City officials in Bayonne, New Jersey, recently opted to restrict truck parking on city streets for any vehicle exceeding 16,000 pounds.
According to an August 29 article from the Hudson Reporter, the Bayonne city council adopted a new ordinance that removed an exemption allowing trucks to park on certain city streets with the purchase of an annual decal. The decal was free for residents and $500 for non-residents.
The new ordinance bans all truck parking on city streets outright.
City Council President Gary La Pelusa explained to a resident during the August council meeting, “The exceptions used to be for vehicles exceeding 16,000 pounds. This is basically saying trucks, tractors, trailers, and commercial vehicles are excluded from parking there. We used to have locations, but now we’re basically saying they cannot park on the street.”
Lack of safe truck parking has been a huge area of concern for truckers across the country for many oyears. Truck parking issues tied for the #1 slot in the most recent ATRI ranking of top industry concerns for truck drivers (driver compensation was the other issue in the number 1 slot in the ranking).
In March 2022, New Jersey transportation officials said that they would work to improve truck parking as part of New Jersey’s 2022 Statewide Freight Plan to be released later this year.