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Calling on the administration, along with the Philadelphia Parking Authority, to perform an audit of semitrailer and truck tractor parking across the City of Philadelphia, to investigate best practices in other jurisdictions, and to provide solutions to this growing problem in the City. Also authorizing the City Council Committee on Streets and Services to hold public hearings to assess the enforcement of semitrailer and truck tractor parking regulations.
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WHEREAS, The illegal parking of large commercial vehicles, such as semitrailers and truck tractors, continues to be a growing problem in residential neighborhoods, negatively impacting quality of life and public safety; and
WHEREAS, It has long been the law - under Section 12-901 of the Philadelphia Code - that “No person shall park a commercial vehicle on any street within one hundred feet of any property used partially or completely for residential purposes between the hours of 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M., except for the purpose of loading or unloading vehicles in the usual course of business with the occupiers of the residential property, or while carrying passengers for hire”; and
WHEREAS, Under these long-standing regulations, no semitrailers, truck tractors, U-Hauls, backhoes, or other commercial vehicles are permitted to be parked on residential streets between the hours of 6pm and 6am; and
WHEREAS, Because of the insubstantial enforcement of those prohibitions, Philadelphia City Council strengthened the language of Section 12-901 in 2022 to read “No person shall park a semitrailer or truck tractor on a single block of any residential street”; and
WHEREAS, Despite the stronger language incorporated under the 2022 amendments, semitrailers and truck tractors continue to plague residential neighborhoods across the City. Part of the reason continues to be inadequate enforcement of the law; and
WHEREAS, In many neighborhoods across the City, the enforcing entity is the Police Department. Generally, the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) only tickets in locations where there is metered parking or permit parking. For most other parking violations, the responsibility for ticketing lies with the Police Department; and
WHEREAS, The Police Department is understandably more occupied with responding to more serious issues than parking violations. So, they often lack the manpower to ticket semitrailers and truck tractors that are parked in violation of the law; and
WHEREAS, When individuals or Council offices call to report parking violations, the Police often say that they will only issue tickets if there are “No Truck Parking” signs installed on the block; and
WHEREAS, The Police Department’s interpretation of the Philadelphia Code has led to what is likely an unnecessary proliferation of “No Truck Parking” legislation by City Councilmembers. District Councilmembers frequently introduce bills to establish “No Truck Parking” regulations on a single block. More recently, District Councilmembers have taken it further, with some establishing “No Truck Parking” regulations near recreation centers, libraries, parks, and schools, and with others prohibiting semitrailer and truck tractor parking altogether, throughout the entire Council District (meaning that truck parking would be prohibited on all streets within the District’s boundaries, and not just on residential streets); and
WHEREAS, According to the Streets Department, this potential proliferation of new “No Truck Parking” signs is exorbitantly costly, particularly due to the rising cost of aluminum which is used to make the signs, and it is not realistic to install such signs on every block in a Council District or even near every recreation center, library, park, and school; and
WHEREAS, The problem of semitrailer and truck tractor parking is only growing across the City, particularly with the ever-increasing popularity of e-commerce. It is understandable that the drivers of these trucks - many of whom live in the neighborhoods in which they are parking - need somewhere to park their vehicles when they are home for a few days after several weeks on the road. But it is unfair to residents who view these vehicles as a quality of life and public safety concern; and
WHEREAS, We need to understand both the scope and scale of this problem across the City, and which neighborhoods are most adversely impacted. We also need to understand why the Police Department does not ticket unless signs are installed, and why the PPA does not go into many impacted neighborhoods to write tickets for these types of parking violations; and
WHEREAS, We also need to understand how the Police Department and the PPA can better coordinate the implementation of existing laws that are already on the books. Furthermore, we need to explore more permanent solutions, like repurposing large swaths of vacant land into truck parking lots, to ensure truck drivers can park within City limits without adversely impacting the quality of life in residential neighborhoods. Finally, we need to investigate best practices in other jurisdictions and to provide solutions to this growing problem in the City; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby calls on the administration, along with the Philadelphia Parking Authority, to perform an audit of semitrailer and truck tractor parking across the City of Philadelphia to investigate best practices in other jurisdictions and to provide solutions to this growing problem in the City.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Streets and Services is hereby authorized to conduct public hearings to assess the enforcement of semitrailer and truck tractor parking regulations.