In The News

'No parking' photo sparks outrage among truckers

Steve Weber had just backed his rig into a parking space at a truck stop near the city of Coon Rapids, Minn., on Friday, June 7, when he noticed something on the driver’s side window on the truck next to him.

“At first I didn’t pay that much attention to it, but then I got nosy,” Weber told Land Line on Tuesday.

The note taped to the driver’s window with clear packing tape read, “Attn: Trucker! FYI! Read sign posted no overnight parking in this shopping center lot. FYI! The Coon Rapids City Council passed a(n) ordinance this spring to crack down on all semi trucks etc. parking in any of our shopping districts. The police dept. will (now) issue expensive tickets. Just a friendly reminder for you. Find a new city to park your rig. We do not like these eyesores in our city. FYI: I have called the police.”

Weber, an OOIDA member from Maricopa, Ariz., said he decided to get out of his truck and snap some pictures after taking offense to the part about trucks being “eyesores.”

“That part really ticked me off so I decided to post it,” he said.

In the four days since posting the photo on Facebook, it has been shared more than 1,500 times.

On Monday, June 10, the City of Coon Rapids, Minn., posted a statement on its Facebook page clarifying the note was not posted by a city employee and does not “condone or endorse this type of communication.”

The city did pass an ordinance regulating overnight parking for vehicles weighing over 26,000 pounds gross weight in February for drivers who park or store their vehicles “in a place affected by the public interest between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.” If truckers are in an approved queue area waiting to load or unload, they can remain there for up to eight hours.

At this point, police in Coon Rapids are only issuing warning notices, according to the city’s statement posted online.

Weber said he left to deliver his load on Saturday and never had a chance to speak to the driver about the note.

“With everything going on about Jason’s Law, I thought this was important to document,” he said. “I had no clue this would create such a firestorm, but truckers need a place to park.”

www.LandLineMag.com