Alpharetta truck route ordinance update for first time since 1970s

The city of Alpharetta reached into its city code last week, blew the dust off an ordinance from 1974, and gave it an update for the first time in more than four decades.

It was the city’s truck route ordinance that got a fresh update, which outlines when and where large trucks can and cannot travel. This ordinance applies to trucks in excess of 36,000 pounds or more than 30 feet long.

These new rules won’t apply to a Chevrolet S-10, but it does impact those big 18-wheelers.

A spokesperson from the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety says that officers are already enforcing the ordinance, and that signs have been placed around various parts of the city informing truck drivers.

Under the new rules trucks are not allowed to operate on any road, street or route in Alpharetta except for the following:

■ Highway 9 (North Main Street to South Main Street)

■ Highway 120

■ Haynes Bridge Road (Highway 120 to the city limits of Alpharetta)

■ Hembree Road (Westside Parkway to the city limits of Roswell)

■ Mansell Road

■ Maxwell Road (Highway 9 to Hembree Road)

■ McGinnis Ferry Road

■ North Point Parkway

■ Union Hill Road

■ Westside Parkway

■ Windward Concourse

■ Windward Parkway (Highway 9 to Union Hill Road)

The update to the ordinance actually allows more routes for trucks, as the previous ordinance allowed truck drivers to use only Highway 9 and Highway 120.

The lone exception to the designated truck routes is that trucks are allowed to use prohibited roads when they need to access a repair garage or a place of pickup or delivery. Still, the driver must get to those places by using the most direct route.

Drivers who violate the ordinance could receive a citation and fine.

At second reading of the ordinance last week, there was one comment from the public on the matter, from Alpharetta resident Clifford Martin, who is running for a city council seat. Martin said he would like to see the ordinance better enforced.

“On Friday, I witnessed a truck that shouldn’t have been on one of the streets that is covered by the ordinance, have a collision with a passenger vehicle at an intersection,” he said. “So, if we had better enforcement, that wouldn’t have happened.”

The vote to update was unanimous among councilmembers at an April 9 meeting. The ordinance immediately went into effect.