The City of Brownwood has received several citizen complaints regarding large trucks (18-wheelers) travelling on 14th Street which is predominantly a residential area.

The City Council discussed the topic and heard from citizens during their meeting on Tuesday morning, June 14.

City ordinance signs are posted at various points on 14th St, prohibiting trucks over 7000 pounds empty weight.

In reviewing City Ordinance, commercial vehicles are limited in reference to mainly Chapter 66 (66.45) which restricts a driver “leaving, parking or standing” on certain roadways a vehicle with a rated capacity in excess of one ton. There is no reference in this ordinance restricting large trucks from traveling on a roadway.

The city ordinance references ‘in excess of’ one ton while the posted street sign references over 7000 lbs empty weight. For comparison, one-ton equals 2000 lbs and vehicles reaching 7000 lbs empty weight would include large ‘dually’ style pickups, motor homes, and delivery trucks such as FedEx, UPS.

To resolve the concern of large trucks traveling on 14th St and the uncertainty of such a vehicles weight and to address the vague city ordinance reference, the City has the option to amend the city ordinance to (#1) place a restriction on the number of axles able to utilize the roadway and (#2) add the word ‘traveling’ to the list of restricted actions.

Brownwood Police Chief Ed Kading suggested an ordinance restricting vehicles based on the number of axles from using the roadway, with exceptions for certain delivery trucks.

Future action is expected on the issue.