Pre-set fi ne program for delivery trucks
makes streets unsafe: Constantinides
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | DEC. 13-19, 2019 33
BY MAX PARROTT
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
and Councilman Costa Constantinides
joined transportation activists last
week to call for an end to the Stipulated
Fine Program through which trucking
companies can agree to pay a pre-set,
reduced fine amount for parking offenses.
“We have seen more than 50,000
bike lane violations over a two-year period
with little to no penalty for these
companies. Frankly, it’s sickening that
we give delivery corporations a free
pass to put people at risk,” Constantinides
said.
By mid-morning on Dec. 2, the ecommerce
holiday Cyber Monday was
on track to set an online sales record.
Sales were expected to reach a total of
$9.4 billion, roughly a 19 percent jump
over last year, according to USA Today.
For New York, this means an impending
surge of last-mile deliveries.
A 2018 study by the Transportation
Research Record found that approximately
1.7 million U.S. Postal Service
packages are delivered on average each
week in New York, meaning 195,000 delivery
stops. This number is expected
to swell considerably over the next
week, along with the level of congestion
across the city as a result.
The fee reduction of the program is
considerable. A double-parking ticket
for a truck — normally $115, for example
— is reduced to $35 for companies
in the program. Some tickets even get
reduced to nothing. According to an
Independent Budget Office report the
program “saved the 10-most heavily
fined trucking firms as much as $10
millions on their summonses.”
The advocates argued that Stipulated
Fine Program has made congestions
more treacherous by lessening
the consequences of blocking bike
lanes, fire hydrants and crosswalks
for companies like FedEx, UPS and Verizon.
Constantinides pointed out that
these reductions in fines end up endangering
cyclists and inconveniencing
drivers.
“While intended to reduce the backlog
in our courts, the Stipulated Fine
Program and Commercial Abatement
Programs have evolved into a sweetheart
deal for major logistics companies,
who have nothing to lose because
they pay reduced fines while jeopardizing
the safety of our streets,” said
Williams.
In October 2018, Constantinides
introduced a bill to prohibit any city
agency from agreeing to reduce fines
for parking violations in exchange for
a waiver of the right to contest parking
violations.
Reach reporter Max Parrott by email
at mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260-2507.
Courtesy of Constantinides’ offi ce
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