Semis prohibited on downtown East Dundee streets

Truck traffic on East Dundee's downtown streets will be limited thanks to new restrictions set by the village.

The village board this week passed an ordinance prohibiting semitrailer trucks from driving through the downtown unless they're making a delivery within that area.

Trucks can no longer include Van Buren, River, Third, Water and Railroad streets in their normal routes.

In the past, a designated truck route went right through the middle of East Dundee, Village Administrator Bob Skurla said. But recent redevelopment efforts have led to more construction - and more foot traffic - causing streets to be difficult for large vehicles and trucks to navigate, he said.

"With all the additional activity downtown, it was becoming a safety hazard for trucks to use those as through streets," Skurla said.

Instead, the designated truck route would be to take Route 72 to Route 68 to Barrington Avenue, avoiding the downtown area altogether.

The ordinance also prohibits a semitrailer truck driver to start the vehicle between 1 and 5:30 a.m. if it's parked within 125 feet of a residential property.

The new guidelines would mostly affect Lionize Delivery Solutions at 306 Third St., just north of the downtown and near a residential area, Skurla said, though he noted that a new truck route was "mutually agreed upon" between the company and the village.

It does not, however, affect the service to any downtown bars, restaurants or stores, Skurla said.

"By state law, we cannot prohibit a truck to make a delivery to a final destination point, so delivery trucks to any commercial establishment in the downtown will still continue uninterrupted," he said.

The public works department will also create special traffic signs to indicate the change, according to the ordinance.

"The route down Barrington (Avenue) works better for everybody," Lionize President Craig Johnson said.

To make it easier for Lionize to operate efficiently, Skurla said, the village would like for the company to "relocate to a more convenient location."

Lionize's current location would be a "perfect extension of our downtown area" and a place where the village would ultimately like to add more residences, Skurla said.

Johnson said Lionize may consider moving if the company continues to grow. It employs about 35 people and delivers as far as Memphis.

Both parties have been searching for a new space, Skurla said, but high property costs have been the biggest issue.

"We'd like to keep them in town because we like their business," Skurla said. "But it's a matter of economics. ... Unless something new comes up or we can devise a more cost-efficient location, it doesn't look like there's an imminent move."