There are a lot of them in New York.
E-commerce is a very important component of New York City’s economy, yet double-parked delivery trucks claim more than $240 million in pollutants and lost productivity, a new report from Columbia University reveals.
Commissioned through Open Plans, Columbia’s Graduate School of Professional Studies report, “Estimating the Environmental Impact of Moving to E-Commerce in New York City,” found that a single delivery truck double-parked affects an average of 43 cars, which not only adds 0. 06 grams of particulate matter (PM2. 5) to the air, But it delays all drivers by more than two minutes. And in this city, time is money; These delays cost the city more than $243 million a year, the report estimates.
“The amount of time one can spend [or] make money, actually, waiting in traffic jams is more than $243 million a year,” said Jordan Goldstein, task manager for the report. “So the New York City economy loses that kind of cash a year. “This can be mitigated primarily by expanding the power of public transport. “
The principle of the report is simple: when a delivery vehicle is double-parked, the vehicles that cannot pass form a queue, generating more exhaust fumes.
Congestion levels vary throughout the day, but the report makes it clear that even a single vehicle can have a profound impact. In one case, an e-commerce vehicle double-parked assigned another 50 vehicles behind it, adding 3. 31 minutes to each vehicle’s duration. trip, or 165. 5 minutes combined. Another caused disorder in 73 cars, each waiting another 3. 23 minutes, for a total of 235. 79 minutes.
Some trucking companies have switched their fleets from electric vehicles, but this probably won’t replace the delays drivers experience, Goldstein said. “There are still people sitting in cars wedged into double-parked trucks,” he said. The study doesn’t even specify whether those trucks are idle, making the estimate of the $243 million charge conservative, Goldstein said.
The study presented a counterintuitive finding, suggesting that widespread implementation of loading zones, after-hours deliveries, or a curbside booking formula will be effective in reducing truck miles.
Instead, the study recommends a solution that would make a lot of trips in vans and trucks: microhubs.
“By centralizing delivery centers and bringing them closer to urban centers, the need for giant delivery trucks could be reduced,” the study says. “This proposed policy intervention aims to facilitate e-commerce delivery processes that reduce adverse effects on metropolitan traffic and the environment. “
London is betting heavily on microcentres, projecting that by 2030, 17% of all delivery trucks will be replaced by bicycles, 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air. Like New York, London hopes to expand its use of the river (and we’ve got two) to shipping goods.
Goldstein said microcenters “appear to be the most feasible” of all conceivable methods of freight traffic relief because they work, are relatively affordable to implement and cause maximum disruption to the existing, flawed system.
“It’s probably the city itself that requires the least investment to enforce the rules,” he added. “Maybe they’ll lose a little bit of efficiency, but corporations like Amazon are already allocating in their budgets the money they’re going to spend each and every year paying double parking tickets.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and the Department of Transportation also see credit, despite potential zoning challenges: The company announced a microcenter pilot program last year (though it hasn’t done so yet; a DOT spokesperson said the company is in the process of reaching an agreement). at and launch sites).
However, the report recognises that there is no one-size-fits-all solution: “Solutions to the problem of double-row parking will need to be multifaceted,” it reads, “there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Maintenance reporter for David Streetsblog in New York from 2015 to 2019. He returned as deputy editor in 2023 after a three-year stint at The New York Post.