Police want action to stop tractor-trailers from using residential streets to get to landfill

(WKBN) – A number of police chiefs in eastern Mahoning County are tired of seeing big tractor-trailers using roads in their communities to get to a landfill in Poland Township.

Tuesday morning, several chiefs and officers — along with County Prosecutor Gina DeGenova –met to discuss the problems.

“It’s definitely an issue from a safety standpoint for our residents that we get this taken care of,” said Poland Township Police Chief Greg Wilson.

Police provided video of semi-trucks traveling along residential streets, trying to get to the Republic Services landfill off of U.S. 224. The chiefs say many of the trucks are from New York and New Jersey, and the drivers don’t know the area and easily get lost.

“They’re not using trucker GPS’s, so what happens is they’re coming off 616, they’re coming from the east, it now tries to give ’em an automobile shortcut and that automobile shortcut brings ’em through residential areas,” said Lowellville Police Chief Rick Alli.

“When you’re coming down Coit Road, if you’re driving your personal vehicle, you have to slow down if another car’s coming up. Now imagine with a tractor-trailer, you’re stuck,” said Alli.

Another problem is the size of the trucks versus the roads they’re driving on.

“The streets are not built, they’re not engineered to withstand the weight of those vehicles. The vehicles — the trucks — are too wide. They can’t safely travel down one lane, so it is, it’s definitely an issue from a safety standpoint,” added Chief Wilson.

While the chiefs say they would like to cite the truckers for safety violations and even impound their rigs, the prosecutor said she and her staff will research to see what officers can do to discourage the drivers from using their roads.

“This isn’t going to be a one-size-fits-all for every jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction has unique needs and unique issues, but it is important that we make our roadways safe,” said DeGenova.

Coitsville’s Police Chief Mike Morris suggests changing the landfill’s address to Route 224 might help.

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