Park Slopers Start Petition Against New 'Loading Zones': Report

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A pilot program looking to help curb double parking and congestion has drawn the ire of Park Slope drivers, the Brooklyn Paper reports.

A petition against newly-installed "neighborhood loading zones" added along Second and Third streets has gained nearly 200 signatures since it was started late last week.

The loading zones, put in place in December, are part of a program approved by Community Board 6 in March to allow room for home deliveries by turning a handful of street parking spaces into designated loading spots, according to the Paper.

But some neighbors say they were installed without enough warning to the community.

“Everybody felt blindsided by it because there was no outreach to the community,” Sara Vaswani, who lives on Second Street and started the petition, told the Paper. “It seems like a hush-hush thing.”

The backlash is a similar reaction to the pilot program's introduction to Clinton Hill last year, where neighbors set up a forum claiming a "war on cars" because of the idea. The Clinton Hill loading zones, set up on Greene Avenue, were reversed after Council Member Laurie Cumbo and residents rallied against the program.

In Park Slope, officials told the Brooklyn Paper that the program was widely publicized.

The board promoted both its March meeting and the results of the unanimous vote for the loading zones back in March, Community Board 6’s Transportation Chair Eric McClure said. The board’s decision was also covered in the Brooklyn Paper, Streetsblog and NY1 at the time.

The Department of Transportation said it also sent alerts to Council Member Brad Lander's office and the community board before putting up the loading zones in December.

The program will eventually be evaluated on its success.

“It’s a pilot program – if it doesn’t work as intended, it won’t be made permanent,” McClure said.

Read the full Brooklyn Paper story here.