18-wheelers park illegally in many DFW neighborhoods. Can anything be done about it?

For some truck drivers, getting a parking ticket is merely the cost of doing business.

In some neighborhoods, especially in far north and far south Fort Worth, it’s common for residents to spot 18-wheelers parked on residential streets.

“They’ll park in a neighborhood and happily take a $35 ticket as opposed to trying to find a place to park,” said Fort Worth City Councilman Cary Moon, whose district includes parts of far north Fort Worth.

On a recent afternoon, for example, four trucks were parked in a row along Sandshell Drive in far north Fort Worth, not far from Western Center Boulevard — and just two blocks from a large residential area with tidy, single-family homes and apartments.

A few miles to the north, another truck cab and two detached, flatbed trailers were parked along Golden Triangle Boulevard, near a busy intersection of restaurants, convenience stores and other businesses.

It isn’t just Fort Worth seeing a problem.

At a Sept. 13 Regional Transportation Council meeting, a report found trucks were causing problems all over the Metroplex.

The study found truck parking is a national issue. Locally, the primary issue appears to be on the outer edges of the region’s most populated counties — including Tarrant and Parker counties — where trucks have difficulty finding somewhere to park.

The report identified Interstate 35W north of downtown “as a corridor of concern.” Others listed in North Texas included I-20 and I-30 in Parker County, I-45 and I-20 in south Dallas, I-35E and I-635 in north Dallas, and I-635 in east Dallas.

The report offered several recommendations. Among them:

▪ Build short-term truck parking facilities on underused public land.

▪ Foster partnerships between local governments and private companies or land owners to create parking locations.

▪ Use electronic signs on highways to inform drivers of places where parking is available.

“They’ve got to have some place to go but we don’t want them in the neighborhoods,” said Fort Worth City Councilman Jungus Jordan, whose District 6 includes the I-35W corridor in far south Fort Worth, where problems have also occurred.

To Moon, the $35 parking citation is too cheap. He asked city staff to research the issue on Tuesday and determine if the fine can be raised, with or without a City Council vote.

“We need to look at that fee,” Moon said at Tuesday’s City Council work session. “It’s something we struggle with citywide.”

Fort Worth’s parking problems have spread to neighboring cities and surrounding unincorporated areas, where truckers have found more rural places to park their rigs.

“These guys are paying $7,000 an acre to park just outside of the city limits,” Moon said. “We’ve got to do something.”

This story was originally published September 21, 2018 at 6:00 AM with the headline "18-wheelers park illegally in many DFW neighborhoods. Can anything be done about it?."