City of Surrey to explore creating dedicated truck parking facilities

City of Surrey to explore creating dedicated truck parking sites

Heavy-duty truck parking. (Shutterstock)

There is a need to create designated truck parking facilities within Surrey, according to the municipal government.

During a public meeting on Monday, Surrey City Council directed City of Surrey staff to issue a request for proposals for proponents to lease and operate such parking lots dedicated to large trucks. The proponents would lease City-owned lands for such operations.

Such large trucks carrying cargo cannot be parked overnight on residential streets, outside the home of the operator and/or owner of the vehicle, of course.

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Surrey mayor Brenda Locke says many of these freight truck operators live in her municipality, and this problem has “plagued Surrey for more than a decade.”

“Council has directed staff to identify City lands that can be leased to truck parking operators. Many truck operators live in Surrey and the trucking industry is vitally important to the supply chain and provides significant economic benefits. That is why this Council is making this a top priority, and we are committed to finding solutions,” said Locke.

Such trucks not only directly deliver goods to local businesses, but they are used to ship goods between the Port of Vancouver and elsewhere in Canada. It is estimated about four-in-10 of all heavy-duty truck trips in Metro Vancouver are on Asia Pacific gateway-related trips, with this volume growing from the increased cargo and container volumes to BC’s ports.

Furthermore, a significant portion of Metro Vancouver’s industrial lands — such as for warehousing and logistics operations — are located within Surrey, including the Campbell Heights industrial park and Surrey’s industrial riverfront lands.

According to the City, a shortfall of available industrial lands in the region has created pressures in the trucking industry in Surrey and other areas within the South of Fraser. Without designated truck parking facilities, there have been growing issues with unpermitted truck parks, which create issues such as noise complaints, safety concerns, and damage to roads not designed for heavy-duty trucks.

“A large portion of industrial lands in the region are located in Surrey, yet there’s been a systemic failure to support truckers who support those industries,” said Surrey city councillor Harry Bains.

“This is an amazing first step that will create hundreds of new parking spots sooner rather than later. We will continue to work to create more truck parking infrastructure in our City.”

City staff have also been directed to discuss with the provincial government’s BC Transportation Financing Authority to determine the availability and feasibility of using provincially-owned lands for such uses.

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