More NIMBYS

The situation of drivers at home and drivers on the road needing a place to break is reaching a point of critical mass leading to real problems for all concerned. With US consumers demanding more and more goods (and more and more local truck drivers), and the OTR driver population growing exponentially to support this first reality, something is going to have to give, in every community, big and small, even in rural America it's becoming a problem especially as so many are now lease operators, owner ops, and "contractor drivers" who don't have a nearby terminal to leverage for parking and return to regularly.

But places like NYC are a real problem because there is simply and literally no available real estate, anywhere. But you see this effect almost everywhere to one degree or another.

 

They obviously arn't paying enough to have stuff delivered to their "island".

 

The key words are two.

Small time ticket fines is just another cost of doing business. No real bite.

The city could tow em all, but the mighty city has no room to put them all.

So when there isnt room, you make room. If they ticket it, you pay it and move on.

 

Start booting them at $1000 a pop. That will get their attention

 

I can see their point. As much as I love trucks I'd be pissed too if there were dozens of them parking on the street in front of my house. I have no problems with a truck and trailer parked on someone's property or even just a single truck and trailer parked in front of the owner/driver's house. But a dozen or more trucks just parked there because there's no room elsewhere? No thanks. Don't want my neighbourhood turned into a truckstop.

 

So you want them to park 50 miles away in the country next to the rail tracks and flag down an Amtrak when it's time to commute to work? They have NO OPTIONS! other than to quit trucking and hope the goods can magically find some other way to appear on the city's store shelves.

Could you build a high-rise parking structure that could support the weight of say 30 rigs per level, perhaps 20 levels high, with 2 "super-elevaters", one for entry and one for exit? Most trucks would be empty when parked, I imagine. Could these monthly/yearly parking rates be feasible to impose on the local truckers? Maybe the lower level(s) could accommodate the personal vehicle slots at additional cost. Otherwise would have to be near public transportation. Also, should be well secured with surveillance technology, and a few roaming armed guards 24/7.

It would be very expensive, but this is THE ONLY option I can see for places like NYC if your intent is to get trucks off of streets. But an investor would be hard pressed to get enough commitment and interest to even begin the feasibility study. Few are going to be interested in paying perhaps $1500/month for slotted parking where there is still a 15-30 minute commute to get to an expensive apartment.

This would be a good design project for a kid in engineering or drafting school.

 

Most people that work regular jobs in NYC do exactly that, but in the opposite direction.

If you drive a truck and live in NYC, then you need to either find a paid parking option in the city (there are many), or just move out of NYC.

 

This isn't so much NIMBY as NIMFY.