Jun 8, 2015 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg Borough Council approved several motions Monday aimed at addressing problems related to the heavy truck traffic in the borough.

Monday was the first day borough police began conducting truck inspections after two of its officers, Shawn Wood and Marcus Simms, became certified under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.

Councilwoman Lynn Snyder said it was “wonderful” to see police stopping trucks on High Street for the inspections. “Nice job, chief” Councilman Dar Fitch called to police Chief Rob Toth.

Toth said he is proud of the two officers who completed the training. “We received a lot of positive response,” he said.

The two officers, assisted by police from North Strabane and Canonsburg, stopped 10 vehicles, Toth said. Two or three of the vehicles were taken out of service and not permitted to proceed until towed or problems were addressed.

The inspections may have caused a little inconvenience to motorists on High Street, but it paid off, Toth said. “It’s a positive thing, it’s a safety issue, it’s a win,” he said.

Councilman Mark Fischer said he hopes “the word gets out” that commercial operators who enter the borough must obey the law and make sure their vehicles are inspected and in safe operating condition.

To assist the two officers with the inspections, council later voted to purchase a set of truck scales from Brechbuhler Scales Inc. of Pittsburgh at a cost of $9,350.

Mayor Duncan Berryman said he believes the scales will pay for themselves in a very short time.

Council also voted to write a letter to the state Department of Transportation asking it to conduct a traffic study related to trucks using state roads in the borough.

Fischer, who made the motion, suggested the borough ask PennDOT to consider reducing the speed limit for trucks, particularly on Richhill Street where truck come down a steep grade.

Sam Francis, a resident of Richhill Street, said he is not against the natural gas industry but is concerned about whether trucks will be able to stop coming down the hill.

Several school bus stops are on Richhill Street and Waynesburg University is nearby, he said. About a week ago, Francis said, a wheel came off one the trucks and hit a house on South Richhill Street.

“My concern is that something is going to happen,” he said.

Issues involving trucks were also discussed by council last month. Berryman reported Monday he had talked to state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, about the problem and she said she would speak to PennDOT about completing a study.

Council agreed it might help if it, too, made a formal request.

Councilman Pat Haught also suggested PennDOT be contacted about repairing the potholes that have re-formed particularly on Greene Street.

In other business, borough manager Mark Simms reported the borough decided to cut the grass at least twice during the summer at several abandoned houses for which an owner can’t be determined.

The borough has problems tracking down the owner of abandoned houses particularly when they might be owned by a bank in Texas or Florida, he said.

The borough will cut the grass and then file a lien against the property to collect a fee when the house is sold, he said.

Though neighbors would probably like to see the grass cut more than twice, “the public needs to understand,” Simms said, “we have limited staff and limited resources and a large number of those types of lots.”

There are between 30 and 40 abandoned properties in the borough, Simms said.

Fischer suggested the borough also cite the property owners under the borough’s grass ordinance and meet with the district judge to discuss the problem.

Simms also reported work on the Jackson Run bridge project on High Street is expected to be completed at the end of next week.