SAN ANTONIO – Drivers of 18-wheelers could soon have an even harder time finding a place to park within San Antonio city limits.
The Public Safety Committee advanced a plan on Tuesday to ban overnight parking of oversized vehicles, like semi-trucks, within 1,000 feet of residential areas.
State law and local ordinances have already restricted parking in residential areas.
Parking in residential subdivisions between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is a Class C misdemeanor. San Antonio prohibits parking the trucks in a home’s front yard or on the curb of a residential property.
The trucks can still park legally on other non-residential streets, which can still draw the ire of people living nearby.
The addition of a buffer zone would make about 78% of the city off-limits to truck drivers looking to keep their trucks overnight on a city street.
People in the trucking industry said there are already too few spots for drivers to park their vehicles. A city survey of 88 truck drivers found that 83% said they already struggle to find parking.
The proposal is a scaled-back version of the total overnight parking ban the committee initially considered. However, it is still more sweeping than an option pushed by city staff, which would make it easier to restrict parking at identified problem spots.
A full vote by the city council is expected in March.
The idea to further restrict 18-wheeler parking further came from Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8). The Northwest Side councilman, who is also running for mayor, submitted a council consideration request in May 2022.
“I haven’t heard a city council person yet that we’ve spoken to who’ve signaled any opposition to this,” Pelaez told the committee.
This is the second time the committee has advanced the 1,000-foot buffer plan in a year. However, a discussion with the full council got delayed after another mayoral candidate, Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4), requested the city do more outreach and analyze the availability of private parking spaces.
Garcia said city staff told her the city would continue to explore what it could do to help drivers.
In the meantime, a vote on the idea of parking restrictions will move forward.
