ATA: Litchfield putting the brakes on trucking restrictions

By Madeline Ackley Salazar
Mail | Twitter: @Mkayackley

Note: This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available

The city of Litchfield Park will place a moratorium on its trucking restrictions along recently annexed Camelback Road, according to the Arizona Trucking Association, an industry group vocally opposed to the local ordinance which banned through-truck traffic.

Litchfield Park city officials have yet to confirm or comment on this latest development, but Arizona Trucking Association President Tony Bradley told the Independent that representatives from the association met with Mayor Thomas Schoaf at a Mexican restaurant in Tolleson on Tuesday evening.

Bradley described the conversation as “cordial” and said that the association asked Mayor Shoaf to repeal the ordinance along Camelback Road, “so that we can work to address the concerns of the residents along that corridor.”

On Friday morning, Bradley stated in an email that Mayor Schoaf had agreed to place a moratorium on the restrictions along Camelback Road, “so that we can work together on allowing trucks to use Camelback Road as a through route.”

It is unclear how long the moratorium will last, but the city leaders have openly admitted that it believes the trucking association would triumph if the issue was brought before the State Legislature.

In a  letter dated May 2, City Manager Matthew Williams wrote that the bill "is expected to pass both the State House and the State Senate even with City of Litchfield Park’s objection and vigorous citizen contact to our state legislators.”

'We're tired of it'

It’s unclear how the city and trucking association plan to address complaints from residents who live along Camelback, particularly those in the Litchfield Greens neighborhood, which borders the section of road annexed by the city in March.

The city and county made an agreement less than two months ago that the two-mile stretch along Camelback from 127th Avenue to North Village Parkway would be transferred to city jurisdiction, and therefore subject to Litchfield’s trucking ordinance–a relief for many residents living at Litchfield Greens.

Perhaps no city resident has been more outspoken on the truck debate than John Connolly, president of the Litchfield Greens HOA.

Connolly told the Independent that he regularly fields resident complaints about noise and pollution caused by heavy truck traffic along Camelback.

“I’ve got probably two dozen residents that live on that wall,” Connolly said. “Their backyards reek of gas…if they run their HVAC system, the smells come into their home. It’s insane.”

He said that the neighborhood was built long before Camelback Road started to experience the level of truck traffic it does now.

"You'd think if your operation has grown 80%, you would reach out to the community you're affecting and say 'Hey, what can we do for you?" Connolley said. "They're not willing to do anything...we're tired of it."

Madeline Ackley Salazar can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.