An empty truck parked on 3rd Street in Jacksonville Beach. | Google Maps
Published on February 21, 2024 at 4:14 pm
Q: Jacksonville Today reader Bob S. has a question about some very large things he has been seeing parked for long periods along Florida A1A in Jacksonville Beach, aka Third Street South.
He says this stretch has become “an overnight truck stop over the past two years.”
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“On any given day, you’ll see upwards of five tractor trailer trucks parked on both sides of the road where there is on street parking. Typically, they are parked south of Beach Boulevard and north of Butler Boulevard,” he says. “I don’t understand why these trucks are parked here. They don’t seem to be causing any harm, but it is odd that they would be parked there at all.”
He says it does not appear the trucks are making deliveries, and he thinks their drivers are sleeping in their cabs, as they do at truck stops.
Bob, a Neptune Beach resident, says he reached out to Jacksonville Beach police months ago with the same question but got no reply.
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“I don’t understand why these trucks are parked here. They don’t seem to be causing any harm, but it is odd that they would be parked there at all.”
A: When we reached out to Jacksonville Beach Police, Sgt. Tonya Tator did respond, and she says trucks can park legally on Third Street South as long as they are in a designated parking space. But trucks are are not allowed to park east of Third Street, a mostly residential area.
And there is a time limit.
“A violation that could occur is if they are parked longer than 60 consecutive hours in the same designated parking space,” Tator said. “This is a city ordinance.”
The police department has, on numerous occasions, contacted trucking companies.
“More often than not, they are residents of Jacksonville Beach, know not to park east of 3rd Street, and are not sleeping in the trucks,” Tator says. “However, when we do receive a complaint, we investigate and educate those involved on our city ordinances when appropriate. If we observe a violation, we will take appropriate action if warranted.”
If you see a truck, or any other vehicle you think has been parked in one location too long in Jax Beach, you can call the Jacksonville Beach Police Department’s non-emergency number, (904) 270-1661, to report it.
As for why Third Street may be so attractive for truckers, one former over-the-road truck driver sees an obvious draw.
“Even though there aren’t as many warehouses at the Beaches as there are in the rest of the city, there’s still a lot of freight going to the Beaches. If I had a delivery in the morning at the Beaches, I would definitely park on A1A for the night,” says Ray Hollister, who drove for Covenant Transport in the early 2000s. “The thought of trying to navigate in the morning from a truck stop on I-95 all the way to the Beaches would be a hellish nightmare, especially on a weekday. Plus, being within strolling distance to the beach in the evening after days or weeks of just seeing asphalt would be pretty sweet for any truck driver.”
Editor’s note: Ray Hollister, a man of many talents, is currently digital director for WJCT Public Media, which operates Jacksonville Today.
Have a question you’d like the Jacksonville Today team to look into? Email news@jaxtoday.org with #AskJAXTDY in the subject line, and you might see your answer soon.
