Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries next week will ask his colleagues to take the first step toward establishing restrictions on commercial truck traffic along several county roads to prevent congestion and damage, especially when the vehicles’ operators have freeways available to them.
Jeffries’ proposal for the Office of County Counsel and the Department of Transportation to do a 60-day study on the possibility of implementing travel prohibitions will be considered as part of the Board of Supervisors’ policy agenda.
According to the supervisor, he’s mainly interested in limiting truck traffic along Cajalco Road and Van Buren Boulevard through Meadowbrook, Mead Valley, Lake Elsinore and Woodcrest.
“With the increased activity in the logistics industry in Riverside County has come a reported increase in the use of rural and residential roads by commercial trucks,” Jeffries said. “Cajalco and Van Buren have particularly been the subject of repeated complaints by constituents about trucks using those routes as shortcuts to and from warehouses along the Interstate 215 corridor in order to avoid our congested freeways.”
The supervisor said he was prompted to initiate a study after the Riverside City Council clamped down on truck traffic earlier this summer, implementing travel bans on all trucks with more than three axles along segments of Alessandro Boulevard, Arlington, Central, Chicago, Iowa and Jurupa avenues.
The restrictions stemmed from residents’ complaints about noise and congestion.
Commercial deliveries by 18-wheelers are still permitted on the city streets, but drivers may have to present documents to police showing why they’re using them.
According to Jeffries, the city’s limits on trucks have led to an increased volume of commercial traffic on county corridors.
State officials told the supervisor’s staff that closing some county roads to “pass-through” truck traffic could be a violation of the California Vehicle Code, which mandates that closures must be offset by designated routes for trucks on other county arteries, Jeffries said.
“Exploring our county’s legal options to restrict commercial truck traffic on certain county roads will better allow the board to determine how to balance the concerns of Riverside County residents with the desires of the logistics industry,” he said.