You see them on local streets, usually in commercial districts: double-parked trucks making deliveries to local stores and offices.
Sometimes the trucks completely block traffic, as can be seen in the photo above, taken yesterday in Rosslyn. Other times, just a lane of traffic. In both cases, other drivers are inconvenienced and forced into a potentially hazardous situation: switching lanes mid-street or driving into an opposing lane of traffic.
A hazard at worst and an annoyance at best, double-parked delivery and mail trucks are a fact of life in urban areas around the world. The need to deliver mail and packages to offices, food to restaurants and inventory to stores is not going away, and short of local governments eliminating street parking for non-commercial vehicles there are few good options for truck drivers making quick deliveries.
In your opinion, just how bad is the problem of doubled-parked trucks in Arlington?
(If a truck is illegally parked and truly presenting a hazard, it can be reported to Arlington County Police via the department’s non-emergency line at 703-558-2222.)
Photo via @dnak17