Lee on tractor-trailer overnight parking mandate

I'm going to ask a question on behalf of Councilmember Brooks-Powers, but this is actually an issue I know that is very important to myself as well as the Deputy Speaker and a bunch of other Council members on the tractor-trailer overnight parking.

Because on September 28, 2023, the Council passed a bill that requires the city to create off-street parking for tractor-trailers because this has been a huge issue for us.

And it requires DOT, DCAS, DCP to coordinate on creating that off-street parking by December 31st, 2025, which has already passed.

So just in the interest of time, where have you identified those commercial parking, off-street commercial parking lots?

And also, can you provide an update on the timeline as well as how much it's going to cost to build municipal lots?

So where, how long, and the cost.

So, yes, thank you for the question.

We've been very aware of the issues with overnight truck parking and the new federal rules that have really put pressure on that.

As you mentioned, we have been working with a lot of our sister agencies around the requirements of that law.

So, for example, DOT looked at all of the land that we own, which includes public parking lots now, as well as other pieces of land that we own.

And we determined that we, DOT, don't have space that's appropriate for use in that context, but we are working with our other sister agencies, you know, as EDC and others lead that effort.

So at the same time, we've recognized that this is a big problem, and that's why we've been setting up on-the-street metered overnight truck parking in industrial districts where it belongs.

That's why the council passed another bill really encouraging us to focus on those areas last year.

And so we have been studying IBZs and other appropriate areas around the city for where we can provide more of that overnight truck parking so that it's not showing up in places where it's not appropriate.

So while that particular study is beyond DOT, we are still as an agency very invested in doing a lot of work to provide that overnight truck parking in appropriate places.

How about DCAS, DCP, other agencies, private parking lots?

I know that have been interested in renting out their spaces.

Have those come?

Conversation has been going.

Because we're past the deadline, so I just wanted to get a sense of when.

Yeah, I think as long as the facilities work functionally, like obviously the trucks need a lot of space to be able to maneuver, and so that's a big part of the conversation.

That's one of the limiting factors.

But as Deputy Commissioner Beaton said, those are active conversations.

We're committed to trying to support this goal.

I know I also bring it up every time I meet with the Trucking Association of New York or others and just really underscore because we know this is a big issue for communities.

Yeah, if you can follow up with the timeline, that'd be great.