Trucks 10 Tons or More, Pay $1K to Drive on Banned Section of Morrisville’s S. Pennsylvania Ave

An ordinance, detailing a section of S. Pennsylvania Avenue to be closed to trucks, was unanimously approved by Morrisville Borough Council last month ending decades of effort to limit truck traffic in the borough

The ordinance banning trucks over 10 tons from the residential stretch of the road, loaded or unloaded, was approved by the council on December 17.

Helen Hlahol, Council President, addressed residents’ concerns about signage by saying PennDOT had emailed her that the signage would be completed by the end of the week. She asked residents for patience since “PennDOT is a government entity. They do not work fast. It’s a state road. I would have liked to have this done in August but you know I keep telling everyone January 1st so hopefully we will meet that deadline.”

Signage was posted later in the month  just before the ban went into effect. The designated no-go stretch of S. Pennsylvania Ave. between Philadelphia Ave. and Tyburn Road, still had trucks coming through as late as Dec 20.

To prevent truckers from cutting through to other roads, the ordinance covers local roads within the borough limits. The amendment to add local roads to the original ordinance was approved in November and the entire ordinance was approved at December’s meeting.

Believed to be effective now, it is prohibited for trucks over 10 tons to travel on South Pennsylvania Avenue between Philadelphia Avenue and Tyburn Road. As reported in a previous LBS story on November’s meeting, the ordinance also covers  Central Avenue, West Post Road, Ohio Avenue, Park Avenue, and Riverside Drive. Other streets, such as Washington and Anderson, were mentioned at December’s meeting.  The request for clarification from Hlahol had not been answered as of publication time.

The ban was implemented following years of complaints from residents about heavy truck traffic. A major route for trucks headed to the Keystone Trade Center (KTC) from U.S. Route 1 is S. Pennsylvania Avenue, and it was the only NHS Intermodal connector in the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s (DVRPC) study area.

There are multiple homes directly fronting this street in the borough. Tyburn Road was built with two lanes each way, separated by a median. The road was considered a minor arterial. Compared to S. Pennsylvania Avenue, it has a larger capacity for truck traffic and is more isolated from the surrounding community. According to a Lower Bucks Freight Access Study conducted by DVRPC, Tyburn Road would be the better option for the Intermodal Connector.

Upon completion of the PennDOT signage, officers are able to enforce the law due to December’s unanimous approval from the council and November’s advertisement.

This stretch of road imposes a $1,000 fine on any driver of a rig over 10 tons stopped by borough police.