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Downtown business owners press council to reroute trucks and add pedestrian safety measures
Summary
Jonesboro business and property owners urged the council to speed up rerouting of large trucks from downtown, citing vehicles running red lights and failing to stop at crosswalks; council said routing changes require coordination with Arkansas Department of Transportation and public safety committee review.
Business owners and downtown building owners told the Jonesboro City Council on June 3 that large trucks continue to endanger pedestrians in the city's downtown core and urged faster implementation of an alternate truck routing ordinance. The council had before it Ordinance 25016 to designate a Downtown Jonesboro alternative truck route; the ordinance moved from second reading toward a third reading after public comment.
George Goetcher, who identified himself as a business owner and resident at 308 South Main Street, told the council trucks "are driving down the middle of the road" and sometimes run red lights at Huntington. "They're not stopping at Huntington," he said, describing a recent cement truck that continued through a red light while his wife was walking nearby. He added that older GPS routing may still send trucks down the old highway route and that drivers may not be following detour signs.
Denise Goacher, a building and business owner at 308 South Main, said semis take both lanes on Main Street and that many trucks do not stop for pedestrians. She urged the council to consider flashing lights at crosswalks, additional speed tables and lowering the speed limit downtown to 15 mph. "For more safety, we need flashing lights at all the crosswalks, possibly more speed tables, and dropping the speed limit," she said.
A council member clarified that Arkansas state law does not permit issuing citations based solely on traffic-camera evidence. The mayor and staff noted that changes to state highway routing require coordination with the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) and that the city has "started the process" and is using data to pursue the routing change. The mayor asked the speakers to submit written recommendations for presentation to the Public Safety Committee.
The ordinance was advanced to a third reading; no final adoption vote was recorded in the public portion of this meeting.
