hours initiative offers many practical solutions to benefit transportation matters across the board.”
“Creating a safer, greener, and livable downtown is our top priority, and excessive truck traffic during peak daytime hours is a barrier to its realization. The Off-Hour Deliveries incentive program is an innovative way to make our bustling mixed-use neighborhood even more welcoming and safe for pedestrians and cyclists,” said Regina Myer, president of Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. “The program is an excellent way to reward businesses for contributing to the overall safety of the neighborhood while also decreasing carbon emissions. We applaud DOT for this inventive initiative and look forward to working with our businesses to implement a new delivery infrastructure.”
Source: NYC DOT