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FOOD DELIVERY DRIVERS CLOG CITY STREETS. CAN BOSTON SOLVE THE PROBLEM?
Publisher Center | December 19, 2022 | Street food | No Comments
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A delivery driver returns to his double parked car. Pat Greenhouse/Globe staff
“It’s really become a crisis for us in several areas,” said Yasha Franklin-Hodge, Boston’s streets superintendent. “These are services that rely mostly on people driving cars to pick up a food order. … In places with limited parking or that are already congested, this can create huge negative impacts.”
The most striking example is on Boylston Street, where the first Chick-fil-A location in Boston opened in January, according to Franklin-Hodge.
“Orders are coming in at a volume that far exceeds the street’s ability to handle the cars,” he said. “The result is just chaos, basically the loss of lane on Boylston Street and a lot of safety concerns.”
Over the past few months, the city of Boston has taken steps to address the problem. It replaced parking meters with free 5- and 10-minute food pickup zones at more than two dozen hotspots, including near Chick-fil-A, the High Street Place food court in the Financial District and pockets of the Fenway and South End neighborhoods .
Franklin-Hodge estimated the acceptance zones would cost the city “several hundred thousand dollars a year” in lost meter revenue, though she noted it “shouldn’t prioritize meter revenue over safety.”
 In the early afternoon, scooters and motorcycles crowd the sidewalk outside Chick-fil-A. Pat Greenhouse/Globe staff
In an effort to ease congestion, Chick-fil-A has placed a curbside pickup shelf so drivers can save time by picking up orders without entering the store. Uber says that after the issue was brought to its attention, the company also limited how many orders Chick-fil-A could generate during certain hours.
But even with these measures, it’s still not quite smooth. On a recent weekday, about 20 delivery drivers stood outside Chick-fil-A, most leaving their cars double-parked.
“What’s become abundantly clear is that it’s not enough,” Franklin-Hodge said of the various attempts to untangle delivery vehicle traffic, including pickup zones.
Eric Herot, a tech worker who rides his bike past Chick-fil-A every weekday around 5 p.m., said he was “impressed” by Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration’s quick response, even though it didn’t work. But he also understands why drivers ignore the new rules – for them, time is money.
“The incentives for drivers to turn things around quickly are so high,” he said.
As the city figures out what to do next, the patience of local businesspeople is wearing thin.
Adam Babcock, who runs a physical therapy and fitness studio next to the Boylston Street Chick-fil-A, said parking has always been a challenge. But before the restaurant opened, he said he “never had anyone complain.”
These days, delivery vehicle congestion is causing people to be late for appointments, Babcock said. Sometimes his water cooler supplier delays deliveries. Babcock he said even lost a new customer who got frustrated after spending 30 minutes looking for parking.
 A delivery courier, this one on a bicycle, picks up an order on the patio outside Chick-fil-A. Pat Greenhouse/Globe staff
“He would be late and just say, ‘I’m going home,'” said Babcock, co-owner of Sustained Fitness and Physical Therapy. “This has never happened before.”
Franklin-Hodge said he had tried to send a dedicated parking enforcement officer to the area, but it was difficult to change the behavior of vendors. That’s because the delivery app’s workforce has a high turnover rate, and drivers often visit hundreds of different restaurants a week. The chances of getting a ticket are slim, and even if you do, it’s hardly a deterrent.
“We don’t see traditional enforcement as a particularly effective tool for managing delivery applications,” he said.
During an appearance on Boston Public Radio’s GBH last week, Wu commented on the situation at Chick-fil-A. “Curb management is a key component of this,” she said in response to a call from a driver on a delivery app. “We can’t stop traffic with double, triple parking.”
 Adam Babcock runs a physical therapy and fitness studio next to the Boylston Street Chick-fil-A. This is a view of the street from his window.Courtesy of Adam Babcock
Franklin-Hodge said she is in the process of finalizing a new set of curbside guidelines so the city can be more proactive and consistent when allocating free parking for food pickup. It reflects the work done by the administration of former Mayor Martin J. Walsh, which in 2019 launched a program to allocate curb space for ride-hailing pick-up and drop-off zones. The goal then was to minimize congestion caused by people getting in and out of Uber and Lyft vehicles.
Josh Gold, Uber’s senior director of policy and communications, said other cities followed Boston’s lead after the city created pick-up and drop-off zones for hailing rides. He envisions a similar ripple effect if local officials figure out how to lower the barriers around restaurants accepting takeout orders.
“Boston was really a leader [in ride-share]and I think they’re the leaders here,” Gold said. “Other cities are not so willing to give up that parking space.”
Gold acknowledged that Uber also has work to do. He said the company is using technology to try to reduce the amount of time drivers wait for orders to be filled, as well as increase “bundling,” which is when drivers pick up multiple orders from a restaurant at once.
 Chick-fil-A placed a curbside pickup rack.Pat Greenhouse/Globe staff
A spokesperson for DoorDash said the company is “working closely with local policymakers” and is “eager” to “identify solutions” for pickup issues.
Franklin-Hodge said she is also looking at ways to work with the state to create something similar to the Massachusetts Transportation Network Company Division, which was created in 2016 to oversee the ride-sharing industry.
But he said the longer-term goal is encouragement bike delivery couriers. Wu appointed Franklin-Hodge to his cabinet in January, tasking him with expanding the network of bicycle routes in the city.
 A driver leaves with an order from Chick-fil-A.Pat Greenhouse/Globe staff
The city may consider partnering with companies that allow couriers to rent electric bikes, he said. He has also considered trying to tax companies for every delivery made by car, then give them back that money for every delivery made by bike.
So far, delivery companies seem willing to work with Boston. Uber launches incentive program in Boston to encourage bike deliveries, offering $50 to drivers who made five pedal trips last week, Gold said.
“There are many reasons why driving someone’s chicken sandwich in a 4,000-pound SUV is a terrible thing for the city,” Franklin-Hodge said.
Anissa Gardizy can be reached at anissa.gardizy@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @anissagardizy8 and on Instagram @anissagardizy.journalism. |
