A public hearing is set for July 13 for County supervisors in Buckingham to gather input on potentially restricting through truck traffic on Troublesome Creek and Fanny White roads.
The action taken during supervisors’ June meeting, which was opposed by District Six Supervisor Joe N. Chambers Jr. and District Three Supervisor E.A. “Bill” Talbert, came after Buckingham resident Carolyn Duncan presented a petition with over 100 signatures asking the board to make a formal request to VDOT for the designation.
The petition cites heavy traffic on the road and VDOT studies stating that between 800 and 1,000 vehicles use the two roads daily during weekdays.
According to VDOT, a through truck is defined as any truck, truck and trailer or semitrailer combination, except a pickup or panel truck, that travels from one point to another and having no origin or destination along the route traveled.
“Trucks pose a great hazard due to their size and speed not only to normal drivers, but [to] students, teachers and the many school buses that use these roads daily,” the petition states.
In Buckingham, the two roads are known as a shortcut for traffic between U.S. Routes 20 and 60 and High School Road.
According to District Four Supervisor John N. Staton, who supported the action, certain VDOT criteria would have to be met before the agency prohibits through truck traffic. “The people in my district on Fannie White Road came to me and asked me if I would see what could be done or if it qualified,” he said.
“The road is just an extreme danger,” Duncan said during the meeting. “Someone is going to get killed. And, we’re trying to prevent that.”
The petition offered U.S. Routes 60 and 15, and state route 20 as alternate routes of travel. “These are all primary roads. The difference in road width is 20-feet versus 24-feet. We also realize this would not prohibit trucks that must use these roads as a means to get to their residence or place of business at the beginning and end of a workday.”
According to an email from Scot E. Shippee, VDOT’s Dillwyn Residency Assistant Resident Engineer, to County Administrator Rebecca S. Carter, an informal study of Troublesome Creek Road showed that “there is no compelling reason to prohibit the process of restricting trucks along this segment.”
In essence, Shippee said during the meeting, the matter is in the board of supervisors’ court now.
According to Shippee’s email, there are five steps to designating the road for no through trucks. First, the board must agree that they want to pursue the restriction. The board then must hold a public hearing on the restriction and the proposed alternate route, then the board must adopt a resolution for the restriction and present it to VDOT as a formal request. The agency would then perform a formal study and present a recommendation to the VDOT commissioner, and finally, if approved, the state traffic engineer will make appropriate notifications and signs will be posted.
Shippee said that, in short, “a through truck restriction is not a VDOT recommendation” and entirely the decision of the board that it be pursued.”
During the meeting, District Two Supervisor Donnie Bryan, who supported the measure, asked if the sheriff’s office had been consulted about enforcement of the concept.
“I’d like to remind this board how much is a life worth?” Staton asked.
District Seven Supervisor and Board Chairman Danny Allen said he wanted to hear what the public had to say on the matter.
“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of,” Chambers said of the concept. Following the meeting, Chambers told The Herald that he thought the designation would be discrimination against truck drivers.
The public hearing, Bryan said after the meeting, “does not mean that we voted to close the road to through truck traffic. Reading what VDOT put forth in the conditions, it’s going to be hard to enforce and do.”