SUFFOLK, VIRGINIA — Suffolk City Council voted unanimously on August 19 to ban tractor-trailers from Manning Road and Arthur Drive, two rural roads with a combined history of crashes that includes one fatality and 22 injury crashes on Manning Road alone. But at least one longtime resident says trucks are already ignoring the new restriction.
A city study found 43 crashes on Manning Road before the vote. The council voted 7-0 to implement the ban. Since then, Suffolk Public Works has been installing required truck-restriction signage and notifying the port, the Tidewater Motor Truck Association, and local businesses. Signs are expected to be in place by September 11.
Bobi Suponski, who has lived on Manning Road for 26 years, said the truck traffic has steadily worsened over the years and that trucks are still coming through despite the ban. She pointed to a practical problem with the sign placement.
“Part of the problem is once you turn from Copeland onto Manning there’s a sign — well, you’re already there, so it’s almost too late,” Suponski said. Her proposed solution is a FLOCK camera and heavy fines for offenders.
Suffolk Police said in an email that the department “will continue to monitor and enforce the tractor-trailer ban in the same way it does with all other traffic-related issues.” Follow-up questions about whether targeted enforcement or cameras were being considered went unanswered by deadline.
Interviews courtesy of local media.
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