Commercial trucks, with the exception of deliveries, are prohibited from driving through residential streets in the area east of current Highway 75 construction.
The City Council approved this truck embargo for the one-mile square bounded by Highway 75, 9th St. SE, 13th Ave. SE, and 20th St. SE.
“With Highway 75 fully closed from 10th St. S to 13th St. S, we’ve seen a lot of truck traffic and heard from constituents, and we want to address this,” Mayor Dale Vander Berg said. “The main concern we’ve heard is truck traffic, and that is certainly justifiable. Since we started on Highway 75, one of the main things we’ve designed it on is safety, and we’re here to talk about safety.”
Police Chief Josh Koedam spoke about concerns for public safety, especially for pedestrians to and from school. Josh Vermeer, a resident along 1st Ave. SE, which has seen additional traffic during the Highway 75 closure, shared concerns about semi-truck traffic on that road, especially when students are getting on and off busses.
Utilities Manager Murray Hulstein proposed the council consider a truck embargo for this residential area. The council voted to approve the resolution.
The resolution includes that City staff will install signs to inform commercial truck drivers of the truck prohibition and an appropriate truck route. Hulstein said staff would be placing signs by early next week, directing trucks around this residential area on 20th St. SE and 13th Ave. SE.
“We will do this and observe traffic. If we need to take another step, we take another step,” he said.
As construction moves north, Hulstein said, staff and the Council can consider a new resolution to address traffic north of 9th St. S.
The truck embargo approved this week is in place until traffic resumes on Highway 75 south of 9th St. S.
“The ultimate goal is to keep heavy truck traffic off of residential roads for public safety,” Chief Koedam added.