//
you're reading...

Cornelius News

Town puts the brakes on truck parking

Oct. 4. By Dave Vieser. Look out trucks and oversize vehicles. The Cornelius Town Board has adopted new laws which will restrict the overnight or long-term parking of large tractor trailer trucks throughout the town.

“The Town had received complaints about the tractor trailers parking near Planet Fitness, as well as Kenton Place and Antiquity,” said Assistant Town Manager Wayne Herron. “However, their parking status at the time was legal since they were on private streets within private property. The new laws adopted by the town board will prevent trucks with over two axles in commercial districts unless they are within a designated loading area or approved storage area.” Previously such town restrictions only applied to residential districts.

The vote was 4-1, with Commissioner Kurt Naas opposed, saying he felt the law was “overkill.”

A second law adopted at the same meeting will limit the size of vehicles prohibited from parking on public streets to no more than 20 feet in length and a height of 8 feet. There was no height limit before and the length previously permitted was 30 feet. The height limit was adopted specifically for safety reasons, since some of the taller trucks blocked sight distance for motorists. This measure passed unanimously.

In other action, Mayor Woody Washam appointed seven residents to a newly formed town education committee that will address issues related to the recently adopted CMS policy which places Cornelius near the bottom of priority for future capital expenditures. The appointees are Dave Mancuso, Tricia Sisson, Joanie Baker, Jack Higgins, Ivonne Reed, Richard Pappas and Cynthia Bush.

*The commissioners authorized the public sale of two surplus town-owned properties: A 1.29 acre building on Starcreek Drive which previously housed the town’s Public Works Department, and a total of 2880 square feet comprising three storage units in Hyde Park on Bailey Road, formerly used by the Cornelius Police.