Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, May 24, 2023:
The city of St. Paul, Minnesota, could potentially join its neighbor Minneapolis in banning truck parking within city limits.
When the St. Paul City Council meets Wednesday, May 24, it will discuss an ordinance that will change the city’s rules on truck parking, which already bans trucks from parking in residential areas. The new ordinance would ban truck parking on any city street.
According to the text of the ordinance, there have been “numerous complaints made by city of Saint Paul residents about the increased number of commercial vehicles and semi-trucks parking in the city generating public safety and nuisance concerns.” The ordinance notes it's “common for these vehicles to cluster together and park along entire city blocks and sometimes on both sides of the street.”
A presentation about the ordinance said that without it, the city “cannot efficiently, effectively, fairly, or equitably manage the truck parking complaints we are receiving.”
The ordinance would mirror the Minneapolis parking ban in prohibiting any vehicle over 26,000 pounds from parking on any city street unless engaged in loading/unloading or providing a service. It also raises the weight for vehicles restricted from parking in residential districts from 6,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds.
