THE Province will construct a new truck parking facility in Delta to benefit commercial truckers traveling to the Lower Mainland, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone announced on Wednesday.
“Operating a commercial vehicle is demanding work, and truck drivers need safe, convenient places to park overnight,” said Stone. “The addition of new truck parking facilities in the Lower Mainland is just one of a number of commitments our government has made in B.C. on the Move to address efficiency and safety improvements for the trucking industry.”
The new truck parking facility will be constructed on provincial land on Nordel Way at Highway 91 in Delta, across from the Nordel commercial vehicle inspection facility. Site preparation will begin this fall and construction will start in spring 2016. When completed later in 2016, the truck parking facility will have room for up to 40 heavy trucks to overnight. It will include lighting, washrooms, garbage cans and a sani-dump.
“When heavy trucks have no safe, convenient place to park, they end up on our residential streets or on agricultural land,” said Surrey-Fleetwood MLA and Minister of Education Peter Fassbender. “The addition of this facility will remove some trucks from Surrey streets and improve conditions for commercial drivers.”
”We are working with the Province on a number of initiatives through the Provincial Trucking Strategy,” said BC Trucking Association president Louise Yako. “A strong trucking industry relies on strong transportation infrastructure, and new truck parking facilities in the Lower Mainland are welcome improvements to the network.”
This facility at Nordel Way and Highway 91 is the first of at least two new truck parking facilities in the Lower Mainland, as committed in B.C. on the Move, the Province’s 10-year transportation plan. Evaluations are currently underway for a second facility in the Lower Mainland.
I’d have to say “it’s a start” but, unfortunately, it won’t even make a dent in the problem.