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Jul 16, 2023

Berryville considering restrictions on large trucks

This handmade sign posted low to the ground along South Church Street in

This handmade sign posted low to the ground along South Church Street in Berryville informs tractor-trailer drivers that the Berryville Graphics entrance on Josephine Street is closed. It and several other signs recently installed nearby are intended to discourage large trucks from going down the streets.

BERRYVILLE — Tractor-trailers could soon be banned from South Church Street for safety reasons.

Berryville Town Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. June 13 on a proposed ordinance restricting the lengths of trucks allowed on the narrow, two-lane street.

South Church stretches between South Buckmarsh Street (U.S. 340) and East Main Street downtown. Businesses sit along a little more than a block. The rest of the street runs through a residential area.

The ordinance generally would prohibit trucks exceeding 50 feet in length from traveling on South Church between the intersections of Crow Street and South Buckmarsh Street.

A report prepared for the council shows the typical length of a tractor-trailer is 72 feet, including its 53-foot trailer. In comparison, the John H. Enders Fire Company & Rescue Squad's ladder truck is 42 feet long. Buses used by the Clarke County Public Schools are no more than 40 feet long.

Signs recently posted to inform truck drivers that South Church isn't suitable for tractor-trailers aren't working, according to Councilwoman Diane Harrison.

"It's not unusual for three or four to come down per day," said Harrison, who lives on the street.

That doesn't seem like a large number, she recognized. But some houses sit close to the street and children frequently walk along it, she said. Parts of the street have no sidewalk

Harrison said she wants to prevent a tragedy from occurring.

The number of tractor-trailers has "probably gotten worse" since the signs were posted, she added.

Neither Police Chief Neal White nor Town Manager Keith Dalton could be reached for comment on Tuesday.

The council — in particular its Streets & Utilities Committee, which Harrison chairs — repeatedly has discussed concerns about trucks going onto South Church and the adjoining Josephine Street and Byrd Avenue, both of which have dead ends.

Sometimes trucks are trying to get to Berryville Graphics in the Clarke County Business Park, and GPS may be indicating South Church is the most convenient route, officials have said.

A sign on South Buckmarsh, near the town's southern boundary, advises that South Church isn't suitable for tractor-trailers. Also, "dead end" signs were posted at the entrances of Josephine and Byrd.

In addition, a handmade sign posted low to the ground along South Church indicates Berryville Graphics' entrance along Josephine Street is closed. Harrison said the entrance, mostly used by employees, is usually closed at night. But it's currently closed around the clock while construction along Josephine proceeds.

"The signs we put up ... are totally ignored," Harrison asserted during a recent council meeting.

When the book manufacturer's Josephine Street entrance isn't open, trucks must back up through the neighborhood and "it's just not safe," she said.

The company has "been very good," Harrison continued, in telling truck drivers not to use South Church.

Apparently, though, "sometimes the message doesn't get through" to them.

So-called "through trucks" are banned on West Main Street and the portion of East Main between Buckmarsh and Jack Enders Boulevard, the designated route into Berryville Graphics and the business park. They’re also banned along Mosby and Hermitage boulevards, two subdivision streets that connect West Main to Buckmarsh.

State code Subsection 46.2-1304 lets localities put restrictions on the movements of trucks within their boundaries. No public hearing is required beforehand. However, Berryville officials have said they want to hear from residents before any restrictions are adopted.

Exceptions to the ordinance would be made for emergency vehicles, as well as for tractor-trailers in traffic rerouted by authorities due to emergencies or road construction, a document shows.

At his discretion, the town manager would be able to grant permits for tractor-trailers used for construction, moving or deliveries to addresses within the restricted area.

The public hearing will be held in the council's meeting room on the second floor of the Berryville-Clarke County Government Center on Chalmers Court.

— Contact Mickey Powell at [email protected]

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