Minneapolis City Council approves truck parking ban ordinance

July 23, 2021

Tyson Fisher

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After a few years in the making, Minneapolis has passed an ordinance that bans truck parking in the city with amendments to find parking solutions.

On Friday, July 23, the controversial truck parking ordinance was put before the full Minneapolis City Council for consideration. With a 12-1 vote, the ordinance passed, with Councilmember Andrew Johnson the lone dissenter.

Initially proposed in 2019, the ordinance essentially bans truck parking on city streets in Minneapolis. The adopted amended ordinance prohibits vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds from stopping, standing or parking on any street. Exceptions apply to trucks “actually and expeditiously in the loading or unloading of passengers or materials from the vehicle.” Another exception is for vehicles “stopped, parked or standing in compliance with specially posted signals or signs regulating the weight of a vehicle or combination, or at the directions of an authorized traffic control agent or police officer.”

A last-minute amendment during the last Transportation and Public Works Committee meeting, changed the fine schedule. Originally, fines started at $150 from Jan. 1, 2022, until Dec. 31, 2022, and $250 thereafter. That adopted ordinance now schedules fines at $100 in 2022, $150 in 2023 and $250 from 2024 on.

Although the truck parking ban in Minneapolis has been approved, added staff directions intended to address issues raised by stakeholders.

The initial ordinance only included the truck parking ban. However, Councilmember Jamal Osman, who represents a ward with several truckers, proposed actions to be taken by the city to find a solution for truckers. Specifically, Minneapolis will now be tasked to do the following:

  • Community Planning & Economic Development staff to work with all interested parties to develop commercial truck parking in Minneapolis. Outreach should be made with commercial property owners, institutions and railroad companies to find potential sites for parking. While parking lots are not a use that is representative of the adopted Minneapolis 2040 plan, the need for this use is important enough that staff should endeavor to develop as many parking spots as is feasible in the city.
  • Intergovernmental Relations staff to reinvigorate regional efforts at finding legislative and operating solutions for commercial truck parking in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area.
  • Staff to deliver a report to the city council in the fourth quarter of 2022 detailing the development of parking opportunities, the first year’s experience with education and enforcement, and the results of regional inter-government efforts to find regional solutions to truck parking.

“I’m really grateful for Councilmember Osman’s amendments to help my colleagues bring forward this truck parking ordinance,” Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins said. “We have to really begin to move our regional partners and industry to come up with some solutions for the small-business owners in our community to be able to park their vehicles. This is a step in that direction.”

“The Minnesota Trucking Association said it was extremely disappointed with the action of the Minneapolis City Council today,” MTA President John Hausladen told Land Line in a statement. “It not only bans on-street parking for commercial trucks, but it provides no meaningful city resources to address the need for safe truck parking. We should be looking for ways to provide more safe parking for truck drivers instead of pursuing a policy that would diminish an essential industry and do real economic harm to the city.” LL