A blow was struck against those cities and towns all across America who are looking to ban “disruptive and dangerous” trucks from their streets. A judge has ruled that a city ordinance in Morgantown, WV banning heavy trucks from using roadways in their downtown area is illegal.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by two local trucking companies, Nuzum Trucking Company and Preston Contractors Inc., who sued both the city of Morgantown and the West Virginia Division of Highways. The lawsuit was in response to an ordinance passed with a 6-1 vote by the city council which banned all heavy trucks (defined as 26,000lbs+ with three or more axles) from operating in the city’s downtown district.
TruckersReport covered the story when the lawsuit was first filed and we noted the supposed reasons for the truck ban which included noise and emissions, as well as hardship suffered by local business owners when truck noise interrupts meetings or conference calls, greatly affecting how they are getting things done.
Though the ordinance was passed in September, it wasn’t supposed to go into effect until December 1st. Due to a request by the attorneys representing the trucking companies, enforcement was delayed pending the outcome of the hearing. The judge needed less than an hour to declare that the city lacked the authority to control traffic on state-owned roads.
“We appreciate [the judge] listening to the facts,” said Ed Boyle, secretary at Preston Contractors in an interview with MetroNews. “At the end of the day, we were pleased with the decision. It was something we felt, at least on our side, that facts in the case would play and ultimately, will all due respect to the city, they did not have the jurisdiction to enforce this truck ban.”
This is now the second attempted truck ban that Morgantown has had struck down.
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Source: statejournal, wvrecord, gobytrucknews, wvmetronews
Everybody hates those trucks but nobody knows what to do about them. They are a necessary evil. Morgantown is okay with them driving downtown if they are delivering to their downtown office and then what???? We deliver and just go poof and disappear off the street.
You need a convoy of trucks running Jake brakes, that would make your day.
Thank you, Judge.
the jakeyer the better!
Better idea, Stormy, boycott towns that do that. Don’t deliver one single box to any business in that town. If I’m in that area, I won’t leave I-68 unless I have to.
It amazes me how so many places are so trucker unfriendly, yet they want their products delivered. I agree boycott those that don’t want you there, we will see how long it will take before they welcome the trucks back. And usually it’s the elite that complain, so let’s see how long they can go without the necessities of life. And as I see it truckers give up too much of their lives with no pay while these pompous jerks are banning them from even entering gas stations to get coffee.
Truckers are sometimes their own worst enemies. They cannot agree on anything and as long as we do not stick together, we will always be powerless. I have always felt that with just a little tiny bit of unity, we could get rid of some of the asinine rules we live under and gain some respect. One such idea is simply to pick a one week period in which NO ONE picks up or delivers to the capital city of any state…period. It would not hurt the vast majority of trucking companies and those it does affect, I believe, could withstand one week of lower income. That means…no trash service, no gasoline, no food, no toilet paper….NOTHING!! See how long it takes our legislators to get the point. This is the only way to get the attention we deserve, and to make them realize what an important role we play in everyone’s life.
Truth be told, I don’t know why heavy trucks with 48′ or 53′ trailers deliver to a lot of the places they do. Businesses on congested, small, city streets and downtown areas should request smaller trucks. It’s always a pain in the you know what trying to maneuver those big monstrosities into those places.
Because they don’t want to pay what it would cost to cross dock the load to a pair of smaller trucks.
I’d love to open a buisness in NJ called “Come n git yo sh**!” I’m sure most trucking companit’s are tired of paying $20 per axle to get into NYC. Food, medicine, garbage collection. YOU bring it home.
Easy fix. Build a big ol’ distribution center off the interstate or main highway so it would make it easy for us to get in and out. You can get your box trucks and deliver from there.
not only that but it would create several jobs.
I approve.
I had a similar idea for California. At the border, have warehouses for everything, we deliver or drop at those warehouses and the California electric trucks or whatever they want can pick them up from there. That way the rest of the country doesn’t have to suffer with tyrannical useless measures just because they want to save a blade of grass.
If anything, California is screwed anyway because China’s pollution is getting carried in the jetstream and dumped off at the mountain footline.
What you guys are talking about was done, back in the day by the railroads. It was called the
“team track” the railroad would bring the goods to the towns rail road station and they would spot the cars loaded with goods on the “team track” then the people who ordered the goods would get there horse team together and go and pick up the goods they ordered at the railroad station.
Seriously though why do companies send 48-53 foot trailers that are designed to go from warehouse to warehouse to places that they know they do not belong? Contradictory to managements popular belief you can’t just drive these trucks anywhere. It is stupid sending 48-53 foot trailers into places they do not belong, that is the definition of set up to fail.
What another guy said was the truth set up a distribution center and then have the straight truck guys go and pick up the stuff that has to be delivered. Kind of like what Ceva Logistics does. The big trucks take the stuff from warehouse to warehouse and then the Ceva contractors that own cargo vans and straight trucks actually carry the goods across the finish line to the end user. Which is how it was supposed to be all along. The goods come in from the manufacturers warehouse and end up at the Ceva warehouse once at the Ceva warehouse the goods are loaded into depending on what it is and where it’s going either a cargo van, cut away box truck or big box truck.
Like one of the wine distributors where I live uses these box trucks to deliver and I said to one of there drivers “I like your trucks you can actually drive them and park them places.” Unlike me who has to lug some 14-18 bay side loader trailer around that takes up to much room and half the time I have to park on the wrong side of the street. Not that anyone is saying anything, but you see what I mean.