Truckatoga: Demand Saratoga ban non-local tractor trailers from our historic streets

Citizens of Saratoga Springs, NY demand our City and State take action to protect our residents and infrastructure 

Background: For more than 40 years the citizens of Saratoga have begged city and state leadership to address a long term solution for massive tractor trailers using our narrow historic downtown streets as a short-cut. The vast majority of these trucks have no origin or destination within the city yet are allowed to freely traverse through our most historic residential streets on their way to destinations as far as Canada and California. Our downtown corridor is characterized by narrow, single lane roads with homes dating back 150+ years as well as significant pedestrian and cyclist traffic. These massive vehicles must stay on the interstates designed for trucks as they do not belong on historic residential city owned streets.

The volume of non-local trucks have continued to multiply while city, county and state leadership have failed to develop a comprehensive plan or develop appropriate infrastructure to route transiting truck traffic outside the historic district. Per the last traffic study as many as 700 tractor trailers per day are using our most historic and sensitive streets with incalculable costs, risks and damage to the city. Walmart alone is sending more than 50 tractor trailers a day down Broadway, Washington and Van Dam Street to save mileage and tolls on the Thruway. Does Walmart need more money? At the expense of our citizen’s health? No!!

The Department of Transportation’s backing of the trucking lobby along with the City’s inactions and lack of and truck enforcement have resulted in a dangerous and untenable living situation for Saratoga residents.

Truck traffic is detrimental to our city, residents and visitors:

- Pedestrian Safety: Tractor trailers require approximately 100 ft to stop 
- Lack of proper infrastructure: Saratoga’s narrow residential streets lack the appropriate infrastructure to handle large tractor trailers 
- Preservation of historic structures: Our oldest and most culturally significant homes and buildings suffer from constant vibration and structural damage 
- Environmental: Air pollution monitors show more the 2x the normal rate along the major trucking routes within the city exposing thousands of residents to health and safety risks
- Competitiveness of Broadway versus other more safe walkable pedestrian downtowns
- Impediments to future development: Saratoga’s growth is focused on the west side where the majority of trucking crisis exits. The City will be unable to grow unless this issue is resolved.
   

We hereby call on the city and county officials to immediately:

- Pass a resolution to immediately restrict heavy truck traffic within the historic corridor of the city to local deliveries only 
- Demand DOT answer to the City for the pandering to the trucking lobby to the detriment of our City and residents 
- Install 5 ton weight limitations on historically significant roads 
- Develop a near term truck routing outside the historic corridor
- Insist on a regional cooperation to develop a longer term solution including the appropriate infrastructure