MACON, Ga. — We told you recently that Macon Bibb's Planning and Zoning has started to enforce the countywide ban on commercial vehicles parked in residential areas.
Some folks in Bibb County say there are still trucks and commercial vehicles parked in front yards, or on the side of the street just like any regular car. They want them out.
13WMAZ’s Jessica Cha spoke to neighbor Barbara Neely who says this is not only inconvenient, but can be dangerous.
"It's a problem, it is a problem,” says Neely.
She’s head of the neighborhood watch in Lake Arrowhead in east Macon. Neely says she cares about maintaining their homes, but trucks make that hard.
"We're speaking of truckers that bring them home every day. We are their parking garage for free! It destroys our street, it destroys the infrastructure, it also causes chaos and problems with neighbors," she explains.
Neely says neighbors complain that the trucks are loud, bring down property value, and create sinkholes and dangerous situations.
."My husband kept saying to me, ‘I smell gas, I smell gas.’ Lo and behold, where the trucker had parked, he found that the gas pipe was broken,” she says.
Neely says they’ve handed out flyers to the five truck drivers in the neighborhood to warn them of the law, but some do it anyway.
“Our hearts are certainly with our truckers,” she says. “They bring goods and services and demands. We understand that it’s great to walk out your door, get in your truck, and go to work. That’s convenient! However, that’s not what the city of Macon is trying to do. They’re not trying to place a hardship on the truckers, they’re trying to help all of us.”
Macon-Bibb Planning and Zoning's Executive Director, Jeff Ruggieri, says this law has been around since the 1960s. He says they started to fine violators who park trucks in the neighborhoods because of the number of calls they've been getting.
"We got to the point where it was taking weeks and weeks at a time where they couldn’t get to other things,” Ruggieri explains. “It was more of a public service announcement to just say we're gonna be a little more proactive now to get ahead of this instead of working from behind.”
Ruggieri says they're not trying to bully anyone. They just want to create a safe place for everyone to live.
He says the most common complaints they’ve been seeing have been they’re loud at odd hours of the day, or they’re so large– it becomes dangerous while driving and looking around corners.
"We’re charged with protecting neighborhoods and protecting communities. This is one of those where some people's business and their livelihood kind of intersects with community character, and that creates a difficult situation for us at P&Z,” he says. “However, quality of life and creating a community where people feel safe is something that we take seriously every single day.”
Ruggieri says they start by having conversations with people to resolve problems. They want to avoid court, fines, and even jail time.
He says he wants to give folks a chance.
"As long as we get a verbal 'Hey were trying to work towards compliance here’, we're trying to find a reasonable resolution,” Ruggieri says.
He says they don’t want to cause people trouble, and wants to be part of the solution. They're working on a map of places where truck drivers can park. Ruggieri says there are at least 500 well-lit, safe places that would cost around $75-100 a month.
That works out to around $5 a day.
“You can park your vehicle in a safe, secure place and still be in compliance with the rules, and your neighbors can sleep,” he laughs.
Ruggieri says they have yet to fine anyone this year. He says court and fines are the last resort.
They say that the map will be ready on their Facebook page in about a week.