UPS apparently isn't using the Upper West Side "microhub" parking spots it paid to reserve as part of a city pilot program struggling to get off the ground.
The "microhub" parking zones reserved for delivery firms to offload parcels from trucks to cargo bikes and hand-carts routinely go unused — or are filled with illegally parked cars — and delivery drivers continue to double park while making deliveries, Streetsblog observed over several visits in May, June and July.
Department of Transportation officials opened the three sites in April at Broadway and W. 77th Street, Amsterdam Avenue at W. 73rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue and W. 85th Street. Companies such as UPS applied, paid for and received permits to set up curbside distribution sites of the locations.
But only Amazon and Net-Zero Logistics appear to use their hubs as intended. UPS has trucks illegally parked all over neighborhood, but not in its microhubs.
Eleven companies applied for a microhub permit, and a rep for DOT told Streetsblog the agency will revoke permits from company that do not use the spots for "last-mile" deliveries as intended.
Here's what Streetsblog learned about the pilot during its recent visits:
They are being used ... a bit
Two companies are utilizing microhubs, which is good news for the pilot’s viability. The most prolific user is Net-Zero Logistics. The company was using its hub spots on every occasion Streetsblog visited.
At Net-Zero's site, one lift operator gives packages to runners with handcarts, who came and go delivering goods. A rep for DOT said the company "is active in its microhub for most of the day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m."
Streetsblog also saw Amazon workers using that company's hub space, though not on every visit.
However, Streetsblog never once observed the UPS hub in use — even as the company's vehicles dotted the neighborhood.
In fact, at one point a UPS driver was double-parked in the traffic lane right next to Net-Zero's microhub. On another occasion, a driver had illegally used a Westchester Fire Department-issued parking placard to illegally park in the Amazon microhub.
Microhubs scratch the surface
The city has just one hub each for three different companies in one of the most densely populated residential neighborhoods in the city — not nearly enough to meet the demand. With online retail booming, Amazon, UPS, FedEx and others have trucks all over the neighborhood — typically double-parked in the path of traffic, often for hours at the time.
Financially, it makes sense for companies to park illegally, since the $115 ticket can just be factored into their cost of doing business. That $115 ends up being less for big players who can negotiate down their tickets in bulk with the stipulated fine program.
On one of Streetsblog's visits, an Amazon truck driver had parked in the hub while another Amazon truck was double-parked across the street, causing the exact problem the microhub zones are meant to solve. The hubs could be alleviating traffic and safety issues, but with only three locations the difference is hard to spot.
The pilot is set to last three years, with 36 potential locations to be tested. That'll barely make a dent in the problem, but DOT is optimistic about the future.
"Creating designated locations where trucks can transfer packages to smaller, cleaner, and greener options for neighborhood-wide deliveries can reduce truck traffic, improve residents’ quality of life, and help us shift to a more sustainable future," DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement.
Illegal parking ruins everything
The signs that denote the microhubs are pretty easy to spot — yet routinely ignored by drivers. Streetsblog witnessed varying types of misuse of the microhub spots over the course of our visits.
In May, for example, Streetsblog saw an illegal parking placard user parked in Amazon's microhub — and two non-Amazon delivery trucks double-parked alongside it:
In both May and July, meanwhile, the UPS hub was closed due to a film shoot:
Misuse of the microhubs
While DOT has touted the hubs as an opportunity to expand use of cargo bikes, Streetsblog only observed cargo bikes being used by Net Zero at their hub.
The initial pilot received applications from 11 freight operators for just three permits. However, only UPS, Amazon, and Net Zero Logistics received a permit for a UWS location. The permit costs each firm $2,350 for the first year and $950 for renewals.
The shipping industry is more than three companies, of course, and many more companies deliver packages on the Upper West Side. In one instance, at an always-empty UPS permitted location directly across the street, a FedEx truck legally barred from using the microhub was double-parked as its driver made deliveries.
A UPS spokesperson, who refused to go on the record, said the company does occasionally use its permitted hub (Streetsblog has not witnessed this) as part of the pilot program.
The DOT has said that it is expanding the pilot to two off-street locations along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
