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Downtown truck route discussion: residents urge rerouting, more safety measures as ordinance advances
Summary
Business owners and residents pressed council for stronger measures — flashing crosswalk lights, lower speeds and more enforcement — as council advanced an ordinance designating an alternative downtown truck route to third reading.
Residents and downtown business owners told the Jonesboro City Council on June 3 that heavy trucks are endangering pedestrians and taking unsafe routes through downtown, and asked for quicker implementation of an alternative truck route ordinance and additional safety measures.
George Goacher, who identified himself as a business and property owner at 308 South Main Street, said trucks are “not stopping at Huntington” and described a recent incident in which “a cement truck ... just blew right through Huntington, the red light.” He said large trucks often drive down the center of Main Street, fail to stop for pedestrians and sometimes follow outdated GPS routing, putting downtown walkers at risk.
Denise Goacher, also a building and business owner at 308 South Main, told council the downtown segment “has been disturbed” by semis and that drivers “just whiz down Main Street” at high speeds. She urged flashing lights at crosswalks, additional speed tables and dropping the speed limit to 15 mph in parts of downtown.
City staff and councilors clarified constraints and next steps: an official reminded the audience that Arkansas state law prohibits issuing traffic tickets solely on camera evidence, and staff noted that parts of the routing fall under state highway jurisdiction and will require ARDOT coordination for rerouting. Staff said they have started data collection and coordination with ARDOT and that approved routing changes will propagate to commercial GPS providers once formal approvals are in place.
Council moved ordinance 25016, which would designate a Downtown Jonesboro alternative truck route, forward from second reading to third reading for final consideration. The mayor asked the public to submit written recommendations; the mayor directed staff to present the suggestions to the Public Safety Committee.
What’s next: Staff will continue coordination with ARDOT for any state‑highway segments, finalize mapping and present recommendations to the Public Safety Committee. Council scheduled further readings on the ordinance before final adoption.
