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Brace yourselves: Parking in New York City might be about to get even harder.
A new bill, Intro. 1138, pushed by the City Council’s Progressive Caucus aims to ban vehicles from parking within 20 feet of crosswalks at all intersections, a practice known as “daylighting.” Supporters say the move will save lives by improving visibility for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Critics say it’s a costly overreach that will gut 10-percent of the city’s free parking supply.
Sponsored by Queens Council Member Julie Won, the so-called “Universal Daylighting” bill would bring the city in line with a long-ignored state law already on the books. It would also require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to install physical barriers like planters or bike racks at 1,000 intersections per year to ensure drivers don’t sneak back into the cleared space.
That added infrastructure, however, comes at a price. The DOT estimates full-scale implementation could top $3 billion, and not everyone is convinced it’s money well spent.
“If this unhardened daylighting were implemented citywide, we think we could expect an increase of up to 15,000 injuries in a year,” DOT deputy commissioner Eric Beaton said (per amNewYork), pointing to internal studies that show minimal benefit from simply removing cars without “hardening” the corners.
Still, advocates say the bill is long overdue. In a 2023 op-ed, Open Plans co-director Sara Lind noted that over half of pedestrian deaths and injuries occur at intersections.
The numbers are sobering: In 2024, NYC saw 119 pedestrian deaths—a sharp 18-percent increase over the year before. Tragedies like the deaths of 7-year-old Dolma Naadhun and 16-year-old Jael Zhinin in Won’s district helped catalyze support for the legislation.
But opposition is mounting, especially in car-reliant areas like Staten Island, where Borough President Vito Fossella slammed the proposal as a “$3 billion parking ticket.”
The bill has a majority of Council sponsors, and the Progressive Caucus has made it a year-end priority. Still, it remains unclear if Speaker Adrienne Adams will bring it to a vote. Until then, New Yorkers can only wait—and circle the block.