Our DPW, Leading By Example and Showing Every Truck Driver The Way To The Bottom

Installed by DPW, ignored by DPW and 
unenforced by HPD.

Here are two series of pictures showing our DPW garbage truck and a private hauler truck doing something that the city supposedly does not want any trucks doing.  

Last Friday morning, the DPW garbage truck turned off of State Street, passed within a few feet of a NO TRUCKS sign facing south at the corner, proceeded down the steep 2nd Street hill, turned left onto Dock Street and was parked in front of the DPW garage so that the crew could take their morning break.  The truck made no stops on 2nd Street or Dock Street to pick up trash.  This happens commonly and appears to be the preferred route for the driver when headed to the DPW garage.  Apparently, the small NO TRUCKS sign at 2nd & State does not apply to any DPW vehicles, even to the heaviest of them.

The smallest of rear loader garbage trucks weigh at least 15 tons when empty and can weigh as much as 25 tons when full (about the same as 53-foot tractor trailers).  The average standard car weighs 1.5 tons.

Unsurprisingly, a few minutes later, another garbage truck went down the hill.  This one was a dumpster carrier for the Waste Management Company.  The driver went down the hill after turning off of State Street (he was also off the truck route while on State, of course!), then drove to the end of the 2nd Street extension where he swapped dumpsters at the Harney Tea facility.  With a full dumpster and after passing two signs trying to keep him from driving up the hill, the driver actually headed back up the hill, the truck's engine straining the entire way (sorry, no pictures). What an absolutely stupid thing to do, and he probably does the same thing every week.  The driver knew exactly where he wanted to go and how to get there as quickly as possible -- this was his regular route and he was just trying to save time.  The truck remained on 2nd Street all the way to Allen Street where it turned left and headed to 3rd Street to get out of town. What truck route, what truck route signs?

Compactor dumpsters are extremely 
heavy when full.

From Harney Tea, the garbage truck remained
on 2nd Street all the way to Allen Street, avoiding 
traffic lights and delays along the truck route.

This sign meant nothing to the driver of 
the truck carrying an enormously heavy
garbage dumpster

Optional!

No one should be one bit surprised that trucks regularly ignore the signs at the bottom and top of the 2nd Street hill or that trucks are constantly using State Street and other streets off of the truck route. The city doesn't take these issues seriously, the truck route committee is feckless, HPD doesn't enforce the truck route rules and DPW leads the way as if the issue of safe streets is nothing but a joke and signs are to be ignored. If the rules don't apply to DPW, why should we expect the rules to be enforced or to apply to anyone else?

We all deserve better. A whole lot better.

Headed to 2nd Street?  Again?  Or is it 
3rd Street you are looking for?
(6th & State)