Bollards again the source of problems

By AMY FOSTER / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

The bollards on the corner of Main and Chancery streets caused trouble again Friday morning when a truck driver attempted to maneuver the corner and hit them. (Amy Foster photo)

The protective devices on the corner of Main and Chancery streets caused trouble again Friday morning when a truck driver attempted to turn the corner and hit them.

The protective obstacles, formally known as bollards, were only scratched this time but in March one of the bollards was completely pulled from the concrete. On this note, City Administrator Herb Llewellyn said the city has a truck route ordinance in the making which has already been approved by TDOT and is now being looked at by the city attorney, after which the ordinance will go before the city council for a vote.

“The ordinance has been written and I think the route has even been laid out. Now it is just awaiting review by the city attorney,” Llewellyn said. “After this, the only trucks that should be downtown are the one’s that are making deliveries. I really think that as the trucking industry hears that, they will start talking and they won’t come downtown.”

The bollards, which look like big, red bells on concrete, are part of the Main Street project. They were installed on street corners to keep big trucks from driving over the newly constructed sidewalks or hitting traffic poles.

Public Works director Bill Brock is also enthusiastic about the benefits of the new proposed truck route.

“It will keep a lot of thru traffic out of downtown because a lot of these trucks are just passing through,” Brock said. “The signs that are out there now are very deceiving. They look it up on the computer and it says to take 70S and that’s what they do.”

Brock said he’s not sure if they are going to repaint the bollards any time soon. He added that the truck driver’s insurance will be held responsible for bollard damage. After the incident in March, the truck driver’s insurance had to pay an estimated $6,000 to fix one bollard.

The bollards have been hit three times since Chancery Street has been reopened.

Brock indicated the new plans will be much clearer for truck drivers. The plans, which should be approved within the next few months, will stress the need to keep the trucks off Main and Morford streets because those streets are too narrow for large trucks to safely maneuver.

There will also be a renumbering which will include putting these streets back to their original number. The bypass will still be Highway 70 and the McMinnville downtown route will be known as Highway 380.