Milton council tables ordinance on truck restrictions

Milton Town Council unanimously tabled a proposed ordinance that would limit the use of trucks with more than two axles and weight of more than 5,000 pounds within downtown Milton.

Under terms of the ordinance, introduced at council’s May 5 meeting, large truck traffic in town would be limited to local service only – generally defined as stops to load or unload freight, among other uses – as part of an effort to stop trucks from cutting through town. The ordinance would apply to six areas: Chestnut Street between Front Street and Harbeson Road; Lavinia Street between Mulberry Street and Sand Hill Road; Mulberry Street between Harbeson Road and Route 16; Union and Front streets between Harbeson and Cave Neck roads; and Union and Federal streets between Route 16 and Sand Hill Road. 

Mayor John Collier said the ordinance would be a restriction, not a prohibition, of trucks in downtown Milton. Businesses in town will still be allowed to receive deliveries, he said. 

The language of the ordinance came from recommendations by the Delaware Department of Transportation. DelDOT engineer Sonya Legrand gave a presentation at the May 5 meeting on the department’s plans involving trucks around Milton. 

Legrand said DelDOT plans to overhaul the truck signage program on the approaches into Milton. The signs regarding truck alternate routes will be removed, and the signs regarding truck restrictions in downtown Milton will be removed and replaced with new ones. Legrand said the truck plaques being removed are part of new DelDOT policy. 

Councilwoman Lee Revis-Plank asked Legrand how the department is working with GPS providers, as one of the reasons trucks end up in downtown Milton is because GPS navigators send them that way. Legrand acknowledged that GPS navigation is an issue, and the department is working with Waze on a way of guiding trucks around downtown. Google Maps doesn’t have a feature where alternate truck routes can be suggested. 

When asked by Councilman Robert Gray whether the town would have to pay for new signs, Legrand said yes; the signs would be made by DelDOT and installed and maintained by the town. Legrand said she did not know how much the signs would cost, but she did not think the cost would be more than a couple hundred dollars. 

Collier, who wrote the first draft of the ordinance, was willing to allow council to take its time, saying he’d like to see the ordinance passed before the end of the summer. Council agreed the ordinance should be tabled and revised, then brought back at council’s June meeting.