Truck parking lot proposed in Prospect Heights

Prospect Heights-based Stery Trucking hopes to purchase 10.5 acres of vacant land owned by the city and create a new business, Quality Trucking, that will provide a parking lot open 24 hours a day for trucks.

The proposed business at 25-35 E. Piper Lane, in the city's Piper Lane neighborhood, would have 175 parking spaces available and be monitored 24 hours a day. Operational restrictions, such as no honking, no idling and no bright headlights, would be in place, officials said.

"There is a very serious demand for this in the area because of the access to Palatine Road and the Tri-State (Tollway)," said Robert Kirk, a landscape architect hired by Stery.

Landscaping and fencing would be installed around the property's borders to block out noise for surrounding residents, he added.

However, city aldermen who heard the proposal Monday questioned how the noise would be mitigated, and whether the business would benefit the area.

"I'd love to tell you that everyone wants to look at trucks and trailers, but (they) don't," Third Ward Alderman Scott Williamson said. "I don't want to take a blighted area and blight it further. I'd like to improve it."

Mayor Nick Helmer said truck drivers would rent parking spaces at the facility. When they come back from long trips, they could park in a designated spot and leave their vehicle there while they await their next assignment, he said.

The city council did not make a decision on the proposal Monday, but are expected to come back at an upcoming meeting with a recommendation on whether Stery should move forward and hire architects.