LOS ALAMITOS : Truck Ban Fails to Satisfy Residents

The City Council has approved a ban on heavy trucks along certain sections of Catalina and Cherry streets.

But residents say the action was not enough to solve the traffic and noise problems in their neighborhood.

Trucks weighing more than four tons will also be barred from portions of Pine and Reagan streets to minimize traffic in a residential neighborhood that abuts a light-industrial area. The ban is expected to lessen truck traffic by 60%, officials said.

Signs will soon be posted to alert truck drivers, officials said. The council unanimously approved the ban this week. It will take effect in 30 days, officials said.

“This is not a complete solution,” said Mayor Anthony R. Selvaggi. “But it’s the first step to find a solution. This is better than doing nothing.”

For the last two years, residents have complained about noise, dust and traffic created by trucks owned by Barr Lumber Co. and Trend Offset Printing.

Two residents, Lew Petix and Russ Iiams, sued Trend Offset Printing and the city of Los Alamitos in August seeking $2.5 million in damages for what they contend were disruptions to their lives and the city’s failure to enforce city codes.

The suit is pending in Orange County Superior Court.

Petix and Iiams were among half a dozen residents who complained Monday that the ban did not include an area on Cherry and Catalina streets used by heavy trucks and forklifts from Trend Offset Printing.

Trend produces TV Guide, other magazines and government forms in an eight-building compound on Cherry and Catalina streets, near where Petix lives and Iiams owns a property.

“We want the trucks out of Cherry Street,” Petix said after the council meeting.

According to a recent city traffic study, Trend creates about 40% of the truck traffic. Barr Lumber Co., at Los Alamitos Boulevard and Catalina Street, dispatches an average of 35 trucks a day, the study indicated.

The ban will not affect the operations of Trend or Barr, officials said, but it will limit the number of heavy trucks passing through the surrounding area.

Police will be asked to enforce the ban, officials said.

Still, residents said it was not good enough.

“I don’t agree with a 90% solution,” said Leticia Aguilar. “I believe the trucks should be eliminated 100%.”

City officials said the intention is to ease traffic congestion without hurting the businesses in the area.