Residents press Washington County on truck routes, school pickup and road safety; engineering to review

Residents at the county outreach meeting described recurring safety and quality-of-life problems tied to large-truck traffic and school drop-off congestion in several Morgansville-area neighborhoods. Barb Jacob and Robert (last name given as Mothershed in the meeting) told commissioners that tractor-trailer drivers often use residential streets, damage yards and knock down directional signs while GPS routes encourage drivers through inappropriate local turns: "They come in with empty flatbeds and leave with loads of wood, and they don't care where they drive to get there," one resident said.

Scott Hap, the county's director of engineering, said staff will coordinate with the highway department and the Transportation Advisory Committee (called the PAC committee in the meeting) to review truck routing, signage, and whether crashworthy barriers are appropriate at specific locations. Hap said the committee includes State Highway representatives, police and engineering staff and will evaluate options such as additional signage, GPS-company outreach and intersection improvements where required.

On school traffic, Karina Parsons raised concerns about long pickup lines at Laguels Elementary that create backups at the Laguels Avenue entrance; Hap said county engineers will meet with Washington County Public Schools this week to explore internal school changes and traffic solutions. Commissioners asked residents to supply specific road names for engineering staff to inspect. The county did not commit to immediate construction work but said any recommended changes would be reviewed by the PAC committee and returned to commissioners for direction.