Miami Beach plans new driver training for delivery companies to curb double parking
More than 80 companies hold loading zone permits for nearly 300 trucks; the city wants every driver to sign that they know the rules, a memo says.
Miami Beach’s Parking Department wants delivery companies to train their drivers on loading zone rules and have each driver sign a statement saying so, part of a push against trucks that block lanes and double park, according to a memo for Tuesday’s Land Use and Sustainability Committee.
More than 80 companies hold the city’s freight loading zone permits, covering nearly 300 delivery vehicles, the memo says, and that count leaves out the many commercial trucks that use the zones without needing a permit. Double parking gets worse when unauthorized vehicles take up the loading zones, according to the department.
The department plans to update its training video and the driver attestation form, which were written for the color-coded curbs the City Commission dropped in July in favor of traditional curb colors, and make them part of every new and renewed loading zone and alley loading permit. It also proposes bringing back twice-yearly meetings with permit holders and suppliers, which stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. The memo says the training is meant to remove a “lack of knowledge” defense when violations go before the special magistrate.
The city already uses Automotus, a camera system that catches vehicles parked illegally in loading zones, which the memo calls a significant success. Enforcement numbers will go to the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee separately.
The committee, which took up the item at Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt’s request, meets Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Chamber, 1700 Convention Center Drive, and on Zoom.
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