Mesa County, Colorado, commissioners recently shied away from a measure that would ban semi-trucks carrying goods and materials from bypassing the Loma Port of Entry on Interstate 70. That is, unless truckers were hauling products the immediate community desired.
Unlike the push-back from residents in places such as Saratoga Springs, N.Y., who sought to reroute big rigs away from select neighborhoods, Mesa County mulled an ordinance that would cover 192 square miles. The measure would effectively ban truckers from using side roads, Colorado Highway 139, as well as Routes 6 and 50. If disgruntled residents had gotten their way with so-called Ordinance 16, only local delivery trucks would have graced their roadways from the Utah state line all the way to Fruita, CO.
“I’ve traveled that road a lot for the last 20 years, and public safety is not an issue. I can’t remember seeing a bicycle rider or somebody walking up and down those roads, and state law says that if you are outside the five-mile limit, you don’t have to use that port,” Steve Thacker reportedly said at the hearing. “Just because one person doesn’t like it, doesn’t mean the rest of us should be put in a burden. If that gentleman doesn’t like it, then he should move. It’s that simple.”
At a previous Mesa County Board of County Commissioners hearing, officials appeared to favor the measure. But local rule-making required two separate votes to push the measure through. Needless to say, trucking industry advocates voiced their concerns and made it clear that such a wide-reaching restriction on freight transportation would have unanticipated ramifications.
The measure called for fining truckers $100 for first offenses and upwards of $500 the second go-round, and $1,000 thereafter. Ordinance 16 reportedly exempted truckers working with local farms and businesses.
“I think most people do recognize that there is a problem. The question is, is it worth solving given the unintended consequences of trying to solve it,” Commissioner Cody Davis reportedly said. “Last fall, we started out with a local truck traffic order, which would allow anyone who was local to continue to travel local, so if a trucking company was in that area, you could still travel.”
Residents who objected to truckers hauling freight through the area were abundantly clear they wanted to support local operations, and be able to purchase groceries and products delivered by semi-trucks. Some went on the record indicating other trucks passing through Mesa County “decreases quality of life for the residents.” Truckers deliver more than 70 percent of America’s goods and materials.
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