A new online tool will give people in Fairfax County a quick way to identify and report illegally parked commercial vehicles.
The county launched the “Parking Violation Public Report” tool yesterday (Tuesday), Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck announced during the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Developed by Storck’s office, the county’s Department of Information Technology (DIT) and police department, the questionnaire allows users to pinpoint the location of the violation, categorize the issue and “even identify vehicles with out-of-state plates” for potential tax enforcement, according to Storck’s board matter.
The county’s Department of Tax Administration collects personal property tax revenue on vehicles owned by county residents and registered with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
Reports submitted with the tool are sent directly to the Fairfax County Police Department and the supervisor’s office for the district where the violation occurred.
According to Storck, his office developed a checklist for community members to use to report parking violations after getting “regular” complaints about commercial trucks blocking driveways and other issues, particularly along Richmond Highway.
“More and more lately, we are seeing our public streets littered with commercial vehicles like large box trucks, dump trucks and tractor trailers,” Storck said. “Not only is this a safety hazard, it’s intrusive to our neighborhoods, blocks our businesses and limits walkability, while diminishing the vibrancy we are striving to create.”
The tool can be used for any violations on public streets, according to Storck’s office.
As allowed by state law, Fairfax County prohibits commercial trucks and trailers from parking on streets in residential districts. Commercial vehicles are generally defined as ones that exceed 21 feet in length, 8 feet in height, 102 inches in width or a gross weight of 12,000 or more pounds.
Other possible violations include vehicles parked in travel lanes or otherwise “obstructing traffic,” ones in no or restricted parking areas, vehicles parked for 15 days or longer and vehicles parked within 10 feet of a driveway, 20 feet of an intersection or crosswalk, or 30 feet of a stop sign, according to a flyer created by Storck’s office.
With the launch of the countywide reporting tool, both English and Spanish versions of the flyer were shared with the other supervisors, who can distribute them through their district offices.
“It’s a checklist that you can use to identify if the truck is illegally parked or not and then what the appropriate way is to address that,” Storck said. “Of course, the number one objective is to not have people parked illegally [and] work with the owners of the vehicles to ensure they have a place to park so they effectively don’t park on our main streets.”
Storck says his office has also worked with the FCPD to increase its enforcement of parking violations, and county officials have advocated for state legislators to grant them more control over local streets.
The new reporting tool will help the county address issues now as the push for more local authority remains “ongoing,” Storck said.
The tool can be found at https://tinyurl.com/stoptruckparking. Parking violations can also be reported to the FCPD’s non-emergency line at 703-691-2131.
