“Starting August 1, parking will be removed for 12 weeks to create curbFlow loading zones for commercial activities at nine locations across the city.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr.TinDC

From DDOT:

“Today, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced the next phase of the curbside pickup-dropoff (PUDO) program will focus on commercial activity. DDOT has partnered with curbFlow, a mobility company that coordinates commercial operator pickup & drop-off activity to available curb space in real time. As part of the project, curbFlow will research and analyze the demand at nine locations throughout the District where commercial loading and PUDO activities for delivery services often leads to double parking and other dangerous behavior.

In October 2017, the District was one of the first cities to launch a passenger PUDO program to improve the safety of pickup dropoff activity. Allocating curbside space for PUDO activities allows for safe loading and unloading by restricting parking in the designated zones. By removing parking, passenger and commercial loading can occur directly at the curb, and out of travel lanes.

“DDOT is continually exploring innovative ways to address safety on our streets, and reduce traffic congestion,” said DDOT Director Jeff Marootian. “By exploring new curbside management options through this partnership with curbFlow, DDOT is able to keep traffic flowing, maximize efficiency of our curbside space, and make data-driven decisions about next steps.”

Starting August 1, parking will be removed for 12 weeks to create curbFlow loading zones for commercial activities at nine locations across the city. The zones will be used by both commercial vehicles and private vehicles operating in a commercial manner such as picking up for an online food delivery service or other online delivery platform. Participants will use an app free of charge. Commercial operators doing business in the District may register at https://www.curbflow.com/DC.

The nine locations are:

1200 block of 1st Street SE
1200 block of H Street NE
400 block of 8th Street SE
1100 block of 4th Street SW
300 block of Tingey Street SE
200 block of 3rd Street SE
700 block of Maine Ave. SW
1400 block of 20th St NW
1000 Block of Wisconsin Ave NW near M Street NW

curbFlow staff will be at each of the zones to collect data and determine if the app is working as expected. Data will be collected to look at safety, utilization, productivity, and equitable access.

“The curb is an oft-forgotten but critical element of our city landscape,” said Ali Vahabzadeh, Founder and CEO at curbFlow. “We’re excited to work with DDOT in using data-driven solutions to reduce double parking traffic, help make our streets safer and more sustainable, while making sure merchants get their goods delivered in a timely manner.”

The commercial delivery landscape has changed significantly in recent years with the advent of delivery apps for food and other goods. The data will enable DDOT to get a better understanding of the commercial demand for the curbside when many companies are now using private vehicles for delivery through app services. Once the research period has concluded DDOT will evaluate the data to determine next steps for citywide curb usage policies.”