Billings City Council to Reconsider Policy on Commercial Truck Parking in Residential Neighborhoods

Did you know the City of Billings handed out 500 tickets last year to commercial trucks that were parked in residential neighborhoods?  Sure, it's your driveway, but you can't park your work truck in it.  Thankfully, that law might be changing.

The City Council will meet this week to discuss possible changes to the ordinance that prohibits commercial vehicles from parking in residential neighborhoods.  A group is recommending that the city code should be amended to make exceptions for emergency vehicles and to lower the acceptable weight limit to 12,000 pounds.

Of course, the city engineers argue that residential streets aren't built to withstand the weight of commercial trucks.  However, there is no law prohibiting people from parking 5 cars in their driveway with a combined weight that far exceeds the legal limits for commercial vehicles.  Yet, if a guy parks his work truck in front of his own house, he'll be on the hook for a huge fine.

The Flakes content this ordinance should have been changed a long time ago, especially for emergency vehicles.