Trucks on Walnut continue to pose traffic problems
Trucks that illegally use Walnut Avenue to travel between U.S. Hwy.80 to U.S. Hwy. 43 continue to be a problem for residents along the street.
At the Demopolis City Council meeting Thursday, city project manager Mike Baker told of possible solutions after talking with the regional director of the state Department of Transportation. But even after the city installs new signage and possible digital lighting, “The only solution is enforcement,” he said.
The new signs will be made in house, he continued, and added that Demopolis is not the only city having the problem of trucks using shortcuts instead of designated truck routes.
Police Chief Rex Flowers posed another problem. He said the city is not allowed to post signs on U.S. Hwy. 80 at the Walnut Avenue intersection. Unfortunately, trucks are committed to the street when they turn on Walnut before they see the “no trucks” sign. Recently a driver who had made the turn and then saw the sign backed up his rig, causing problems at the intersection.
In a related matter, Mayor Woody Collins said he has received the 11th and 12th request for speed bumps. Streets in the city had been full of potholes until the recent paving projects. Now that the roads are smooth, cars are traveling faster, which prompted the requests.
“I personally am not a fan of speedbumps,” Collins said. He asked the Council members to come up with ideas to solve the speeding problem.
A bid for replacing the roof on the Fire Station at 306 Hwy. 80 W came in much higher than expected. The Council voted to rebid the project.
Mayor Collins said the joint application with Marengo County for the CARES Relief Fund was denied. The project had to be COVID-19 related, and the city and county applied for $125,000 to repave the parking lot at the old National Guard Armory, now a vaccination site.
The property is owned by Wallace Community College, however, not the city or county.
Since the deadline for applying was coming up, and the project had to be shovel-ready, Collins approached Whitfield Regional Hospital. The city still owns the hospital property. WRH carved out a paving project from its ongoing renovation and upgrades to be submitted for funding.
In its only other action, the Council approved disposing of surplus property, primarily couches and chairs from the Civic Center.