No trucks: City adds signs after trucks damage crossing

• Reed Schwartzkopf

Reed Schwartzkopf Jamestown city engineer

Talk about it

Railroad crossing arms may be a little safer at the Third Street Southeast crossing now that “no trucks” signs have been put up, but the city of Jamestown may designate truck routes in the future as well.

Since the quiet zones infrastructure was built, at least two semi trucks have knocked over railroad crossing arms while attempting to turn right from 12th Avenue Southeast to go eastbound on Third Street.

“It’s not so much the damage, to my mind, but the safety issue,” said Reed Schwartzkopf, city engineer.

To stop semi trucks from trying to make the turn — which is tight because it’s so close to the railroad crossing — the city has placed “no trucks ahead” and “no trucks” signs on 12th Avenue.

“We’re still catching trucks just going right through,” Schwartzkopf said.

The city is examining the possibility of designating truck routes through town that might prevent more damage to the railroad crossing.

Another option may be to relocate the access point so that the turn isn’t quite so tight, Schwartzkopf said. BNSF Railway may pay for it, given that “it’s costing them more than us,” he added.

In other news Thursday, the Public Works Committee:

* is considering altering Jamestown’s snow emergency routes, and will discuss the matter more at future meetings.

* intends to place garbage cans in the city parking lots, where people sometimes gather in the evening. Council Member Ramone Gumke expressed concern that people sometimes loiter there and make noise, causing people who live in the apartments nearby to complain to the Jamestown Police Department.

* asked Schwartzkopf to investigate the possibility of the city’s sanitation workers emptying out the downtown garbage cans. Currently they are emptied by City Councilman Charlie Kourajian, who does it as a volunteer.

* continued discussion of its dead-animals handling policy, which is intended for wild animals rather than pets, Schwartzkopf said. Live trapping may be limited to weekdays in the future because of staffing concerns.

* agreed to move ahead with an engineering analysis of the controllers installed in downtown traffic signals. The controllers within the signals were old 20 years ago, Schwartzkopf said, and had originally been purchased used. Parts for the controllers have had to be cannibalized from existing ones and ordered from a firm in Iowa, he said, and there have been problems with power surges, brownouts and blackouts.

Sun reporter Kari Lucin can be reached at 701-952-8453 or

by email at klucin@jamestownsun.com

Tags: local news, news, jamestown, local