SURREY – Mayoral hopeful Doug McCallum and the Safe Surrey Coalition are pledging to find a workable solution to overweight truck parking in Surrey within 100 days of taking office.
Currently, the City of Surrey Zoning By-Law No. 12000 (Part 4) states that “overweight vehicles are not permitted to be parked or stored either inside or outside a building or structure on any lot in a residential zone.”
The solution lies with being creative by allowing trucking professionals to have greater access to parking via the use of industrial zoning, according to McCallum, who is fondly known as “Doug Paaji” in the Indo-Canadian community.
“City Council can look at additional light and high impact industrial zoning that will not only create economic growth, but also allow for areas that can accommodate these vehicles,” McCallum said. “There are thousands of families across Surrey that rely on the trucking industry for their livelihoods, and it is unacceptable that the current Mayor and Council have not offered a solution over the past 9 years.”
With absolutely no residential access, as well as no street parking within city limits between 7:00am and 7:00pm, the trucking industry has received little to no cooperation from the City of Surrey.
McCallum said he and his team will schedule a series of meetings with city staff and the local trucking community following the election, and are committed to offering a real solution to this problem within 100 days of taking office.
“It is time for the City to stop spending $150 million on glamour projects like City Hall, or paying millions for guest speakers like George W. Bush for the economic summit, and instead get back to solving local problems,” adds McCallum. “The trucking industry is the backbone of BC’s economy by ensuring that goods are moved efficiently throughout the province, and it is time that the City of Surrey starts listening to their concerns.”
