Upper West Side Could Get Special Limo Lane

The DOT may create a special zone for car service vehicles and chauffeur-driven cars on ritzy Riverside Boulevard in New York City.

UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan, New York — Forget bike lanes — welcome black car lanes.

Luxury high-rise residents on Riverside Boulevard are such heavy users of livery service and chauffeur-driven cars that the Department of Transportation may create a special zone for the vehicles.

The DOT said Tuesday it could carve out eight spots along Riverside Boulevard, which fronts fancy Trump and Extell buildings, and reserve them for for-hire vehicles. The DOT's Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione unveiled the plan at a Community Board 7 meeting.

Forgione said the black car zone could solve a long-lingering complaint of residents, who've been asking for safety improvements on the street since at least 2009. Locals say the town cars, limos and SUVs that ferry executives to high-powered jobs double park, speed and run through stop signs.

A white-gloved doorman at The Heritage, a Trump building at 240 Riverside Blvd., said some residents ride in cars provided by the companies they work for, while others have personal drivers who take them to work in their own vehicles.

"Everybody who lives in these buildings has money, so they can afford to do that," he said. A five-bedroom apartment in The Heritage was on the market a few months ago for $12.5 million, according to Streeteasy.com.

NYC LIMO LANE ARTICLE HERE

Source: DNAinfo.com