Truck routes in Jacksonville’s future, if City Council gives go ahead

Drivers of 18 wheelers coming through Jacksonville in the near future may want to be advised: if you’re starting a convoy, you may have to do it on designated routes.

That’s the gist of a new piece of legislation being considered Monday in the Transportation, Energy, and Utilities committee.

Ordinance 2017-807 would designate 52 truck routes and 10 alternate routes in Jacksonville.

Unless explicitly prohibited, all state roads would be truck routes.

Truckers would be allowed to use other routes for the express purpose of getting from one truck route to another, per the bill summary.

Scofflaws would be subject to $100 fines.

The bill accords with the 2030 comprehensive plan, which calls for truck routes; the criteria used to establish them include land use/truck trip generators; street classifications; lane widths; bridge locations; and speed limits.

The Jacksonville proposal, compared to truck routes in other cities, lacks nuance as currently constructed.

In Chicago, a proposed system of truck maps establishes three classifications for trucks: “The truck routes follow the Illinois Department of Transportation truck route designations: Class I truck routes includes interstate highways and expressways, Class II truck routes include major arterials with minimum 11 foot lanes, and Class III are State or City highways with lanes under 11 feet.”

New York City‘s system distinguishes between local trucks and thru trucks, with locals travelling within one of the city’s five boroughs.

In Menlo Park, California, truck route permits are required.

Closer to home, Sarasota is mulling changing its rules to establish designated routes; currently, the city operates under a case-by-case prohibition of trucks on certain residential streets.