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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1973-952 . . ORD:I:NMCE NO. 952 .. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 25, "TRAFFIC," OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF IA PORTE, BY ADDIN3 AN ARl'ICLE V, ESTABLISHING TRUCK ROUTES AND GROSS WEIGH!' LIMITS; PROVIDTIK; THAT ANY PERSON VIOIATTIK; THE TERMS OF THIS ORDINM;cE SHALL BE DEEMED GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR AND SHALL UPON CONVICTION BE FINED NOT 'ID EXCEED 'Im HUNDRED DOLLARS ($200.00); CONl'AININ:; SEVERABILITY AND REPEALIN:; CLAUSES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFOCTIVE DATE HEREDF. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY m1MISSION OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE: WHEREAS, the City of La Porte has under its general police powers the power to enact ordinances and regulations deemed necessary for the preservation and ilrprovem:mt of the health, safety and welfare of its inhabitants; and WHEREAS, the City Conmission of the City of La Porte finds that the present vo1urre, gross weight, and unrestricted routing of truck traffic .. within the City of La Porte is to the material detri.nent of the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the City of La Porte in at least the following respects, to-wit: (a) The public streets in the City of La Porte are not engineered, constructed, or maintained to withstand the large vo1urre of heavy truck traffic which they are now sustaining, resulting in the damage and destruction of these streets to the inconvenience of the traveling public, with attendant expense to the taxpayers. (b) The large vol\ll'lE of through heavy truck traffic on the City of .. La Porte public streets, IlDst of which have no sidewalks and are therefore used by pedestrians, particularly school children of tender years, constitutes a significant traffic hazard and potential danger to life, which can at least be partially averted by confining such heavy truck traffic to designated truck routes. (c) The City of La Porte is situated in an area of extensive manu- facturing operations of chemical and petrochemical products, many of which are toxic, f1amnable, and/or explosive, which products, together with raw materials for their manufacture, carprise a significant portion of the truck traffic within the city, constituting a hazard to life and property which can be significantly reduced by confining such heavy truck traffic . to designated truck routes. (d) The present unrestricted novem:mt of heavy truck traffic on the public streets of the City of La Porte has caused a relative . . Ordinance No. 952 , Page 2. . decline in the value of properties abutting such public streets, thus resulting in a loss in ad valorem tax revenue for the City of La Porte. (e) The present mrestricted novenent of heavy truck traffic on the public streets of ,the City ,of La Porte has caused a relative decline in the market value of property, the use and enjoyrrent of property, the enjoyrrent of life, and the general 'Ir.1e1fare of the inhabitants of the City of La Porte who live near the public streets used by such heavy truck traffic. (f) The truck routes established by this Ordinance will provide adequate ingress and egress through the City of La Porte for all truck traffic of gross weights which can be sustained by the public streets of the City of La Porte without undue damage to such streets. (g) Confining heavy truck traffic to the truck. routes herein established will materially contribute to the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the City of'La Porte, and that of nctorists and pedestrians who must use its public streets. Section 1. The Code of Ordinances of the City of La Porte is hereby amanded by adding to Chapter 25, "Traffic," t.hereof, Article V, "Truck Routes and Gross Weight Limits," with sections to be- numbered Section 25-80, et. seq." which said sections shall read as follows: Article V. Truck Routes and Gross veight Limits Sec. 25-80. Definitions. The fOllowing words ,and phrases, when used in this article, shall, for thepn:pose of this article, have the neanings respectively ascribed to them as follows: COImercial notor vehicle. Any nctor vehicle other than a rrotorcyc1e, designed or \Bed for the transportation of property, inchiiing every vehicle used for delivery purposes. Gross weight. The weight of a vehicle without load plus, the weight of any load thereon. Light truck. Any truck, as defined in this article, with a manu- facturers rated carrying capacity not to exceed two thousand (2,000) . . . e Ordinance No. 952, Page 3. e . pounds and is intended to include those trucks COImDIl1y known as pickup trucks, pmel deli very trucks and carryall trucks. Pole trailer. Every vehicle without rroti ve power designed to be drawn by another vehicle and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a reach, or pole, or by being l:x:x:rced or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregularly shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural rrembers capable, generally, of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections. Semi -trailer. Every vehicle, with or without noti ve power, 9ther than a pole trailer, designed for carry~g persons or property and for being drawn by a notor vehicle and so constructed that some part of its weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle. . Trailer. Every vehicle, with or without noti ve power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carry~g persons or property and for being drawn by a rrotor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its we?-ght rests upon the towing vehicle. Truck. Any notor vehicle designed, used or maintained prinari1y for transportation of property. Truck routes. Those routes which are designated by this article for the use of truck traffic. Truck tractor. Every rotor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load other . than a part of the weight of the vehicle and load so drawn. Truck traffic. The operation of any combination of a truck tractor, trailer, semi -trailer or pole trailer, or a oomrrercia1 rrotor vehicle, but not including light trucks, as herein defined. Sec. 25-81. Designation. For the purposes of this article, those streets and thoroughfares within the col:pOrate limits of the city which are enurrerated as follows are hereby designated as truck routes: Route Extent . State Highway 225 New State Highway 146 East Main Street Entire extent within corporate limits Entire extent within corporate limits lobi t Street to Donaldson Avenue lobi t Street East Main street to Madison Street e Ordinance No. 952, Page 4. e (Route) (Extent) . Madison Street IDbit street to North Broadway street North Broadway street Madison Street to North corporate limits Crest Lane North Broadway Street to 16th street 16th street Crest lane to South J street (also known as Fainront Parkway) South Broadway Street (also known as Spur 501) to vest coJ:POrate limits South J Street (also known as Fainront Parkway) South Broadway Street (also known as Spur 501) South J street (also known as Fainront Parkway) to South corporate limits W9st Main street (also known as Spencer Highway) 16th Street to ~st corporate limits . Sec. 25-82. Use required ~ra1l:y. No person shall operate truck traffic upon any roads, avenues, streets, or thoroughfares wi thin the corporate limits of the city except on those which are designated as truck routes in Section 25-81, and subject to the gross weight limits established by this article. Sec. 25-83. Exception to Section 25-82--Point of origin. ~ provisions of Section 25-82 notwithstanding, in tb:>se instances where any truck traffic, originating within the corporate limits of the city, shall have as its point of origin a point located off a designated truck route, it shall proceed to the nearest point on a designated truck . route by the nest direct route possible. If such truck traffic shall originate outside the corporate limits of the city and enter the city at a point which is not on a designated truck route, it shall proceed to the nearest point on a designated truck route by the nest direct route possible. In those cases where truck traffic originates off a designated truck route, whether inside or outside the corporate limits of the city and the destination of the ti::uck traffic is nearer the origin or point of entering the corporate limits cf the city than is the nearest point on a designated truck route by the nest direct. route possible, it shall not be necessary to proceed to the nearest designated truck route. . See. 25-84. Sane--'Ib, from tennina1. Vehicles restricted to truck routes may depart from a point on such designated truck route for the purpose of traveling to and from a truck e Ordinance No. 952, Page 5. . . tenninal, provided that such vehicle proceeds by the nost direct route to or from the applicable truck term.i.na1. See. 25-85. Sane-- IDading, unloading. Truck traffic restricted to tle streets designated as truck routes may depart from such truck routes where it is necessary to load or unload at a location or locations situated off designated truck routes. Pro- vided, however, such truck traffic shall not leave any designated truck route until such has reached a point on sane designated truck route which is nearest the applicable place of loading or unloading by the nost direct route possible. After leaving a designated truck route to load or unload, truck traffic may continue off truck routes to as many points of destina- . tion as necessary. Provided, further, however, that if, in the course of making the necessary stops for loading and unloading, the truck traffic shall cross a designated. truck route, then, in that event, such truck shall not again leave any designated truck routes mti1 it has reached a point on so.rre designated truck route which is nearest to the next place of loading and unloading by the nost direct route possible. Sec. 25-86. Gross weight limit. No person shall operate upon any of the' public streets, highways, or a11~ys within the corporate limits of the City of La Porte, not herein designated as a truck route, any carrmercial notor vehicle, truck, truck tractor, trailer, pole trailer, or semi-trailer, having a gross weight . of thirty thousand (30,000) pounds or nore. No person shall operate upon any of the public streets, highways or alleys within the corporate limits of the City of La Porte, herein desig- nated as truck routes, any c:x:mrercial IIDtor vehicle, truck, truck tractor, trailer, pole trailer, or semi-trailer, having a ,gross weight of fifty . thousand (50,000) pomds or nore. Provided, however, the gross \\eight limits of this section shall not apply to state Highway 225 nor to New state Highway 146, which are subject to state gross weight limits. !my police officer, shall have the authority to require any person driving or in control of any truck to proceed to any public or private scale available for the pw:pose of weighing and detennining whether this article has been conp1ied with. . . . . ...... . Ordinance No. 952 e , Page 6. Sec. 25-87. Signs, markings. The Chief cf Police shall erect appropriate signs and markings advising IIDtorists of the truck routes and gross weight limits established by this Article. Sec. 25-88. Altemate routes. Whenever any street or roadway designated as a truck route is lmder repair, cr othel:Wise tenporarily out of use, the Chief of Police shall be authorized to designate alternate truck routes. Section 2. Savings Clause. If any p:ovision, exception, section, subsection, paragraph, sen- tence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application of sane to any person or set of circumstances, shall for any reason be held uncon- stitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisic:ns of this ordinance or their app1ica- tion to other persons or sets of circumstances and to this end, all provisions of this ordinance are declare to be severable. Section 3. Repealing clause. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are repealed to the extent of such conflict only. Section 4. Penalty. Any person, finn, corporation, ,association, partnership, trustee, or any agent, servant or enp10yee thereof who shall violate any provision of this ordinance, or any agent, servant, officer or enp10yee of any corporation who shall direct any activities which shall result in a violation of any provision of this ordinance shall be guilty of a misdeneanor and upon conviction shall be fined in an anount not to exceed ~ Hundred Dollars ($200.00). Each day of any such violation shall be deerred a separate offense. Section 5. This ordinance shall be effective on the 1st day of May, 1973. ,. PAP,SED AND APPROVED this the 19th day of March, 1973. , < " -.;. ~ .... .~ CITY OF LA PORl'E &f& ~~ . E. A~ ~,Mayor ./~ ./ CJ.ty ~-uJ. d~ CJ; mey