Truck traffic/property rights

[cindyelise]

This is a problem I have not seen here. Five years ago bought a 100 year old house on a 30 mph residential city street. The street has "no truck" signs posted. The street is narrow (9 foot lanes each way). Our home is 50 feet from the street. We have spent the last five years renovating this house. Lots of $ invested. Prior to purchasing the house, had contacted city planning as to plans to widen the street. We were told that at the most, a third lane may be added as a turn lane. No problem.
This past spring, our road was "connected" to another and has now become the "north/south corridor" of the west side of our city. City planning neglected to inform us of this plan. The recycling, garbage, asphalt, gravel, and major construction companies are at one end of this "corridor" and our street has now become a truck route. The truck route ordinance is unenforceable because trucks are allowed to use the "shortest route" in our city. Tickets have been thrown out. Our city council tried to uphold a strict truck ordinance but our mayor (who favors busniness over neighborhoods) vetoed it.
So, we have gone from a "no truck" street to a major truck route. Four months after this connection, the city counted 585 heavy trucks (dump, 18 wheel semis, fuel tankers, Walmart semis, etc.) a day. They start at 3 am and slow down at 11 pm. I am sure that the number of trucks a day is much higher now that more have discovered this residential highway. We are not sleeping and are irritable. These heavy trucks climb a hill by the time they are at our house and the entire house vibrates - on average 20 times an hour. There are plaster cracks eminating from every front window in our home. We cannot sell our home due to this traffic, yet we can not live this way. Do we have any realistic legal recourse or can the city do whatever they want? I am sure road widening is just around the corner since now the road is deteriorating.

 

[freebird]

Really sorry to hear about the road. Fighting zoning is very tough. The best to do is make a campaign to make sure that the mayor is not reelected. I'm sure that he will not be happy. I would create a site and campaign that is informative, not crazy angry. Let people know that the mayor will sell you out and that your home can look like yours and he won't care about his own if he can make big business happy.

Fighting the zoning will be difficult. It may also involve lobbying and will require you to also connect with your neighbors to join the effort. Not everyone is happy with the decisions that are supposedly made for the greater good.

This is a problem I have not seen here. Five years ago bought a 100 year old house on a 30 mph residential city street. The street has "no truck" signs posted. The street is narrow (9 foot lanes each way). Our home is 50 feet from the street. We have spent the last five years renovating this house. Lots of $ invested. Prior to purchasing the house, had contacted city planning as to plans to widen the street. We were told that at the most, a third lane may be added as a turn lane. No problem.
This past spring, our road was "connected" to another and has now become the "north/south corridor" of the west side of our city. City planning neglected to inform us of this plan. The recycling, garbage, asphalt, gravel, and major construction companies are at one end of this "corridor" and our street has now become a truck route. The truck route ordinance is unenforceable because trucks are allowed to use the "shortest route" in our city. Tickets have been thrown out. Our city council tried to uphold a strict truck ordinance but our mayor (who favors busniness over neighborhoods) vetoed it.
So, we have gone from a "no truck" street to a major truck route. Four months after this connection, the city counted 585 heavy trucks (dump, 18 wheel semis, fuel tankers, Walmart semis, etc.) a day. They start at 3 am and slow down at 11 pm. I am sure that the number of trucks a day is much higher now that more have discovered this residential highway. We are not sleeping and are irritable. These heavy trucks climb a hill by the time they are at our house and the entire house vibrates - on average 20 times an hour. There are plaster cracks eminating from every front window in our home. We cannot sell our home due to this traffic, yet we can not live this way. Do we have any realistic legal recourse or can the city do whatever they want? I am sure road widening is just around the corner since now the road is deteriorating.