Medina mulls ways to reduce tractor trailer volume on Park Avenue
MEDINA – The tractor trailers rumble down Park Avenue early in the morning through the evening. They are beating up the village streets and bothering neighbors, village officials said on Monday.
Medina wants them to stay off village streets, and instead take Maple Ridge Road to Salt Works Road to then go to Associated Brands and companies in the Olde Pickle Factory.
Many of the truckers who are stopped by police for violating the 5-ton weight limit say their GPS leads them through the village streets, Police Chief Chad Kenward told board members.
“We need to do something to protect village property and the residents,” said Mayor Mike Sidari.
Trustee Owen Toale said the heavy truck traffic forces the village to mill and pave sections of Park Avenue every year “because it gets beat up so bad.”
Toale said he often gets emails from residents on Park Avenue before 8 in the morning, informing him that “four tractor trailers have gone by my house.”
Toale suggested raising the fine to $1,000 and impounding trucks that use the village streets.
None of the other village officials supported that. Sidari and Trustee Marguerite Sherman said more signage should be posted for trucks, directing them to Maple Ridge and Salt Works. The signs should also note fines for using village streets at perhaps $500 per infraction, Sidari said.
Resident Michael Maak suggested the village talk with the companies that have tractor trailers stop for deliveries. Those businesses could work with the trucks’ dispatchers to inform them to stay off the village streets.
Sidari liked the idea of reaching out to businesses for help with directing the trucks to the right roads that can better handle the weight.
