New Wrinkles for D.C.'s Curb Management Program

The Washington, D.C. District of Transportation (DDOT) is adding features to its curbside management program, dubbed the curbside pickup-dropoff (PUDO) program.

According to an article by Katie Pyzyk, the new innovations in the program focus on commercial curb scape activity.

"DDOT partnered with mobility company curbFlow to research and analyze demand at nine locations where commercial delivery pickup-dropoff activities often result in double parking. Starting Aug. 1, parking will be removed at these locations for 12 weeks to create commercial loading zones where study participants will use a free app to coordinate curb time," according to Pyzyk.

"Analysts at curbFlow will collect data to determine curb space safety, utilization, productivity and equitable access. The study will help DDOT understand the changing delivery landscape and inform decisions about curb space use policies," adds Pyzyk.

As noted in the article, Washington, D.C. was one of the first to launch a program to manage curb space for transportation network companies (also referred to as ride-hailing companies). The new aspects of the program retain one critical element of the program's previous focus on TNCs: personal vehicles used for commercial services. The newly announced focus of the program will deal with app-based food, alcohol, grocery, convenience store and other goods delivery services that often use the same model, explains Pyzyk.