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1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

nytimes.com

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Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#111

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

deegles wrote: post #102
crazygringo wrote: post #40

The problem isn't trucks -- obviously, it's hugely more efficient for a single truck+driver to deliver 100's of packages in a single day than for 100's of individual people to spend an hour each going to/from a store, and even worse for congestion if even more than a few are taking individual vehicles. The problem is parking. And the solution is obvious: multiple truck-length parking spaces along each and every block…

Running to the store... which also got its inventory delivered by truck! So the urgency argument is even less apt.

But the number of trucks and stops they would need to make is much smaller if they're just going to stores instead of individual houses. And in NYC it's highly likely the person going to the store is taking public transit.

Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#112

Post by Symbiote »

majewsky wrote: post #108
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same in Germany. There is usually no problem at all with picking up parcels.

At least not on the level of "package is badly damaged" or "package gets lost/stolen". There's still the issue of limited opening hours which is a hard issue for people who are working themselves during business hours. Also, the delivery companies that are not DHL have quite sparse pickup locations, which means more time lost on commuting.

I think most kiosks and other locations that serve as pickup/drop-off spots have better hours than the delivery driver.

They tend to open at around 7:00, and close at 18:00 or 19:00, which is much easier to schedule around than a driver who might deliver between, say, 7-17.

Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#113

Post by pkaye »

giarc wrote: post #11
kevindong wrote: post #9

> “What percent of your deliveries are truly urgent — 5 percent or 2 percent?” said Mr. Holguín-Veras, the Rensselaer professor. “We as customers are driving the process and to some extent creating these complications.” As a NYC resident, it's not really a matter of urgency. Identical products are generally much cheaper online (and generally with free shipping). And it's much more convenient since the products get sh…

I live in Canada but have family in the US. I was visiting once and was ordering some things on Amazon. Amazon offered me coupons if I delayed shipment of items. I wish Amazon would expand this offering to other countries. I'd be happy to have packages combined into a weekly or biweekly shipment. If I need something right away I could indicate that, but for the most part I don't need things same day.

Those incentives are not really worth it. I'm not going to delay the delivery for days to save a dollar. If it is one extra day I might consider. I'm sure Amazon is doing experiments to determine time/value curve.

Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#115

Post by emit_time »

I worked for a trucking company for a few weeks during two summers in college. I did Manhattan deliveries once, which meant going in the middle of the night ~9pm - ~5am and doing the deliveries to avoid spending all day in traffic.

Was definitely an interesting experience.

Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#116

Post by CydeWeys »

oefrha wrote: post #91
CydeWeys wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Advocate for dedicated commercial loading zones. They're not even doing that bare minimum. But it's crucial to point out this simple fact, and I don't think you've quite internalized it yet: Parking illegally in safety infrastructure KILLS PEOPLE . Like, multiple people are dead every year in NYC solely because a vehicle was parked illegally. So regardless of anything else, they should not be doing that. If deliverie…

> Parking illegally in safety infrastructure KILLS PEOPLE. Parking illegally in safe infrastructure has the potential to kill people. But increase in parking violations doesn’t say anything about parking illegally in safety infrastructure. I’ve had my fair share of parking tickets throughout my life but those were things like parking somewhere where I didn’t have a permit (or dumber, I had a permit but the permit was…

I bike the streets of NYC daily. I can tell you with absolute certainty* that delivery trucks frequently park in bike lanes (which this article talks about), which directly causes the deaths of several cyclists per year. You want their names? There's articles written every time a cyclist is run over, and often enough it's because someone was illegally parked in the bike lane and they were forced into a vehicle lane and then run down. As an interesting side note, emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks will use bike lanes when necessary to bypass vehicle congestion, but of course this doesn't work when the bike lane is blocked by an illegally parked vehicle. The cyclists who happen to be in the lane can of course simply pull their bikes up onto the sidewalk to let the emergency vehicle(s) through.

* Here's an example of 5 trucks parked in the bike lane in as many blocks from one of my morning commutes earlier this week: https://twitter.com/CydeWeys/status/1187386128288174080 This is not an extreme outlier; it's typical.

Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#117

Post by CydeWeys »

bogomipz wrote: post #97
CydeWeys wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't see too much of that in Manhattan, because the sidewalks are so crowded with pedestrians that they're terrible places to be on a bike. But yes, in general, creating safe, protected bike lanes is an excellent way to increase safety for everyone. I've heard people complain about cyclists on the sidewalks in locations that lacked bike lanes and had speeding motor traffic, and the cyclist clearly felt unsafe ri…

>"You don't see too much of that in Manhattan," Uhm ... except for almost every single food delivery person. This has been an issue for a long time now as well: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/city-increase-fines-del... And more recently with electric bikes as well: https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/04/19/confronted-with-facts...

Delivery cyclists tend to only use the sidewalk for part of the last block when that's the only way to get to their destination. They're definitely not using the sidewalk for the entire trip; that's way too slow. Especially not on e-bikes!

Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#118

Post by CydeWeys »

xxpor wrote: post #89
steelframe wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> is putting in dozens of miles of new protected bike lanes each year as part of the long-running Vision Zero initiative. "Protected bike lanes"... aren't. Because they share intersections with motor vehicles, left-hooks and right-hooks still happen, which together constitute the majority of bicyclist-motorist collisions. A transition to a better transportation system can't happen a few bike lanes at a time. Society…

>"Protected bike lanes"... aren't. Because they share intersections with motor vehicles, left-hooks and right-hooks still happen, which together constitute the majority of bicyclist-motorist collisions. Part of installing protected bike lanes should be installing arrows and bike signals so there's a separate phase to make a turn. See 2nd Ave in Seattle: https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6074569,-122.3372911,3a,42.9...

We have some split-phase protected bike lane intersections here in NYC (e.g. 8th Ave north of 14th St), but not nearly enough. Most protected bike lane intersections are not split-phase; we're relying on drivers seeing us and yielding to us as is required of a vehicle trying to turn across others going straight. In practice though, a lot of drivers just bully you and don't yield as required, because it's gonna hurt you a lot more than them if you collide.

Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#119

Post by apostacy »

smelendez wrote: post #98
apostacy wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UPS already tried doing this a few years ago in Brooklyn,[1] but not Manhattan apparently. I was subjected to this a few years ago. Instead of being greeted at the end of the day with my shiny new $300 phone, they left it in a pile on the filthy floor of a local bodega three blocks away. Then, after finding it, I have to wait in line and have my ID scanned and sign for it. And I paid for overnight shipping but if I d…

Taking the package and claiming a refund is obviously fraud but it sounds like the business was also not properly safeguarding the packages. Why not keep them under the counter?

No, you don't claim a refund. She showed me that her Amazon tracking number showed that the package she didn't sign for was listed as returned with no signature, and she was given a refund.

It seems like something that can easily happen by accident. I can understand why she was frustrated. After being on a crowded subway, I hated having to go into a crowded store and wait on line to get my package. But I did not agree with her knowingly exploiting this to get free stuff. I know that she told other people in our building how to do this. I don't know if this led directly to the bodega not receiving packages anymore, but I'm sure that someone had to pay for it.

I would not be surprised if these access points were a major vector for mail fraud. At this particular bodega, not just did we have to wait on line, but sometimes we'd have to wait for the clerk to deal with other customers on a different line. So I can easily see how she would have made off without signing.

I never had a choice in the matter. I think it was theoretically possible to opt out, but I would have had to make a UPS account, and even then it was not a guarantee. I personally really resented how the shipping status would be changed to something like "For your convenience, we will be delivering to an access point instead". Even on Saturdays when I was home and able to receive, they didn't even bother sometimes and would just drop it off at 7PM at the bodega. Not convenient.

Re: 1.5M Packages a Day Bring Chaos to NYC Streets

#120

Post by CydeWeys »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #111
deegles wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Running to the store... which also got its inventory delivered by truck! So the urgency argument is even less apt.

But the number of trucks and stops they would need to make is much smaller if they're just going to stores instead of individual houses. And in NYC it's highly likely the person going to the store is taking public transit.

In NYC it's highly likely the person going to the store is walking. I've pretty much got everything I need within walking distance; there's only a very few specialized stores I'd go farther than that for (e.g. B&H).
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