Proposed Dayton Main St. Truck Ban Advances
Posted: February 18, 2013
DAYTON — A restriction on tractor-trailer traffic for two of Dayton’s highly traveled roads awaits approval from the Commonwealth Transportation Board after an extended public comment period.
The constraint would restrict through traffic for big trucks from Dayton’s Main and College streets between Mason Street and Bowman Road, according to Jeremy Mason, assistant residency administrator of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Mason added that trucks delivering to businesses on these streets would still be permitted, as would farm equipment.
The proposal names Va. 42 and Westview Street as alternatives to connect Bowman and Mason, Dayton’s northern and southern borders.
The roads in Dayton are narrow, Town Administrator John Crim said, because they are old.
Ideally, Crim said, the street would have two 12-foot lanes for traffic and two 9-foot lanes for parking, a total of 42 feet.
The width of Main Street is about 28 to 29 feet, according to Crim.
“It’s almost an entire lane short,” he said.
Dayton residents spoke overwhelmingly in favor of the restriction at a public hearing held by VDOT during the Feb. 11 Town Council meeting.
“These trucks cannot stay on one side of the yellow line,” said John Jacobsen, who lives on College Street.
Jacobsen echoed the general consensus when he added that tractor-trailers create a danger to children and pedestrians because the trucks cannot stop quickly enough.
The feedback, however, wasn’t solely pro-restriction.
Fred Shank of Silver Lake Welding Inc., who drives on Main several times a day, said that the restriction would not fix the problem.
“[They] still don’t have room for school buses to pass or farm equipment or anything else,” Shank said.
He suggested parking be restricted to one side of Main Street and the middle line adjusted accordingly. College Street already constrains parking to one side.
But the Dayton Planning Commission has already recommended against this as an option for Main.
“How can you tell someone on one side of the road, ‘You can’t park in front of your house anymore?’” Jerry Critcher a commission member said at the Feb. 11 hearing. “We just didn’t feel it was a viable alternative.”
And widening the streets isn’t feasible, Crim said, because buildings were constructed so close to the sidewalks.
“[The restriction on truck traffic] fixes probably part of the problem,” he said. “That’s about the best we can do for now.”
This process was set in motion in September 2011, when council passed a resolution to propose the restriction to VDOT.
“It’s not a common thing that we restrict truck traffic,” Mason said. “You have to prove there are good reasons to do it.”
VDOT opened a public hearing period by placing signs on Main and College streets in December describing the potential restrictions, he explained.
Residents were encouraged to contact the department, and Mason said that almost all feedback was in favor of the constraint.
If approved by the CTB, the restriction would go into effect almost immediately, he said, but it still has checkpoints to pass through.
“Basically, we will compile the comments [from] the other night with the ones we have received previously and we will submit that to the state traffic engineer,” Mason said, adding that the resolution then must go before the CTB. “I would expect it to be on the CTB’s agenda within the next two to three months.”
Ashby Street in Dayton went through this process in the 1990s and still has the same restriction.
Contact Alex Rohr at 574-6293 or arohr@dnronline.com
The constraint would restrict through traffic for big trucks from Dayton’s Main and College streets between Mason Street and Bowman Road, according to Jeremy Mason, assistant residency administrator of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Mason added that trucks delivering to businesses on these streets would still be permitted, as would farm equipment.
The proposal names Va. 42 and Westview Street as alternatives to connect Bowman and Mason, Dayton’s northern and southern borders.
The roads in Dayton are narrow, Town Administrator John Crim said, because they are old.
Ideally, Crim said, the street would have two 12-foot lanes for traffic and two 9-foot lanes for parking, a total of 42 feet.
The width of Main Street is about 28 to 29 feet, according to Crim.
“It’s almost an entire lane short,” he said.
Dayton residents spoke overwhelmingly in favor of the restriction at a public hearing held by VDOT during the Feb. 11 Town Council meeting.
“These trucks cannot stay on one side of the yellow line,” said John Jacobsen, who lives on College Street.
Jacobsen echoed the general consensus when he added that tractor-trailers create a danger to children and pedestrians because the trucks cannot stop quickly enough.
The feedback, however, wasn’t solely pro-restriction.
Fred Shank of Silver Lake Welding Inc., who drives on Main several times a day, said that the restriction would not fix the problem.
“[They] still don’t have room for school buses to pass or farm equipment or anything else,” Shank said.
He suggested parking be restricted to one side of Main Street and the middle line adjusted accordingly. College Street already constrains parking to one side.
But the Dayton Planning Commission has already recommended against this as an option for Main.
“How can you tell someone on one side of the road, ‘You can’t park in front of your house anymore?’” Jerry Critcher a commission member said at the Feb. 11 hearing. “We just didn’t feel it was a viable alternative.”
And widening the streets isn’t feasible, Crim said, because buildings were constructed so close to the sidewalks.
“[The restriction on truck traffic] fixes probably part of the problem,” he said. “That’s about the best we can do for now.”
This process was set in motion in September 2011, when council passed a resolution to propose the restriction to VDOT.
“It’s not a common thing that we restrict truck traffic,” Mason said. “You have to prove there are good reasons to do it.”
VDOT opened a public hearing period by placing signs on Main and College streets in December describing the potential restrictions, he explained.
Residents were encouraged to contact the department, and Mason said that almost all feedback was in favor of the constraint.
If approved by the CTB, the restriction would go into effect almost immediately, he said, but it still has checkpoints to pass through.
“Basically, we will compile the comments [from] the other night with the ones we have received previously and we will submit that to the state traffic engineer,” Mason said, adding that the resolution then must go before the CTB. “I would expect it to be on the CTB’s agenda within the next two to three months.”
Ashby Street in Dayton went through this process in the 1990s and still has the same restriction.
Contact Alex Rohr at 574-6293 or arohr@dnronline.com