Rowlett residents urge permanent closure of dead-end access used by Hinton Landfill traffic

Multiple residents of the Homestead at Liberty Grove neighborhood told the Rowlett City Council on May 20 that delivery and landfill traffic is using a dead-end residential street — Old Princeton Road and Rainey Road — to reach the Hinton Landfill, creating safety, property-damage and first-responder access problems.

Resident Joe McDermott said temporary barricades remain in place but mapping services still direct drivers into the dead end, causing large trucks to attempt turnarounds where there is insufficient room. He said school buses, fire trucks and ambulances have become stuck and that landscaping and fences have been damaged by trailers and dump trucks. McDermott asked the city to improve signage, mark the dead end on maps and coordinate with Garland (which he said uses the back gate) to stop non-public access.

Several neighbors, including Dan Hooped and Allison Haft, said they have repeatedly removed debris from truck spillage and that temporary solutions — such as citizen-driven map edits on Google — only last a few weeks. Residents asked the council to replace temporary barricades with a permanent closure, improve on-site signage indicating no access to the Hinton Landfill, coordinate with the city of Garland to close the back gate used by city workers, and notify first responders and school bus drivers about the dead end.

Council and staff took the citizen input during the meeting’s public comment period; the issue was not a formal agenda item and no council vote was taken. Residents said they would provide photos to staff and asked public works and police to escalate the matter.

Speakers: Joe McDermott (resident, 9206 Princeton Road), Dan Hooped (resident, 6416 Trezavant Street) and Allison Haft (resident, 6306 Montgomery Drive).