MACON, Ga. — A new parking lot might be coming to Macon, but it isn't for cars. Instead, it is a parking lot designed primarily for trucks.
The company Joy Ride Logistics applied to build a lot off I-475.
Truck driver Sadika Dickson said these lots are necessary.
"People pull over because most of the time there’s nowhere to park," Dickson said. "If they did leave a spot, there just wasn’t enough room. Most of the time that’s what happens, but that is the most dangerous area to park.”
The lot is proposed to have 37 spaces over three acres off Hawaiian Village Drive.
Decarlo Terry drives trucks, too, and passes through Macon often. He said regulations around parking have made things complicated.
"It’s kind of a mixed thing because you know they set stuff aside for truck drivers to pull over, but if they wouldn’t put all the regulations on the industry in the first place. Then they wouldn't have ran into this problem,” Terry said.
We spoke with people in Westwood Park and the Ranchitos.
Two manufactured home neighborhoods would be located near the parking lot. Some folks said they were a little worried about the increased traffic, but they understand why truckers need it, and they figured the project would just go forward.
Dickson wants people to understand that truck drivers are essential.
"Without truck driving, how would they be able to go to the stores and get the things that they need if it’s not for us? We need a safe place to shut down and to eat, to take a shower, to relax comfortably,” Dickson said.
The Macon-Bibb Planning and Zoning committee will discuss the application of the new lot during their Monday hearing beginning at 1:30pm.