Riverside Police Cite 57 Violations in Commercial Truck Checkpoint

Riverside police cited dozens of commercial truck drivers during an October checkpoint aimed at enforcing a municipal code that restricts heavy vehicles from using certain city streets as shortcuts between freeways.

RPD conducted the inspection checkpoint in the westbound lanes of Central Avenue, just west of Victoria Avenue, in response to ongoing resident complaints about trucks with three or more axles illegally traveling on restricted roadways.

Officers inspected 16 commercial vehicles and issued 57 citations for violating the Riverside Municipal Code's axle restriction ordinance. They also found two violations for improper use of air brakes, two for bald tires, and one unlicensed driver. One commercial vehicle and trailer was towed from the scene.

The enforcement action occurred shortly after the City Council's Safety, Wellness, and Youth Committee voted unanimously on October 15 to recommend increasing fines for commercial vehicle violations from $100 to $1,000.

The enforcement comes after years of complaints from residents in affected neighborhoods, who say the increasing logistics truck traffic is damaging roads, creating safety hazards, and literally shaking homes.

"When these large, heavily-laden trucks go by they actually create ground tremors akin to small 1.5-2.0 magnitude earthquakes readily felt throughout my house," said Duffy Atkinson, a resident and community organizer who leads the Victoria Area Neighborhood Alliance. His home sits about 100 feet from Alessandro Boulevard.

Atkinson said he has been filing complaints with the city's 311 call center for the better part of eight to 10 years.

The Riverside Municipal Code prohibits commercial vehicles with more than three axles from operating on designated streets, except when making deliveries or pickups on those specific blocks. Drivers must enter at the nearest intersection to their destination and proceed no farther than the next intersection.

The restriction applies to eight roadway segments, including Alessandro Boulevard between Central Avenue and Trautwein Road, Arlington Avenue between Horace Street and Chicago Avenue, and Central Avenue between Fremont Street and Brockton Avenue, as well as between Alessandro Boulevard and State Route 91.

Motor Officer Jesse Castro explained that not every commercial vehicle on restricted streets is violating the ordinance. "There are exceptions for vehicles making deliveries or picking up merchandise," he said. "These trucks bring food to our grocery stores and deliver the materials we rely on for home improvements. But our city streets are not meant to be a shortcut for truck drivers going from one freeway to another."

Residents say the problem goes beyond traffic congestion. Atkinson pointed to three specific concerns: deteriorating road surfaces with potholes and cracking pavement that damage modern passenger vehicles with low-profile tires; inadequate lane dimensions for semi tractor-trailers; and underlying soil conditions not designed to support 80,000-pound vehicles.

"The surface condition of the roadway paving is causing blown tires and damaged suspensions, which are a particular danger to modern passenger vehicles," Atkinson said. "The underlying soil and roadbase are not suited to support an 80,000-pound vehicle."

He strongly supports the proposed fine increase from $100 to $1,000 that the City Council's Safety, Wellness, and Youth Committee recommended in October. "That should get the attention of these drivers and their dispatching leads," he said.

The proposed ordinance has not yet been scheduled for a full City Council vote. During the October committee meeting, RPD Lt. Adam LeVesque argued that the current $100 fine "does not serve as a meaningful deterrent," with commercial truck operators viewing it as a "cost of doing business."

Atkinson also expressed frustration with the city's past handling of the issue, saying he directly petitioned the mayor's office to reach out to logistics center dispatch managers about routing problems, but "that went absolutely nowhere."

"It has never been a priority for the city beyond siccing the police department on the problem, and that angers me," he said. "This shouldn't fall on the shoulders of our patrol division to manage for years."

The Police Department encourages residents to report traffic-related concerns by calling 311 or using the 311 mobile app.