More parks needed for truckers
LORRY parks may be needed every 30 miles along the A14 to cope with the growing number of trucks working in the county.Transport chiefs and planners are looking at potential sites, but it will be up to commercial developers to provide the facilities.
LORRY parks may be needed every 30 miles along the A14 to cope with the growing number of trucks working in the county.
Transport chiefs and planners are looking at potential sites, but it will be up to commercial developers to provide the facilities.
Meanwhile, the haulage industry is deeply concerned about the situation - especially with the Port of Felixstowe embarking on a massive expansion project which will see one million more lorries a year on Suffolk's roads in the next 15 years.
Because of driving laws, hauliers says truckers cannot always make it back to base to park up and with a lack of truckstops they are forced to park in laybys, where their loads are at risk from being targeted by gangs of thieves and hijackers.
Some A14 laybys have also been removed because they did not meet standards - cutting even further the amount of places to park.
The Freight Transport Association said the freight industry had been let down by the lack of a national policy for lorry parking.
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It has called on government to encourage councils to make adequate provision for lorry parking where there is a need.
FTA head of road network management policy, Malcolm Bingham said: “The transport industry requires a network of truckstop facilities sufficient to provide adequate rest and refreshment for drivers needing to take their statutory breaks, together with overnight security for the driver and load.
“The whole UK economy is delivered by the transport industry and lorry drivers, and yet they are expected to scuttle about seeking locations, sometimes inappropriate, to take their breaks and overnight stops.”
It is reckoned there could be a need for as many as 500 parking spaces in Suffolk and there would be a need to site them as close to the A14 as possible.
It is understood Mid Suffolk District Council and Suffolk County Council have it on their priority lists but other than identify potentially suitable sites can at this stage do little more.
Where should truckstops be set up? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk
