Feds hear from both sides about Philadelphia’s truck parking woes

Heavy-duty truck parking is a big issue everywhere. I’m originally from Philly, and can appreciate both sides of this story.

Truckers need places to park their rigs when they are at home– places that are safe to leave a truck worth upwards of a half-million, and near enough to home that they can get to it easily. Neighborhoods in old cities don’t lend themselves to big rigs parking and maneuvering there. Many Philly neighborhoods have narrow streets, and plenty of overhead wires and other hazards easily hit by a big rig. And residents could well complain about parking space taken up by a heavy-duty truck and trailer.

The problem is not easy to solve. A blueprint for action exists, courtesy of the Federal Highway Administration and Cambridge Systematics, but money for truck parking was left out of the infrastructure bill recently passed by Congress. It probably would not have been used for this kind of parking anyway– more likely for truckstop and major interstate parking, or parking near ports and warehouse clusters.

City governments are not well prepared to deal with this kind of problem, and results will vary across the country.

For years many truckers have lived in small rural communities with lots of space, either on their own place or at a commercial spot. That makes truck parking easier. But truckers should be able to live in a big city and find somewhere to park, though like many big-city residents they may have to pay for it.

John Gallagher, Washington Correspondent Follow on TwitterThursday, December 16, 2021

Feds hear from both sides about Philadelphia’s truck parking woes – FreightWaves