The City of Bedford has a new ordinance that prohibits parking 18-wheelers or other commercial vehicles on city streets. The new rule allows those vehicles to be parked on neighborhood streets only when they are loading, unloading or providing a service.
“If they're not there doing commerce, if they're not there providing some type of service to a residence or a home, there's no need for them to be parking there on the streets," said Bedford Police Chief Jeff Williams.
The ordinance is designed to prevent the long-term parking of 18-wheeler cabs or box trucks in neighborhoods. It applies to anything that is not a passenger vehicle, motorcycle, or pick-up truck.
"We have basically said that there really is no reason for a commercial vehicle to be parked on the street for really any amount of time. We're a suburban community, our commercial businesses have parking facilities," said Andrea Roy, Director of Development for the City of Bedford. "If a commercial vehicle is on our street and in our right of way, there really should be a reason for that."
The new ordinance also restricts other vehicles to parking on the street in Bedford for a maximum of 24 consecutive hours. Vehicles must be moved for a minimum of 3 hours to be considered moved.
Recreational vehicles will need a city permit to be parked on a street in Bedford. Those permits will be valid for seven days. Residents can permanently park their R-V's in their driveways if the vehicle, including the trailer hitch, can fit into the driveway without blocking the sidewalk.
Bedford police plan to issue warnings to vehicles that are in violation of the new ordinance for the next 30 days. After that, they could begin writing tickets.
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