Joliet mayor calls truck enforcement cameras ‘game-changer’

Joliet still is exploring the use of cameras to enforce truck traffic laws, and Mayor Terry D’Arcy described the technology as a potential “game-changer.”

D’Arcy said staff still is gathering information about the use of the cameras but will consider them for areas on the south end of the city, where complaints about errant trucks are most prominent.

“We’re going first to the most abused roads that are not truck routes,” D’Arcy said.

City officials for years have heard complaints from residents about semitrailers veering from their routes into neighborhoods not allowed for truck traffic. The issue was resurrected in recent weeks when the city and a developer worked out a turnaround area as part of a warehouse project at Rowell Avenue and Laraway Road to keep trucks from moving north into a residential area.

At a special meeting Wednesday, during which the project was approved with the designed turnaround by the City Council, D’Arcy said the police department is looking into the use of truck enforcement cameras that could be added on Rowell, where trucks already have been venturing through the residential area.

D’Arcy on Friday said police officials still need to gather information to be presented to the council so officials have an idea about the costs and camera effectiveness.

“But I think this could be a game-changer,” he said.

Police Chief William Evans said the city’s exploration of the use of truck enforcement cameras still is “in the infancy stage.”

But Evans said he will meet with representatives from companies with cameras that already have been shown to be effective in regulating truck traffic, noting that the Illinois Department of Transportation has employed the use of the cameras.

Evans said the cameras are able to create an image of trucks depicting their size to determine whether they are legal on the roads in which they are photographed. Those that are too big are automatically issued tickets.

The Joliet Police Department currently has two truck enforcement officers, and residents often say they are not enough for the growing logistics industry in the city.

Evans said he intends to add more truck enforcement officers but noted the city police ranks still are being built back up after losing officers through retirement.