The NYPD is cracking down on double-parked trucks along an Upper West Side bike lane that is rarely used — leaving the targeted drivers at wits’ end.
City traffic-enforcement agents began the ticket blitz along Columbus Avenue at 7 a.m. Wednesday, sources told the Post.
The controversial bike path from West 110th Street down to West 77th Street claimed a lane of traffic — even though it is parallel to more preferable cycling routes on Riverside Drive or in Central Park.
Trucks are forced to double-park in the middle of the avenue to make deliveries, and the companies are paying the price.
“I don’t know what they expect us to do,” said Rubin Estevez, 45, who returned to his truck to find he was ticketed while delivering chicken to Ditch Plains, an oyster bar and fish shack near West 82nd Street.
Figures were not immediately available for the number of tickets issued, but several NYPD vehicles were seen patrolling the stretch on Wednesday, peppering windshields with citations as snow flurries fell during the morning rush.
Estevez said he’s better off double parking because his New Jersey company, D’Artagnan, will fight the ticket.
“If I pull up at a fire hydrant or a bus stop, I get a warning [from his employer] and I have to pay for the ticket,” he said.
Drivers also risk getting towed from hydrants, whether or not the vehicle has a backlog of tickets, because the city aggressively clears those spots so fire trucks can access the pumps in case of fires.
Estevez said he was double-parked for 10 minutes to drop off the poultry on Wednesday. He averages about four tickets a week for the privilege.
“I try not to double park, and I’ll walk an extra block if there’s parking,” he said.
Often, there’s none, just an empty lane for cyclists who are nowhere in sight.
“Bike lanes get in the way everywhere. If there’s a bike lane then there’s no where to park.”
Additional reporting by Larry Celona