Goochland supervisors ask VDOT to bar through-truck traffic on Parkside Village streets

The Goochland County Board of Supervisors on June 3 voted to ask the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board to prohibit through‑truck traffic on several local streets in the Parkside Village subdivision, citing resident complaints about tractor‑trailers using the neighborhood as a cut through.

Deputy County Administrator Josh Gillespie presented the request at the board’s public hearing, saying the affected streets total “about 0.71 hundredths of a mile, so less than 1 mile of total streets,” and that VDOT regulations require a local hearing before signs can be posted. Gillespie told the board staff concluded the four statutory criteria for restricting through‑truck traffic are met: there is a reasonable alternate route, the character and frequency of truck traffic is incompatible with the residential area, the streets are local in function, and the requested signs would be enforceable under state law.

Residents told the board they were seeing more large trucks in the neighborhood as regional development ramps up. Steve Levitt, a Parkside resident who spoke during the public hearing after Margaret Levitt ceded her time, said traffic from Amazon’s Project RIC‑6 and other nearby projects will increase truck and commuter traffic on Ashland Road and lead drivers to seek shortcuts through Parkside. “We’re already seeing increased cut through traffic,” Levitt said, and he asked the supervisors to “place three no through truck signs at the specified entrances to Parkside Village.”

Board discussion noted that the state statute applies only to trucks; signage cannot lawfully prohibit general passenger vehicle cut‑throughs. Gillespie explained that “if a plumber or other service vehicle is driving through the neighborhood to reach a destination there, that is not a through truck under the state definition.” He said the posted restriction creates an enforceable limit similar to a posted speed limit, and that enforcement could be supported by the state police if needed.

Supervisor roll call showed unanimous support for the resolution. The board’s recorded roll call listed Supervisors Spurnauer, Lyle, Christie, Waters and Wimprey as voting yes; the motion passed.

The resolution asks VDOT — through the Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board — to place “no through truck” signage at the Parkside Village entrances identified in the board packet. The request now moves to the VCTB and VDOT for further review and potential sign installation and enforcement.

Residents and staff acknowledged that signage addresses only through truck traffic; other traffic‑calming measures would be required to address passenger‑vehicle cut‑throughs.

The board adjourned the hearing and set its next meeting for July 1, 2025.