Pittsfield Township passes truck route ordinance to reduce traffic through residential neighborhoods
Pittsfield Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal said the township has long struggled to mitigate traffic cutting through residential neighborhoods.
Courtney Sacco I AnnArbor.com
The township's Board of Trustees unanimously passed the new ordinance at it's meeting on Wednesday.
"Throughout the township, we have pretty high incidents of cut-through traffic in most of our residential neighborhoods," said Mandy Grewal, Pittsfield Township supervisor. "This is a step towards reducing the heavy traffic cut-through."
The ordinance specifies a list of streets trucks will be able to use and all other streets will be off-limits.
"It’s been a while coming," Grewal said. "We have a township road committee and that committee has been deliberating this from various parts of the township."
The ordinance applies to a trucks carrying goods or merchandise with a collective weight of 10,001 pounds or more. This does not include passenger vehicles, governmentally-owned or leased vehicles, public utility vehicles, motor homes or recreational vehicles, or any truck used for moving.
Exceptions to the ordinance will be made for trucks executing routine deliveries within the restricted zones as long as they take the most direct route possible.
The township will pay the Washtenaw County Road Commission to install signs designating which routes trucks must avoid. She said the road commission has estimated that installation of each sign will cost the township $300.
Anyone caught in violation of the ordinance will be fined between $250 and $500.
The signs to designate which routes are off-limits will be installed in bursts throughout each year until 2016.
"We will be enforcing only in those neighborhoods where the signs have gone up," Grewal said.
The streets the ordinance permits commercial trucks to use are:
- Golfside Road between Clark Road and Packard Road
- Munger Road between Michigan Avenue and Textile Road
- Carpenter Road
- Hogback Road
- US-23
- Platt Road between Ellsworth Road and Bemis Road
- Stone School Road between Ellsworth Road and Varsity Drive
- State Road
- Moon Road between Michigan Avenue and Bemis Road
- Varsity Drive, Highland, Concourse Drive, Runway Boulevard, Venture Drive, Avis Drive, Fairfield Court, Technology Drive, Data Court, Lavender, Hines, McDowell Place, Whitmore, Interfirst, State Circle, Plaza, N. Airport Boulevard, Airport Boulevard, Airport Drive, Oak Valley Drive, Lohr Circle, and Old State Road
- Clark Road
- Washtenaw Avenue
- Packard Road
- Ellsworth Road
- I-94
- Michigan Avenue
- Textile Road between Munger Road and US-23
- Bemis Road
- Lohr and Waters Road
- Textile Road between Hines/Interfirst and Maple Road
- Morgan Road between Michigan Avenue and US-23
- Morgan Road between State Road and Ann Arbor Railroad Track
- Maple Road
Kody Klein is an intern for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at kklein@mlive.com
Comments
Paul
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 12:36 p.m.
So clog up the main roads with all those trucks and create another problem, great.
Fat Bill
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 11:07 a.m.
Michigan needs to pass a law diverting most local fine revenue away from municipalities. Many small cities and townships pass truck ordinances as least in part to raise revenue. As delivery costs increase, everybody ends up paying for it. Milan established a truck program years ago as a means to keep police officers. They may as well put a toll booth at the city limits...
Beth
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 1:58 a.m.
I'm curious to know why trucks can use Munger between Michigan and Textile but not Crane between the same two streets. There really needs to be a traffic light at Michigan and Munger, as traffic keeps increasing in the area and it can be very difficult to get out onto Michigan. Forcing commercial trucks to take that route instead of letting them choose to use Crane road also seems like a poor idea. Both streets go past but not through residential neighborhoods - I don't see what the problem with Crane is. Anyone know?
Beth
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 11:42 a.m.
Hmmm - I live in that area, and I'm pretty sure the speed limit is no more than 45 for that stretch of Munger, betwen Michigan and Textile. Munger is also the boundary between Pittsfield and Ypsi - does that make a difference? Who would actually be responsible for the road - or does the boundary line go down the middle of the road? No, there isn't a whole lot of truck traffic in the area - but local traffic keeps increasing as more houses are built in Ypsi Twp. out that way, and I can see that truck traffic will increase in time as well.
Tom Todd
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 6:44 a.m.
The County avoids covering the craters on both roads.
Basic Bob
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 5:56 a.m.
Crane is not an all-weather road. It has weight restrictions in the spring, while Munger does not. Crane has a 45 mph speed limit, while Munger uses the state speed limit of 55. Munger does not get much truck traffic anyway.
Linda Peck
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 12:59 a.m.
I would like an ordinance in Ann Arbor that strictly limits semis and big trucks in town. They do so much damage to our roads. I would like to see all big trucks off-loaded on the outskirts and small delivery trucks, like what Metro Delivery uses, to transport goods in-town.
yourdad
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 2:42 p.m.
Though you don't see the effectiveness, can you show me where the big box stores are in A2? Where are the larger grocery chains? Look at the goods you purchase downtown and look at the alley sizes. Most downtown deliveries take place with straight trucks (like typical moving trucks). The UPS truck is probably the most annoying because they park in some of the most difficult spots to navigate around. I would suggest that AAPD begin doing random DOT inspections on the A2 city trucks and see just how overweight they actually are. Remember, it's not the size of the vehicle but the weight on each axle that determines the road damage.
Frank Lee
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 12:36 p.m.
Linda – The goods you consume and utilize daily should not be thought of as evil. They are (as you say) a necessity, and your logic of delivery is terribly flawed. I welcome any data that shows truck traffic is any more to blame for Michigan road conditions than a lack of maintenance and an increase in freeze/thaw cycles.
Linda Peck
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 11:50 a.m.
Thanks, Haulin, I know you are also right. The big trucks including the cement delivery trucks, are necessary evils. Thanks.
haulin donkey
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 5:55 a.m.
The trucks you see on the city streets can lawfully be on those streets including residential subdivisions to make a delivery. The route needs to be the shortest reasonable distance from a truck route to the destination and back to the truck route. Sometimes a full sized semi or a gravel train or something in between is needed for a delivery. Mini vans just don't work for a load concrete. As for those accidents, could it be possible the drivers of the cars are the cause and not the trucks?
Linda Peck
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 5:27 a.m.
Hi Haulin, I am sorry if I ruffled your feathers. I do understand there is an ordinance but it is not effective. I see big trucks on the city streets all the time. Perhaps trains could get goods into the center of town without so much damage? I would like any method that keeps the heavy stuff of the roads, in fact, all of the roads. There are so many accidents that are caused by semis, as well, now that I am on the subject.
haulin donkey
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 5:17 a.m.
AnnArbor has had a truck route ordinance in effect for about twenty years now. where have you been? In fact their enforcement has been so unfair and evil that most trucking and delivery companies charge extra to deliver within the city limits, and I'm not talking about being over weight.
slave2work
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 1:33 a.m.
are you going to pay the extra cost?..you will because prices will go up for the extra handling and renting of a carry truck..let alone the extra time for the truck driver. 2 deliveries a day?..
GregC
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 12:55 a.m.
Yea - no more big trucks blasting down our dirt road at 50 mph just because the garmin says it connects to State Rd.
Ann English
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 12:31 a.m.
Highlighting the proposed truck routes in yellow was a good idea, on a map in which we can't zoom in to read road names; "Stone School between Ellsworth and Varsity Drive" must mean a strip of Stone School south of Ellsworth; Varsity Drive appears to turn east and end at Stone School. I don't know if heavy commercial trucks contributed to the rough surface of Stone School Road north of Ellsworth, but it is in better condition where trucks will be allowed. I thought the photo looked like it might have been taken on Hawks, Blossom Hill, Knollwood, or Center Valley Drive. The idea of prohibiting trucks from using Hawks south of Packard fits the story, all right.
Kody Klein
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 2:26 p.m.
Ann, I don't know if this helps, but I use Google Chrome and when I click on the link, it opens the file in an in-browser pdf-viewer, allowing me to zoom close enough to read the streets.
Sarah
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 10:40 a.m.
Yes, the picture is of the Hawks/Blossom Hill/etc and I agree. It is a shortcut to Meijer and Target, but it's definitely not meant for big trucks!
Basic Bob
Fri, Mar 29, 2013 : 5:49 a.m.
Stone School Road north of Ellsworth is in Ann Arbor, so this street is not affected by Pittsfield's new ordinance.