Truck drivers in a North Carolina town will have to make new parking plans after city leaders voted last night to forbid them from parking commercial vehicles on any residential property within city limits.
Last night the City Council of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, voted to approve an ordinance forbidding any commercial vehicle longer than 25 feet or heavier than 10,000 pounds from parking on residential property, according to a report in the Rocky Mount Telegram. This ordinance would prevent the city’s commercial truck drivers from parking their vehicles at their own homes.
City officials say that they will encourage truck drivers to seek parking spots in commercial areas like shopping centers.
During the city council meeting, resident Ruth Battle, whose son is a trucker, questioned city officials about the plan, asking, “What are we going to eat when truckers can’t come to Rocky Mount?”
Drivers will have a 90 day grace period before city officials start enforcing the ordinance.
Though he voted in favor of the ordinance, Councilman Andre Knight noted during the meeting that “Where you see a truck, you know that person is working and paying their bills.”
The parking conundrum is likely to become more of an issue as a CSX intermodal hub is built in Edgecombe County, a move that could encourage more truck drivers to move to the Rocky Mount area.