HOUSTON — Larger trucks, including 18-wheelers, may soon have to find different ways through Houston. City Council is looking at a plan to limit where those big trucks can go if they’re simply passing through town.
On Wednesday, the city’s transportation committee heard details about the Citywide Truck Route Plan. It would limit trucks with more than three axles, or those weighing more than 26,000 pounds, from passing through smaller city streets, forcing them to stay on more main roads.
There would be exceptions for deliveries and other business reasons. Larger school buses would also be exempt.
Muxian Fang, Planner Manager for the City of Houston, told council member the exact streets that would be designated “through truck routes” are still undetermined.
Several council members had questions about how the restrictions would be enforced.
“A police officer could stop them, ask them for proof of route to show that destination is on that street,” Muxian explained.
Muxian said her team is also studying 13 other cities, including Fort Worth, Atlanta, New Orleans, and New York, that have similar programs.
Houston’s plan is part of the city’s larger Vision Zero goal, which aims to end traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
Houston saw nearly 4,800 crashes during from 2018-2022 on non-interstate roads, with the highest number concentrated along McCarty Drive near Mesa Drive.
Around 2,000 of those crashes happened on smaller streets.
If approved, a pilot program would launch in northeast Houston’s Settegast neighborhood in spring 2024 before expanding citywide in the summer.
Brandon Carter, who lives in Settegast, said heavy trucks are a common sight.
“I mean, look, you see it right now,” Carter said, pointing out a large truck passing by during an interview Thursday afternoon with KHOU. “Up and down, up and down, up and down. You got cement trucks, you got the dump trucks, the big rigs.”
Houston City Council is expected to vote on the measure in late November.