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City to Ban Trucks From Tight Staten Island Streets

By Nicholas Rizzi | July 30, 2014 4:21pm
 The city will install signs in Emerson Hill to prevent trucks from driving through the small, windy roads after reports of 18-wheelers getting stuck in the streets, Councilman Steven Matteo announced.
The city will install signs in Emerson Hill to prevent trucks from driving through the small, windy roads after reports of 18-wheelers getting stuck in the streets, Councilman Steven Matteo announced.
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Councilman Steven Matteo's Office

EMERSON HILL — After reports of large trucks getting stuck on thin, windy streets in Emerson Hill, the city will add signs to bar drivers from taking the route.

The Department of Transportation, after calls from Councilman Steven Matteo, will install eight signs at the entrance of Emerson Drive near the Clove Road underpass and the intersection of Douglas and Richmond roads to stop drivers, the lawmaker announced on Tuesday.

“As anyone in the community can tell you, this has been going on for some time now,” Matteo said in a statement.

“It is a tight enough street when a sedan is passing through. No truck can make those turns in complete safety.”

The signs will not allow trucks over 33 feet to make right turns or for them to drive through unless they're making local deliveries.

It follows two tractor-trailers that got stuck in the neighborhood in the past month, Matteo said.

On July 15, an 18-wheeler got stuck on Douglas Road and crunched a guard rail, CBS New York reported. One of the wheels of the truck was left hanging off the hill and was in danger of falling into a home underneath it.

The trailer eventually had to be taken down in pieces, according CBS.

Earlier in July, another tractor-trailer got stuck on the street.

Matteo said the problem is that many drivers follow GPS instructions and don't realize how tight the route is.

Aside from the signs, Matteo said he sent letters to Google and GPS manufactures about the issue and asked them to stop telling cars to take those streets.

“I am asking any company that is involved in selling GPS devices to pay attention to what is happening here," Matteo said.

"It is a small change but will have a big and positive impact for the safety of this community and their customers looking for a safe and efficient drive.”