Pittsfield Considers Heavy Vehicle Excusion on Appleton Ave.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Heavy commercial vehicles might be banned from driving on Appleton Avenue from East Street to East Housatonic Street in the future. 

On Thursday, the Traffic Commission fielded a petition from Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requesting an exclusion for large commercial trucks on the route, which runs next to Pittsfield High School and through a residential neighborhood. 

City Engineer Tyler Shedd explained that the city would have to conduct a traffic study first. He agreed to have that data collected by summertime, and the petition was referred to his office. The exclusion would also have be OKed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. 

"I think it's something where maybe we can discuss it here, because trucks are trying to avoid the corner of South and West Housatonic Street, which had barriers for years, and then we put a bump out there," Shedd said. 

"There's a designated truck route that just doesn't get followed, and there's been attempts at improving signage." 

He said the concern is trucks turning from Appleton Avenue to East Housatonic Street without enough room. This often means cars have to get out of the way or run a red light. 

In 2022, the commission approved a petition to exclude heavy commercial vehicles on Deming and East Housatonic Streets. Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey pointed to previous years' efforts to exclude heavy commercial trucks from the area. 

"I don't disagree with [Conant] at all," he said.