The Pasadena
(TX) City Council by a vote of 8-1 tentatively approved an ordinance
to restrict trucks to two right lanes on Highway 225 Monday through
Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. - holidays will be excluded, the
Pasadena Citizen reports.
If approved
by neighboring cities including Deer Park, La Porte and Houston,
trucks will be restricted to two lanes on Highway 225 from Scarborough
Lane in Houston to 3,000 feet east of Beltway 8 in Deer Park.
In order for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to
officially approve the truck lane, all four area cities along
225 must approve similar ordinances.
TxDOT officials
have said the measure will help improve safety. But District C
Councilman Leroy Stanley, who cast the dissenting vote, said there's
a potential for increased danger to truckdrivers. Exiting, entering
and changing highway lanes could prove more difficult and dangerous
for both cars and trucks, he said.
A pilot program,
which restricts trucks to two lanes on Interstate 10 in Houston
has reduced traffic accidents by 68 percent, said Sally Wegmann,
TxDOT's director of transportation operations. The proposed truck
lane along Highway 225 would mark the second truck lane in Texas.
