NYC plans to route trucks through more neighborhoods as safety efforts stall

90% of freight enters New York City by big rig.

1 minute read

June 15, 2026, 5:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Red Coca Cola truck driving under elevated rail track in New York City.

A truck passing under an elevated rail line in New York City. | Dogora Sun / Shutterstock

The New York City Department of Transportation is proposing changes to the city's truck routes that residents say will create unsafe conditions on Third Avenue, where advocates have been calling for more safety interventions for years.

According to an article by Kevin Duggan in Streetsblog NYC, "Third Avenue is already a truck route, but the Department of Transportation’s proposed overhaul of the city’s truck route map would allow big rigs onto nearby Second Avenue as well. The agency also wants to designate a new truck route on Third Avenue further south in Bay Ridge — an addition that locals fear will inundate their streets with heavy haulers."

Duggan adds that "DOT’s plans come out of a City Council bill that aimed to reduce truck traffic, but the agency is effectively allowing truckers to drive on more roads. NYPD’s enforcement against off-route heavy haulers has plummeted over the last decade." Roughly 90% of freight coming into NYC enters via big rigs, well above the national average of 70%.

Friday, June 12, 2026 in StreetsBlog NYC

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