Starting mid-November, the city of Kamloops will implement a truck route pilot program which aims to remove truck traffic from downtown.
The city says the pilot will give staff insight into the impacts of the possible removal of truck route designations in the downtown core.
At the same time, the city will be carrying out a truck route study to assess the large trucks and dangerous good routes throughout Kamloops.
City of Kamloops Truck Route
Transportation Manager Purvez Irani says trucks will be permitted to travel along non-truck routes as long as they use the closest and most direct route to the trip’s destination. However, there are some places in Kamloops where vehicles over 10,900 kg are prohibited.
Public service vehicles, including municipal, transit, and school buses, are exempt from those weight restrictions.
Over the course of the summer, the Lansdowne Street truck route was closed due to the long-running sewar replacement project, which is set to wrap up mid-November.
With the Lansdowne Street truck route closed during construction in 2024, Seymour Street will be added to the closure on November 15. Although Seymour Street does not convey most of the trucks downtown, the pilot program will provide a more comprehensive trial over the next six months for future consideration of important transportation decisions.
“Truck routes play an important role in Kamloops,” Irani says. “Connecting arterial and collector roads to move goods and services in the city and surrounding region. Designated truck routes are designed to handle truck size and load requirements.”
Designated routes are designed for heavy vehicles as they are equipped with wider travel lanes, intersections that can accommodate trucks turning, thicker road surfaces, modifications to overhead and underground utilities, and adjusted signal timing.
The pilot route will be in place from November 15, 2024, to May 15, 2025.
