Growing Number Of Trucks On Roads In Manteca Has Residents Concerned
MANTECA (CBS13) — City leaders in Manteca are working on how to regulate the growing number of trucks that are driving through town.
Concerned citizens have complained the large vehicles create unwelcome noise, traffic congestion and some are taking up parking spots.
Residents in Manteca said they have seen their fair share of commercial vehicles driving through town, whether it's 30-foot trucks or trailers with 15-foot cabins. Sometimes they are left in an old Kmart parking lot.
"The overnight, myself, my opinion I don't feel that's an issue as long as the vehicle is gone the next morning," said resident Ron Enox.
Some homeowners do mind and Manteca city leaders are working on a solution because as the city adds more industrial, the number of employees will grow and so will the number of trucks on the streets.
"That is where we are trying to balance this kind of jobs-housing mix that we're looking at through the general plan and in this particular case, in the traffic and circulation element, how do we cope with the truck component and where should the truck routes be properly on the streets that can handle that kind of traffic," said Don Smail, economic development director for the City of Manteca.
The city is gathering input from the community through a truck route study workshop. It will be part of a citywide master plan to be finalized in two years. Leaders want to develop a standard route for all trucks in the future.
"We do have a lot of population that are coming in and a lot of them are in the trucking industry so, parking is a concern for the valley itself, not just Manteca and understanding where are we going to be putting all of these trucks? When they are owned and operated and they are not working for companies and they come home and they need to park their park somewhere," said Gary Singh, city council member.
The parking lot on Northgate Drive is privately owned. There is no truck route nearby or room for parking. The city already has a "no camping" ordinance and until a plan is developed, residents are encouraged to contact code enforcement.
"It's just a place where it needs to be built back in with a business, soon I hope because north side is a good side of town, we need that business there," said Enox.
City leaders are continuing to gather more input from the community about the truck route as they plan for more workshops down the road.