Truck Driver To Fight $233 Ticket For Parking In His Own Driveway

Truck Driver To Fight $233 Ticket For Parking In His Own Driveway

Truck driver, Martin Turpel has been fined $233.95 by the town of Truro, N.S. for parking in his own driveway.

Forty-two-year-old Turpel is a driver for Fisher Transport (based in Milford) and works numerous early morning and overnight shifts. When Turpel isn’t running, he parks his rig in his driveway – and has for the past 15 years. (This practice did result in a warning from Truro’s bylaw department last summer.)

According to the bylaw, the rig is not allowed in his driveway: Truro prohibits any commercial vehicle with a weight greater than 8,047 lbs. from being stored or parked overnight in a residential area.

On the morning of Friday, February 6th, Turpel received a ticket for $233.95 which had originally been dated for Wednesday afternoon declaring that he had been in violation of Truro’s land-use bylaw.

Turpel commented, “I don’t think they have a case because it’s on my land. It’s discrimination against truck drivers in Truro. Truro is the hub and transportation is a big industry… if there are no complaints (by neighbors) we should be left alone.”

According to Director of Planning, Jason Fox – regardless of whether Turpel agrees, he is in violation of the town’s bylaw. “It doesn’t matter if (the truck) is in operation or not or that it’s on his property. He’s in violation of a land-use bylaw and each day he doesn’t move it constitutes the possibility of issuing (additional tickets).”

Turpel does not intend to pay the ticket, and has plans to proceed towards taking the matter into the courtroom. The driver says he would rather sell his house and move out of Truro than pay a fine for parking on his own property.

The city of Moncton New Brunswick would like to have words with Mr. Turpel. Although it's true that Truro Nova Scotia styles itself as the Hub of Nova Scotia, Monctons sees itself as the Hub City. Since Moncton was founded in 1733, twenty-six years before Truro, it likes to see itself as the true bearer of the title Hub regardless of regional stipulation.

This post has very little to do with the article. Best of luck to Mr. Turpel, alas he'll probably lose.