New Ordinance to Cut Down on Large Vehicles Parked on Norristown Streets

The Norristown municipal council passed a motion at the their Tuesday evening meeting to prohibit commercial vehicles being parked in Norristown streets, with some exceptions.

The ordinance, 13-14 of 2013, amends the general laws of Norristown. Commercial vehicles, are defined as trucks, semi-trailers or vehicles over 20 feet long, over 80 inches wide and over 8 feet high, as well as “any vehicle, regardless of size, that causes any visual obstruction that would create a hazard  to the public safety and welfare.”

The parking exceptions are for when a large vehicle is from a public utility company, or the municipality, or is an emergency vehicle, and they are engaged with doing their duties. A large vehicle is also allowed when it is being used for deliveries or doing a service. Recreational vehicles may be parked for up to 48 hours.  

The council had discussed the issue at their Nov. 6 meeting, where various councilmembers spoke about the complications caused when large vehicles park in the streets.

“One of the concerns that I have is the pickup truck that has the 15 foot trailer attached to it, that takes up 95,000 parking spaces in a residential street,” said council president Gary Simpson.

According to Councilwoman Linda Christian, residents have been saying that it can be difficult to cross a street when they cannot see easily around a large vehicle. “One of the things that we found frustrating are the individuals who live outside of Norristown but bring their vehicles inside of Norristown to park there,” she added, and noted that DeKalb Street is an issue with large vehicles.

The “worst offenders” bring their large work vehicles home and use them as their own vehicles, said councilwoman Mary DeSouza.