The Saskatchewan Trucking Association is raising concerns about adequate truck rest stops after the City of Saskatoon issued a warning last week. The City warned that truckers can expect to be ticketed if they park their rigs to make a coffee stop.

Saskatoon cracks down on truckers blocking Circle Drive while getting coffee

"We want drivers if they don't feel safe to be able to pull over." Nicole Sinclair

While drivers need to obey the rules, they have limited space to park in this province, said Nicole Sinclair with the Saskatchewan Trucking Association.

"There is just not enough," she said.

"The ideal interval would be for one hour of travel time, there would be some sort of a rest area — whether that's just a pull out, or a rest area or a full-blown truck stop."

"We want drivers if they don't feel safe to be able to pull over."

More and more trucks expected

Studies suggest that there is a shortage of truck parking space across North America, and on a handful of the major transportation corridors in Saskatchewan. Although the size of the industry ebbs and flows with the Canadian economy, many indicators suggest that without action, the problem will only get worse.

The province's trucking association suggested that one of the main problems with moving forward is that each jurisdiction takes a different view of the problem. In fact, the association itself doesn't see one stakeholder being any more responsible than the other, and that's why they lobby all levels of government and the private sector.

"It's not a small issue. It's very, very expensive. You have to look at the initial cost of developing it and then the maintenance and who is responsible for it."