Harrisburg, PA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Harrisburg's zoning code treats loading as a problem each business solves on its own lot. Under § 7-327.16(A), each use receiving or shipping material or merchandise by trucks larger than a pickup truck or standard passenger van must provide sufficient off-street loading facilities to accommodate the maximum demand the use generates. Subsection (B)(1) sets the minimum space size by the largest type of truck that routinely serves the use. A tractor-trailer space is at least 12 feet wide (11 feet if there are more than 10 such spaces on a lot) and 40 to 65 feet long depending on size, with 12 feet of clear height. A space for trucks other than tractor-trailers, pickups or standard-sized vans is 10 feet wide and 25 feet long. A pickup or standard-sized van space is 9 feet wide and 18 feet long.

Each space needs enough room to load and unload without conflicting with traffic movements inside the lot or on a public street other than an alley, and no facility can be designed or used in a way that creates a safety hazard, a public nuisance or a serious impediment to traffic. Spaces and their maneuvering room must sit outside any required buffer areas and paved area setbacks, with an appropriate means of access to a street. Where feasible, new loading facilities are to be built internal to the lot or building. The second choice is access from a suitable alley or a less heavily traveled nonresidential street, not a residential street or a street carrying significant through traffic.

The on-street rule applies in the DC Zoning District. Where a major public street needs to be used for loading and unloading, loading is confined to designated loading spaces and must comply with the hours posted and any meters. The code only requests, in softer language, that delivery times be limited to hours of nonpeak traffic whenever feasible. On-street loading in DC is considered only as a last resort, and the City can restrict where on-street loading spaces are located to avoid increased traffic congestion, following an overall loading plan for downtown.

Applicants for new principal commercial and industrial uses, including conversions from previous uses, that have neither their own off-street loading facilities nor direct access to an on-street loading space must send the City Engineer a statement describing the proposed method of loading and unloading and the hours when most deliveries are expected. Subsection (C) adds that fire lanes must be provided where state or federal regulations or other local codes require them, with locations subject to review by the City Fire Chief or designee.