TA security guard shoots driver/parking dispute

When carriers will start covering parking fee we will return to situation when there is no parking after 8-9 pm. So your solution does not work very well, except I guess for truck stops...

 

Perhaps. But what I have noticed about capitalism, is, if something is more profitable, those that are involved do more of what is profitable. Some truck stops can get bigger, others will open up.

 

If it was a true free market this would be true. But it isn't. You can't just buy land and open a truck stop, you have to convince the locals to allow you to. And then convince the epa that the lizards and frogs won't be hurt.

 

tell that to Loves. Look at all the truck stops they have opened, and are planning to open. It is a free market.

 

And look how many years they spent in the permit and zoning approval process. Not to mention how few parking spots they got approved for. Obviously im not claming its it's a regulated industry like rail or telecommunications, but the days if buying up 50 acres for truck parking any where you #### well please are long gone. The approval process is so expensive and full of bureaucracy it might as well be regulated.

Look at the pilot near lake city florida for an example of this defacto regulation on truck stops. The old truck stop that used to be there easily fit 200 trucks. They closed down and pilot eventually acquired the land, but in order to get zoning approval more than half of it was lost in "beatification" requirements. Now it barely holds 50 trucks.

 

I don’t disagree with you at all. I saw first hand, Loves wanted to build on the exit at Story City, IA. The locals were worried about lot lizards and what knot. Loves went up the road a few miles and built anyway. Like I say, I don’t disagree, it’s a huge mountain to climb, but they are getting them built. I heard the CEO of TA/Petro on the radio the other day talking about opening their new TA Express concept, but he didn’t say how many or talk about how difficult it is.

 

FYI- The Oklahoma City Police Department told me this morning that there was no guarantee they would even bring this case to the district attorney so I’ve been burning the phone lines trying to get it some visibility.

Anyway, I just got off the phone with the D.A., David Prater, who sounded extremely fair, and he assured me he would call the OKC P.D. and have the case sent for him to review regardless of whether or not they deemed it necessary. We talked for about 10 minutes and I think he has a much better idea about what we face when it comes to parking. Good guy. Fair minded, which is all you can ask for.

They still may not press charges on the security guard, but if so then I’ll feel confident it was due to the evidence and not because his case wasn’t taken seriously because the person shot was a truck driver.

 

The one on South Council Road always has spots open, always. I've never pulled in there and not been able to park. Most recently I pulled in there at 0140 earlier this week after unloading at AWG down the road, there were probably 30 spots still open at that time.

 

Now if the security guard started messing with the truck that’s a different story.