S. E. Mears-Bowden: Trucks moving in and out of Beard tormenting nearby resident

Though glad for the rain, many don’t feel the need to adjust their driving to conditions. Some plow through standing “rain lakes” on our streets. My home (since 1991) has been overrun with trucking companies going in and out of the Beard Industrial District. Constant traffic over seven days a week have destroyed our roads, which were never meant to handle the added weight. Maybe that’s what Measure L will address.

Our property has taken the brunt of inadequate drainage and flooding for decades. We’ve installed retention walls, sandbags and pumps and we are constantly calling road maintenance to send pump-trucks. Our barriers have made it manageable.

But now certain company trucks regularly break safety and speed laws. Some have even sped up when they see us trying to wave them to slow down. They are causing huge breaches around the barriers. Our standing rainwater peak measures 16 to 18 inches with wakes from the trucks creating 2-foot swells. Friday one worker speed-boated through even as we tried to prevent flooding!

Sadly, most of the companies condone their drivers’ behavior. There is one exception: Thank you, Panella Trucking, who slowed their trucks once informed.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 9:15 AM with the headline "S. E. Mears-Bowden: Trucks moving in and out of Beard tormenting nearby resident."