Screenshot of DOT carshare interactive feedback map
Aug. 18, 2017 Staff Report
Jackson Heights will be one of several neighborhoods in the five boroughs where the Department of Transportation will be taking away parking spaces for the exclusive use of carshare companies.
The DOT, which is launching a carshare pilot program in 15 neighborhoods this fall, is searching for parking locations in Jackson Heights and the other neighborhoods that would be best used by carshare companies. In Jackson Heights, it’s looking for spots within a 20-block area between Northern Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue stretching from 74th Street to 91st Street and is seeking public feedback. The agency has set up a portal for residents to weigh in on areas where the program could work through online interactive maps.
Across the city, 300 parking spaces will be taken for the pilot program. It is not known how many per neighborhood.
Jackson Heights is one of four neighborhoods in Queens that is part of the pilot. The others are Ridgewood, Jamaica and the Eastern Rockaways.
DOT
Residents will be able to park at the curb as usual, except where there is a designated carshare parking space, which will be marked by signage stating “Carshare Parking Only” and “Others No Standing” followed by the name of the carshare company using the space.
Carsharing, a service that gives members access to cars for short-term use, either by round-trip services where cars are returned to the same location (like Zipcar and Enterprise) or one-way services where users can pick up a car at one place and drop it off at another (like Car2Go), is a focus for the city for a variety of reasons, including the improvement of local air quality through less driving, and less personal cars on the street overall.
The DOT’s effort comes after a March 2017 bill that requires the agency to establish a carshare pilot program.
For more information, visit the DOT Carshare Pilot landing page. To access the interactive map, click here.
