Staff Proposes Updated Truck-Routing Signs for Lincoln After Resident Complaints; Enforcement Limited to Complaints

City staff presented a resident complaint about truck traffic, pedestrian safety and a fence-impacts incident on Lincoln Street (Southfield to Woodford) and recommended updating existing word-heavy signs to clearer, symbol-based truck-restriction signs. The board discussed truck routing, GPS routing and enforcement limits and supported staff’s proposal to install the updated signage used elsewhere in the city.

Staff said traffic volumes and recent speed samples on Lincoln do not show markedly higher post-construction traffic; the police department’s speed data indicated 80th-percentile speeds in the upper 20s to low-to-mid 30s mph at sampled locations. Staff will collect additional data this year. The police noted that truck drivers are expected to follow designated truck routes, but enforcement is complaint-driven and can be resource intensive: officers must follow a truck and document destination if the vehicle is making a legitimate local delivery, which complicates enforcement of through-truck restrictions.

The board discussed mapping and routing apps (Google, Apple, Waze) and staff noted that many fleet-dispatch platforms can include truck-route settings but cannot fully prevent driver use of the shortest or fastest route. Staff recommended clearer symbol-based signage to reduce inadvertent through-truck use and said enforcement will remain complaint-targeted and temporary saturation enforcement will be used when complaints spike.

The board asked staff to install the new signage and monitor complaints and enforcement outcomes; staff will return updates and additional speed data in a future meeting.