A large crowd filled the cafeteria at P.S. 9 Monday night to hear what the city’s Department of Transportation had planned for the streets between Broadway and Central Park West from 72nd to 86th streets.

What You Need To Know

  • Some Upper West Side residents are worried the Smart Curbs pilot will take away parking

  • The pilot is part of the city's Curb Management plan to better move both traffic and pedestrians safely

  • Proposals include cargo bike loading zones, For Hire and Para-transit Vehicle drop-off and pickup zones and electric vehicle parking

Some Upper West Side residents are concerned those plans include taking away parking.

“We lost a lot of parking spaces to the bike lanes, which we support,” said Linda Alexander, a resident. “But we lost a lot of them to the dining sheds. We lost a half a block of Citi Bike docks.”

The Smart Curbs pilot mostly focuses on the avenues and not side streets, where double-parking by delivery trucks, especially on Columbus Avenue, has been a problem.

“Trucks aren’t even using parking spaces or loading zones that are available because they’re worried about getting double-parked in or they’re just used to double-parking,” said Andy Rosenthal, a resident.

Residents gathered in small groups to discuss what changes they’d like to see. Some said they’d like to see loading zones where unused dining sheds are, others said none of this would work without enforcement.

Among the features DOT is looking at are For Hire and Para-transit Vehicle drop-off and pickup zones, electric vehicle parking, cargo bike loading zones and even surge metered parking.

They are also looking into safety features such as daylighting — removing a parking spot at the end of a block to better see around a curb.

But with this and worries about out-of-towners parking above 60th Street after congestion pricing, many said they would like to see resident parking.

DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez said everything is on the table.

“Any great idea that any resident of the Upper West Side has will be on the table,” said Rodríguez , who attended the meeting. “They will come to us. We will have the opportunity to come back responding to the feedback. So we are not saying no to anything.”

The DOT must do a parking study as part of congestion pricing.

As for the Smart Curbs pilot, the department hopes to start implementing some of the recommendations by the summer.

Meanwhile, there is another opportunity to weigh in on the DOT’s plan on a Zoom session on Wednesday.