Morgantown, WV Considers Banning Trucks Downtown

Published on August 7th, 2014 by Summer Smith

A new group in Morgantown, West Virginia is trying to convince the City Council to pass a law prohibiting large trucks from traveling through the downtown area and rerouting them around the city using Greenbag road.

Safe Streets Morgantown presented the proposal to the city council last month in response to large trucks adding to the congestion of downtown streets. Many of the trucks are on their way to deliver coal and gravel to the nearby coal-powered plant or construction sites, emitting clouds of soot and diesel fumes, according to one news article.

Roger Nusem of Nuseum Trucking told WAJR that if the ordinance passed, the extra miles would cost each driver at least one load per day, increasing drive time and cutting into profits.

“It makes the haul four miles longer, one way, than going through downtown and adds four more stop lights,” he said. “In the trucking industry miles and time are the two biggest factors in your haul rates.”

Nuseum added that his company paid over $180,000 in highway user fees. The average motorist who drove around 20,000 miles would have paid around $500 per vehicle. Nuseum is handing over more than $5,000 per truck.

“I think I’m entitled to use state and federally funded highways,” said Nuseum.

According to the proposal, the ordinance would prohibit trucks with a gross weight of 20,000 pounds from passing through downtown.

Excluded from the ban would be trucks working in cooperation with downtown businesses, sanitation vehicles, and emergency vehicles.

The Council agreed to forward the ordinance to its regular meeting scheduled for later this month.

Source

WAJR

Mountaineer News Service

City of Morgantown

Photo Credit

Frontpage / Shutterstock.com

Morgantown, WV Considers Banning Trucks Downtown

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