A proposed city-wide truck route has been voted down by the Greenwood City Council, and a simpler plan to keep trucks off of Main Street has taken its place.
A proposal in September to ban semi-trucks from downtown along Main Street eventually morphed into a plan to create designated truck routes across the city.
The proposed east-west routes included Smith Valley Road, Worthsville Road, Fry Road and Allen Road. And north-south, the routes included Madison Avenue, Emerson Avenue, Collins Road and Graham Road.
Pushback from residents brought that plan to a halt, because they didn’t want the routes near their homes, council member Linda Gibson said.
While trucks are currently allowed on most city streets, residents were concerned that the proposed routes would have funneled higher numbers of trucks past their homes since those would be the only routes trucks were allowed to use in the city, Gibson said.
Gibson initially proposed the ban on semi-trucks on Main Street because the narrow road isn’t suited for semi-trucks and poses a safety hazard for other drivers. Two other side streets sometimes used by semi-trucks — Alexander Street, between Airport Parkway and Country Aire Lane, and Country Aire Drive, between Country Aire Lane and Emerson Avenue — are also included in the ban.
Drivers who violate the ban, which will be for semi-trucks with and without a trailer, would face fines up to $2,500.
The council will need to vote twice to approve the proposal.
