Talking to a lad over a pint yesterday, (a happy Liverpool fan ) he does a lot of artic deliveries to shops and shop type wharehouses in London in an artic…beds.
Consequently the nature of his job means early finishes around 5pm when the shops shut, and starting late morning for shops opening around 9.
The conversation got to parking, and the fact there is virtually no designated truck parks in London …which kinda makes his job very difficult.
It isn’t that he can drive out of the city either, as he goes down with a hell of a lot of drops, so it can be a 2 to maybe a 3 day job, he’s maybe used most of his 9 hrs, and would mean a 2+ hour drive out, only to have to drive back in the morning.
He obviously has his own little ‘secret spots’ and the facility to sometimes park in the bigger shops yards, but it just got me to thinking, ‘they’ want all sorts of different type goods transported into the city area, …but where do they expect a truck to fulfil his legal obligation to park (it’s a rhetorical question btw, I fully realise they could not give a ■■■■ )
It should be an automatic requirement without question to provide truck parking facilities, but the ■■■■ s in these councils still get away with turning a blind eye and ignoring it.
I remember when I did London years ago, I actually used to enjoy it , and there were numerous designated parks, Aldgate, Bishopgate, Whitechapel, and Sheperds Bush to name a few,.and the social side of the job (that will be a shock to most of you today that there is such a thing ) was good down there.
I avoid the place like herpes today, but what about you lads who have to do it all the time, how do you cope with the chronic shortage of parking places down there?
I know it aint just London by any means either, but the vast wide area that it covers makes it one of the more prominent lack of parking areas.
Glad that I too dont do it now. Maybe the assumption is that suppliers will take a full load into a hub, for shipping out by day drivers? More expensive maybe than running your transport, and less reliable maybe, but its the way city drops are all going it appears.
I use an app called truck parking Europe, basically it’s an app where anyone can plot points on a map and write a description of the area, for example, an industrial estate with local amenities, lay-bys with nothing.
Industrial estates are generally alright and the app is handy if you are stuck. London can be a nightmare but there are plenty of spots and I always make sure to plot them on the app if they are worth it. If you roughly plan the time you are pulling up, it’s easy to find somewhere.
Parking in London is rubbish.
Even for a 45 min break
Guess im.lucky.
yes I go to london at least once a week. But tend to travel down afternoon before night in slough croydon or romford area depending.
Parking everware these days is rubbish. Building all.these estates then make them.private land or double yellow lines.
And does anyone know the new east Midlands gateway estate theve built is there any parking on there?
Not like I’m ever to go there just curious.
Main thing I hate delivering in.london is having to cross the river. There’s so many width weight limits on the bridges. And can be driving round and back on yourself to get over
One day I had a drop in southwark area I think, then next twickenham. Including my drive to the first drop from where I was parked overnight there was no chance of making it to twickenham within my 4.5 hours and 6 hours WTD. Where are you supposed to park between southwark and twickenham coming round the south circular?
What I did was put on 15 mins break while they tipped me and yes whilst I was opening curtains etc. Then I pulled into the side of their yard, back on break, Resecured my load and did the curtains up really really slowly. Then got in the truck. They kept asking me to move. As soon it hit 31 mins I went. And I’d happily tell DVSA that’s what I did and ask them to tell me where I’m supposed to take a 45 minute break on that run without parking illegally on a red route.
Even the little industrial estates in London are full of cars. Unless you get a delivery point where there is space to park for your break the only way of staying “legal” and I say legal very loosely there because it’s only legal in terms of what a techno print out will show, is to put it on break while your tipping or loading and just go slow enough to make sure you get 15s and 30s in.
In the mid-late ‘80’s when I was young and hardy if stuck in London for the night I liked to head for the A5 to park up in Kilburn High or Cricklewood area. Lots of cheap food and great pubs any night of the week. 45 minutes in the morning could get you to anywhere from Dagenham to Slough and no one was was really keeping an eye on you anyway.
I parked up there one night on what would become a Clearway at 7.30 am which suited me fine to leave at that time.
Unfortunately due to a late night and a few beers too many I woke up about 8.30. On realising the late hour I leapt out into the passenger seat and dived into the cacks and and pants with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and the head throbbing.
It was a Volvo F7 artic which is a fairly low cab with only the half curtains which went across the front of the bunk and nothing at the windows.
As I was buttoning up my shirt I noticed about 30 people lined up on the footpath right in front of me and they smirking and waving and so on.
Folk me, if I wasn’t parked at a bus stop!
I wanted the ground to open and swallow me I was so embarrassed and the 3 or 4 minutes it took to build up the air seemed to last an eternity. Anyway I stayed clear for a few weeks after that.
Still when you think about it a bit of embarrassment and a sore head is pretty minor to all the crap you would have to deal with today for that sort of stuff.
edd1974:
And does anyone know the new east Midlands gateway estate theve built is there any parking on there?
Not like I’m ever to go there just curious.
Double yellows all the way through, I was delivering there the other day. Oh, and a 15mph limit. Have no doubt they will enforce it at some point to make some more pennies.
Hurryup&wait:
In the mid-late ‘80’s when I was young and hardy if stuck in London for the night I liked to head for the A5 to park up in Kilburn High or Cricklewood area. Lots of cheap food and great pubs any night of the week. 45 minutes in the morning could get you to anywhere from Dagenham to Slough and no one was was really keeping an eye on you anyway.
I parked up there one night on what would become a Clearway at 7.30 am which suited me fine to leave at that time.
Unfortunately due to a late night and a few beers too many I woke up about 8.30. On realising the late hour I leapt out into the passenger seat and dived into the cacks and and pants with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and the head throbbing.
It was a Volvo F7 artic which is a fairly low cab with only the half curtains which went across the front of the bunk and nothing at the windows.
As I was buttoning up my shirt I noticed about 30 people lined up on the footpath right in front of me and they smirking and waving and so on.
Folk me, if I wasn’t parked at a bus stop!
I wanted the ground to open and swallow me I was so embarrassed and the 3 or 4 minutes it took to build up the air seemed to last an eternity. Anyway I stayed clear for a few weeks after that.
Still when you think about it a bit of embarrassment and a sore head is pretty minor to all the crap you would have to deal with today for that sort of stuff.
Splott market, Cardiff, early 90’s. Waking up with a sore head, and surrounded by matket stalls…
edd1974:
And does anyone know the new east Midlands gateway estate theve built is there any parking on there?
Not like I’m ever to go there just curious.
Double yellows all the way through, I was delivering there the other day. Oh, and a 15mph limit. Have no doubt they will enforce it at some point to make some more pennies.
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Can’t say I’m surprised by that really.
When new estates etc are built they should only be given permission. If they provide parking for hgvs. Even if it’s only big enough for 6 hgvs it’s better than nothing
robroy:
but it just got me to thinking, ‘they’ want all sorts of different type goods transported into the city area, …but where do they expect a truck to fulfil his legal obligation to park
They don’t want you to park, that’s the thing. They want you to come in, drop your load and get out of their city as quickly as you possibly can. And they want you to do that at the time of day where everyone else is out and about too to compound your misery.
robroy:
but it just got me to thinking, ‘they’ want all sorts of different type goods transported into the city area, …but where do they expect a truck to fulfil his legal obligation to park
They don’t want you to park, that’s the thing. They want you to come in, drop your load and get out of their city as quickly as you possibly can. And they want you to do that at the time of day where everyone else is out and about too to compound your misery.
Yep that’s correct…but I did say it was a rhetorical question.
As I said they really don’t give a ■■■■ about trucks NEEDING to overnight park by law, and have no plans to sort the problem…and risk votes.
I parked for 2 hours loading yesterday on a red route off Marylebone road. Guess the minibus full of PCSOs that cruises the streets looking for scumbag wagon drivers to shakedown doesn’t operate on Sundays!
I did a load of research into local authority parking areas that allowed HGVs and only found 2 in London. truck parking goo.gl/maps/UqKzopc9xZU2
This link shows most of the ones that I found .
Feel free to use it . Some are free to use and most are reasonably priced . Most don’t have facilities as such but shops and such are usually nearby.
) he does a lot of artic deliveries to shops and shop type wharehouses in London in an artic…beds.
, and there were numerous designated parks, Aldgate, Bishopgate, Whitechapel, and Sheperds Bush to name a few,.and the social side of the job (that will be a shock to most of you today that there is such a thing 
) was good down there.
