It costs $18 a night to park a truck at Flying J in Lathrop and as much as $30 at select secured truck yards in the South County.
But if you drive a truck and you want to try to reduce your costs by parking off of a truck route in Manteca you run a risk of being ticketed. The fine is currently $50.
As long as they don’t get cited every time they park illegally, truckers brazenly have told Manteca Police that they are saving money in the long run.
Meanwhile overweight trucks on streets such as in neighborhoods designed primarily for vehicles excel the deterioration of pavement.
“Not only are they damaging the roadways by being over the weight limit, but we continue to get complaints from residents on a daily basis for trucks parking off of truck routes,” noted Manteca Police Lieutenant Paul Carmona in a memo to the City Council. “We continue to tax our resources by sending officers out on a daily basis to enforce these repeat offenders. We have even been told by the offenders that they will continue to park and receive a citation because it is still cheaper than renting a space at a truck yard for the month.”
The City Council when they meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St., has the opportunity to change the dynamics.
Municipal staff is recommending the City Council increase the fine for illegal truck parking 150 percent. They also want the ability to cite illegally parked trucks as well for auxiliary noise emitting from their rigs which is typically refrigeration units left running. That fine would be $88 on top of a $125 illegal parking fine.
Also, since other parking fines (except for handicapped parking) haven’t been changed in almost two decades, staff is recommending they be doubled to be in alignment with neighboring cities.
Manteca currently slaps a $50 fine on trucks parking off of designated truck routes.
The only places currently where they can legally park based on truck route designation is along Industrial Park Drive and Moffat Boulevard where it is not posted “no parking.” The other truck route streets on Spreckels and Yosemite avenues have no areas where any vehicle can park.
Given the only place that it is legal for trucks to part on the street is along truck routes, it isn’t clear whether trucks that now park on the street within the Manteca Industrial Park will be subject to being fined.
Manteca’s illegal truck parking fee is the lowest around. Tracy’s is $100; Modesto and Patterson charge $105, Ripon $110, while Escalon on the first offense is $100 before escalating to $200 on the second offense and $500 on the third offense.
“The Police Department has seen a steady increase in the number of trucks parking throughout the city over the last five years,” Carmona noted. “This problem will only continue to worsen if we do nothing about the current fine amount; therefore, staff is requesting to increase the current citation penalty from $50 to $125.”
Some of the proposed parking fines that staff wants to double would mean parking in front of a fire hydrant or in a no parking zone would cost $64, doing a vehicle repair in the street or parking for more than 72 hours on the street would be a $54 fine, parking outside of markings would be a $50 fine, an unhitched trailer would be $64, obstruction of a bike lane would be $204, while parking in an alley or in a passenger loading zone would be $64.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
