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Residents urge action on Luvs truck stop near homes after death, call for fencing and road closures
Summary
East-side residents told council that a new Loves truck stop located about 30 feet from houses is causing safety, health and quality-of-life problems; a speaker said an 18-year-old died and asked the city to require a concrete fence, close nearby streets and reconsider 20-year tax incentives.
An East Joliet resident addressed the council during public comment on Oct. 19 to urge city action in response to the recently opened Loves (Luvs) truck stop located near a residential area.
Diane Madder said the truck stop sits roughly 30 feet from homes and that ‘‘because of Luvs truck stop, an 18 year old kid has died’’; her remarks were presented as a public comment and attributed to her. Madder urged the council to require a 13-foot concrete fence to separate the commercial site from nearby houses, recommended closing New Lenox Road and Oakview Avenue to through truck traffic, and asked the council to reconsider any long-term tax incentives granted to the developer. She also raised concerns about diesel exhaust, chemical spill risk, transient crime associated with truck stops nationally, and asserted the East Side of Joliet receives less investment than other parts of the city.
Mayor Terry Darcy told the speaker that he has visited the site and offered to meet with her to review conditions. The public comment period ended before the council took any formal action on the request. City staff did not present a formal response at the meeting and no code-enforcement or planning motions were made on the floor during public comment.
Residents seeking remedial measures such as fencing, road closures or mitigation of truck traffic would need formal petitions to planning, public works or council action; the speaker requested council site visits and additional study. The meeting record shows the mayor offered to meet with the resident and that councilmembers were invited to attend site visits if desired.
