(Editor’s Note: The following story was written prior to the Oxford Village Council’s Tuesday, Sept. 9 meeting. At that meeting, council, after more than an hour of discussion, voted 3-2 to prohibit trucks weighing more than 40,000 pounds ? gross weight including cargo from using W. Burdick St. They decided to prohibit ‘all truck traffic? from using W. Burdick St. between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Trucks are defined by the village as any vehicle weighing over 7,000 pounds that’s capable of carrying cargo. For the full story about the meeting, including resident and councilmember comments, please see next week’s edition.)
How’s this for irony?
A local trucking firm owned by the paving company that recently reconstructed a badly-deteriorated section of W. Burdick St. in Oxford Village is now facing the prospect of being prohibited by local ordinance from using the very road it helped build.
‘We hauled all the materials in there for that job and now, they want to shut (the road) down (to truck traffic),? said Jeff Laming, who manages the T.K.M.S. trucking facility located at 425 S. Glaspie St. in the village.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but it’s so ironic, how can I not laugh?? said Dave Laming (Jeff’s brother), who’s the overall manager for T.K.M.S. and Lou’s Transport, Inc.
Both trucking companies are owned by the Pontiac-based Asphalt Specialists, Inc. (ASI), which was paid $496,554 to reconstruct W. Burdick St./Seymour Lake Rd. between Ashley Way in the village and S. Waterstone Dr. in the township.
T.K.M.S. management and employees were planning to attend the village council’s Tuesday, Sept. 9 meeting to voice their opposition to the proposed ordinance amendment they claim would negatively impact their business.
Council is considering prohibiting trucks weighing more than 40,000 pounds ? gross weight including cargo ? from using W. Burdick St.
Officials are also considering prohibiting ‘all truck traffic? from using the street between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. The village defines a truck as any vehicle weighing over 7,000 pounds that’s capable of carrying cargo.
Originally, the proposed times were 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., but village attorney Bob Davis suggested changing it to the aforementioned times.
The proposed ordinance language makes exceptions in both cases for local deliveries.
‘The Village of Oxford was built around trucking and gravel pits, and now, all of a sudden, they don’t want trucks down certain roads,? Dave Laming said. ‘I don’t understand what the thinking is behind it. We’ve used that road for years and years.?
Council is considering this in response to resident complaints over the excessive noise, particularly during early morning hours, and vibration produced by truck traffic on W. Burdick St. Officials are also concerned the wear-and-tear produced by large trucks could shorten the road’s lifespan.
Village officials were expected to make a decision on the proposed ordinance amendments at their Sept. 9 meeting. Visit www.oxfordleader.com to find out what action, if any, council took.
If the village council approves the ordinance amendments, no T.K.M.S. truck would ever be able to use W. Burdick St. again because they all exceed 40,000 pounds.
‘They weigh over that empty,? Dave Laming said.
All T.K.M.S trucks are gravel trains that weigh approximately 52,000 pounds each without any cargo, according to Jeff Laming.
T.K.M.S. trucks are used to haul construction and aggregate materials such as sand, gravel, dirt, concrete and asphalt.
According to Dave Laming, T.K.M.S. needs to continue using W. Burdick St. because it’s the ‘most efficient? and ‘most direct route? for the company’s frequent daily trips to westerly destinations such as the gravel pits in Holly.
He estimated the 32 trucks based out of the Oxford T.K.M.S. facility ‘go down that section of road? about 20 to 25 times a day.
‘That’s one of the main roads we use to leave town,? Laming said.
Using other routes that aren’t as close to the T.K.M.S. Oxford facility, such as Oakwood Rd. to the north or I-75 to the south, would cost the company more money for additional fuel and additional time.
‘It’s just out of the way,? Dave Laming said. ‘It would increase our cost to run our business.?
‘That additional cost is going to get passed on to the consumer,? Jeff Laming said.
Dave Laming said W. Drahner Rd. would not be a good southern alternative because ‘it’s not set up to run trucks like that.?
Jeff Laming agreed.
‘I don’t feel that would be a viable option,? he said.
Both Lamings pointed out the newly-constructed portion of W. Burdick St. is designed to handle large trucks like those from T.K.M.S.
‘We rebuilt it,? Dave Laming said.
Dave Laming said he’s ‘never? heard any complaints about truck traffic on W. Burdick St.’T.K.M.S. has been (using) this road since the 1970s,? he said. ‘We’ve never had any complaints. We’ve never had any issues.?
Jeff Laming has not heard any complaints, either. ‘Not a one,? he said.
Jeff Laming noted he’s out in the community ‘all the time,? visiting different stores and eating meals while wearing his T.K.M.S. shirt, and ‘nobody has complained to me about the trucks at all? on W. Burdick St.
‘This came out of left field,? he said.
The Laming brothers may not have heard any complaints, but a number of residents who spoke at the Aug. 12 council meeting complained about the excessive noise and vibration generated by truck traffic.
Alisha Hawrylyszyn Frank, a 2002 Oxford High School graduate whose family has lived on W. Burdick St. for 22 years, circulated a petition in favor of restricting truck traffic on the road. She told council she gathered signatures from almost 200 village and township residents.
Dave Laming noted T.K.M.S. strives to be a responsible community member so it has ‘all kinds of? rules and safety protocols in place for its drivers.
‘We try to follow the rules and (obey) the laws in everything that we do (in order) to be safe,? he said. ‘We have safety meetings with our drivers each month . . . We go out of our way to make sure that we send our guys out there with enough information, so they know how to be safe.?
Jeff Laming said the constant training and emphasis on safety has paid off with T.K.M.S. drivers.
‘I can’t tell you the last time I saw a ticket in Oxford for a driver speeding,? he said. ‘We don’t get speeding tickets.?
The T.K.M.S. Oxford facility employs 47 to 50 people including drivers, mechanics and support staff.