After nearly 32 minutes of discussion last week, the Oxford Village Council took no action with regard to modifying the truck traffic prohibitions for W. Burdick St. approved last September.
Everything will remain as is.
And the residents of W. Burdick St. are glad because, according to them, they don’t want semi-trucks or gravel-haulers to once again roll past their homes, generating excessive noise and vibration, potentially putting pedestrians in harm’s way and damaging the road.
‘We don’t want it to go back to what it was,? said resident Russ Gill. ‘I say keep (the trucks) off there. Let them stay on M-24.?
‘The removal of the trucks from Burdick St. has greatly improved the quality of life for the people that are living along (this street),? said resident Janet Brewer.
The W. Burdick St. truck traffic issue resurfaced because council was originally looking at deleting part of the ordinance language that took effect in October.
‘We had an unintended consequence that we were going to remedy,? explained village attorney Bob Davis.
Council previously approved two ordinance amendments.
One prohibits trucks weighing more than 40,000 pounds ? gross weight including cargo ? from using W. Burdick St. at any time. An exception was made for local deliveries to residences and businesses in the village.
The other prohibits ‘all truck traffic,? with the exception of local deliveries, on W. Burdick St. between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Trucks are defined by the village as any vehicle that weighs more than 7,000 pounds and is capable of carrying cargo.
In January, council decided to begin the process to eliminate the 12-hour/7,000-pound prohibition because it could impact vehicles such as heavy-duty pickup trucks and snow plow trucks. At that point, there was no talk of eliminating the 24-hour/40,000-plus-pound prohibition.
A motion to continue the process to eliminate the 12-hour/7,000-pound language failed at the February meeting because some council members wished to reopen the entire issue and address it again.
‘It’s very unfortunate that certain individuals are taking advantage of this situation to try to move it in a totally different direction,? said Councilman Bryan Cloutier.
One of those individuals to which he referred is Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth, who originally voted against the truck prohibitions.
‘I think we should still be allowing commercial vehicles down Burdick Street,? she said. ‘I don’t think we should be taking them off the road.?
The argument that large trucks shouldn’t be using W. Burdick St. because it’s a residential area doesn’t wash with Helmuth.
‘I personally never considered Burdick St. to be any more of a residential street or less of a residential street than any other street in Oxford,? she said. ‘There’s people who live on M-24. If you go into any community, they’ve got busy roads (and) there’s people who live on them.?
Helmuth believes it was ‘unfair? of the village to force trucks off W. Burdick St. and make them find alternate routes.
She also believes it’s ‘unfair? for the village to make a decision like this for one street without looking ‘at every other road in the village.?
‘The people on E. Burdick have just as many reasons as the people on W. Burdick (to want to get rid of truck traffic),? Helmuth said. ‘I think they’re wrong, but they’ve got them.?
She noted that she never understood why the village, years ago, decided to prohibit large trucks from using N. Glaspie St.
‘These are major streets,? Helmuth said. ‘They’re not local streets, they’re major streets and they should be open to truck traffic.?
But Helmuth was the lone voice in favor of returning truck traffic to W. Burdick St.
All the residents who spoke at the meeting favored keeping the ordinance in place.
‘The truck situation was bad (on W. Burdick St.),? said Rob Burns, who’s lived on W. Burdick St. for 24 years. ‘If we want to progress in this community, you cannot allow those trucks . . . to be running up a residential road. It’s just not feasible anymore.?
‘Commercial traffic should go on commercial roads,? said resident Karen Poloski
‘Please don’t let this change,? said resident Teresa Frank.
Frank explained how much the trucks used to bother her daughter, who is an army veteran, and now that they’re gone, she’s ‘noticed a big improvement in her.?
‘I’ve seen a smile (on) her face lately,? she said. ‘I’m just so happy about that.?
Poloski expressed her concern that something approved six months ago was already being reconsidered. She wondered if it was going to be a recurring issue at future council meetings.
‘Will this be coming up again and again and again, and requiring constant vigilance by the people that live on this street?? she asked.
‘You always need to be vigilant,? replied village President Sue Bossardet.
She explained that in government, things can always change, especially when new officials take the reins, so citizens need to stay on top of issues and monitor meeting agendas.
‘Just because we make a rule doesn’t mean that five years from now a different council might (not) look at it and change it,? Bossardet said.
Bossardet noted one of the biggest reasons to keep large trucks off W. Burdick St. is ‘the cost.? Last year, the village paid approximately $450,000 to reconstruct a badly-deteriorated stretch of W. Burdick St. known locally as cemetery hill. Officials are hoping the truck prohibition will help extend the life span of this area given the significant expense to rebuild it. Some fear allowing trucks again would hasten the new road’s demise.
‘We, as a village, simply do not . . . have the money to do another project like we just did,? Bossardet said. ‘We can’t keep bonding for these projects. We do not have the money.?
She noted the village has other roads that are in bad shape and they ‘need to be addressed.?
‘We can’t continue to allow these heavy gravel trains to keep beating our roads,? Bossardet said. ‘That’s where I’m coming from.?
Cloutier, who lives in a condominium off W. Burdick St., agreed with Bossardet about the lack of money, but emphasized that public safety was one of the main reasons to keep semi-trucks and gravel-haulers off W. Burdick St.
He explained the area just east of cemetery hill has a lot of pedestrian traffic from the Polly Ann Trail crossing and the Frosty Boy ice cream business. Having large trucks mixed in with the already high volume of traffic coming down that hill could have dangerous consequences in his view.
‘How ridiculous is it to not see the potential hazard? And thank God we have not had something catastrophic (occur) there because it’s just an accident waiting to happen,? he said. ‘It hasn’t happened, but it could happen. If you saw the things that I’ve been able to see living at that intersection, you would think the same way I do.?