Police urge adding Julia Avenue to no‑through‑truck ordinance; council signals support

A resident complaint about large commercial trucks cutting through Julia Avenue prompted the Belmont Police Department to recommend adding the street to the city’s list of roads restricted to light vehicles. Police Chief Falls told council that Julia Avenue’s narrow width, frequent curves and limited shoulders make it unsuitable for sustained commercial truck traffic and that prior incidents have caused property damage and safety concerns. "Julia Avenue is narrow with limited shoulder space. No sidewalks, curving, making it unsuitable for sustained commercial truck traffic," Falls said.

Falls reviewed the mechanics under the city’s existing ordinance 7103, which already restricts through‑truck traffic on a number of streets by axle count, and recommended amending section A to add Julia Avenue (between South Street and South Point Road) as a no‑through‑truck location for vehicles with three or more axles. He noted the ordinance can include reasonable exemptions — for example school or church buses, municipal vehicles and certain local deliveries — and said Public Works would update sign wording to match the ordinance (changing sign text to reflect the three‑axle threshold).

If council concurs, Falls said the amendment will be placed on the Nov. 3 consent agenda, public‑facing signs will be posted, GPS mapping providers will be notified to reduce routing through the residential street, and the department will conduct outreach before any enforcement. Councilors expressed support while acknowledging potential side effects (rerouting traffic to other streets) and asked staff to coordinate with nearby jurisdictions and mapping companies. No final ordinance vote was taken tonight.