Marysville council backs drafting ordinance to route semis onto Sixth Street after safety debate over Seventh Street

The Marysville City Council on July 28 voted 6-2 to direct staff to draft an ordinance to designate South Sixth Street north of Highway 36 as an official truck route, including signage, stop signs, crosswalks and parking modifications, after weeks of public concern about semi traffic on the Seventh Street corridor.

The decision followed public comments from the Blue River Rail Trail and the Perrysville Union Pacific Historical Depot Preservation Society urging the council to avoid routing heavy trucks down Seventh Street, which runs past the rail-trail and the historic depot.

"Allowing a large number of semis to access the rail yard via Seventh Street corridor would create serious safety concerns," Shelby Temps, speaking for the Blue River Rail Trail, told the council. Temps said the trail begins at Seventh and Broadway and that in 2024 "14,879 people walked, biked, or ran on the trail," calling the corridor a growing economic and recreational asset. "Kids ride their bike on the trail to get to the kids' bike park near Jayhawk Road," Temps…