GLOVERSVILLE — City officials are continuing to seek a place for private truck drivers to park their rigs in the city.
On July 7, new rules went into affect that saw the removal of long term parking of large vehicles from the Frontage Road and Elm Street public parking lots.
Officials said the issue was that the lots — which are located next to City Hall and the Farmer’s Market Pavilion — had been filling up with old, sometimes unusable recreational vehicles, utility trailers with old mattresses or other trash or as a dumping ground for junk cars that were sitting there for weeks or even months.
Several residents of Kingsboro Towers told The Leader-Herald last month that private haulers had been parking open top trailers filled with garbage in the Frontage Road lot across the street from their building, leading to an unsightly and smelly issue.
Council members said they were concerned with where private truckers could park their rigs during off hours.
Third Ward Councilman Vincent DeSantis said the city should find a spot for these drivers to park, since this is how they make their living.
“These can be lucrative jobs and I’d hate to throw them out of the city. We should make an effort to find a solution,” DeSantis said.
Fourth Ward Councilman Steven Smith said that according to city code, the city should have been charging a fee to those who were using the lots as parking for business purposes or to store their off season vehicles.
The lots that were looked at, including one off of Harrison Street, were found to be inadequate for the purpose. Smith said issues included too steep of a slope to the entrance and exit that could cause issue during snowfall as well as issues with the size of the lot impeding turning radius.
Officials said that some have been using the transit department parking lot.
“If we don’t give them an alternative, they will just go somewhere else,” Smith said, alluding to the fact the trucks could be parked in area where it is not allowed or it could be an obstruction.
Department of Public Works Director Dale Trumbull said that parking should be fine for right now, but the city is looking to take some soil from the Gloversville Enlarged School District’s ongoing capital project and store it in the transit department’s parking lot.
Sixth Ward Councilman Wrandy Siarkowski said there was a city business that used to allow truckers to park in their lot, but when the property changed hands that ended.
Council members and Mayor Dayton King said the city could speak with area business owners to see if they could secure parking at free or reduced costs for private truck drivers.
