Residential truck route not acceptable
Marion Mayor Mary Olson blamed Union Pacific Railroad Monday for the truck traffic woes in the southwest part of town.
The railroad recently closed a crossing on Burbridge Street which was the approved route for truck drivers to travel to and from a truck parking lot on Grant Street.
Since the crossing has been closed, truck drivers now have to use Grant Street in Jex Addition to reach the parking lot which has upset many residents in that area.
Truck lot owner Darryl Brewer told the council that since the railroad closed the only approved access to his business, Grant Street needed to be designated as the truck route.
Brewer stated that he uses Grant Street "all of the time" to transport excavators to and from his property.
"We haven't asked the city to help out other than to acknowledge that we're there," Brewer said during the public forum portion of the meeting. "I give guys a place to park and so far it has worked out."
He continued that loaded trucks have difficulty navigating the residential Grant Street because of parked cars.
Leah Schmidt, a Grant Street resident, stood to be heard but Olson told her she was out of order and to be seated.
City attorney Dan Baldwin and city administrator David Mayfield concurred that a representative from Union Pacific Railroad was supposed to be at Monday's meeting. Instead the representative will be at the next council meeting.
Baldwin said any legal advice for the council regarding this matter should be conducted in an executive session.
"It should be confidential because it may end up in front of a judge," Baldwin said.
Baldwin continued that his initial "looking at this issue, (Brewer's) property has been treated as a commercial property for a long time. Not everyone agrees with this.
"It has been in my research that it has been commercial property and has not discontinued as commercial use and will remain commercial property unless there is some way to rezone it, which may take negotiations or a lawsuit," Baldwin said.
The city's zoning map indicates the property as residential.
He suggested that the council not restrict access to Brewer's property to avoid an immediate lawsuit and see what can be done in the interim.
"I doubt if the railroad can solve our problem," Baldwin said, and "the council needs to decide what information is released when."
With that the council recessed for 15 minutes into an executive session for attorney-client privilege.
When the meeting reconvened, Olson said the council needed to negotiate with "the person who caused all of this and the city would do its best to get a railroad representative here to solve this problem."
The public forum then was reopened for comment.
Schmidt then was given an opportunity to speak.
She began by saying that Grant Street is not wide enough for a truck route. Schmidt said she didn't know if crossing arms at the Burbridge railroad crossing would solve the problem with the railroad.
Councilman Stacey Collett said the reason the railroad closed the crossing was because of increased train speeds and poor visibility by motorists.
"I'm frustrated with being told where I can park," Schmidt said.
She noted there are 10 children in a two-block area on Grant Street. There are no sidewalks in the area for the children to play.
Schmidt continued that she was not against truck drivers and the city has neglected their needs.
"I'm against trucks coming through my residential area," she said, and expressed concerns about a truck driver being able to stop to avoid hitting a child.
Schmidt also suggested it would be more cost effective to have a truck parking area at the city's industrial park instead of in a residential area.
With that, Olson said there would be no more comments on that subject and asked for other comments about other topics.
