Could Lathrop Road from Harlan Road to McKinley Avenue be closed to truck traffic?

That’ll be up to the Lathrop City Council to decide when they meet in September to consider what to do with the busy thoroughfare.

Last week the Lathrop City Council asked city staff to come back with a resolution that would bar all trucks – both California legal tractor-trailers and the longer STAA trucks – from using the four-lane section of Lathrop Road that passes through both commercial and residential areas.

While City Attorney Salvador Navarrete admitted to the council that such a move could potentially open the city up to legal challenges from business and property owners that may not be in favor of barring all trucks, he also noted that the city could be sued for just about anything and that they would handle those legal challenges “as they come.”

While the decision has not yet been formally made, the fact that there will be a resolution for council to consider will be welcome news for a handful of residents that have long been putting pressure on the council to do something about the number of trucks that pass by daily.

Adrianna Lopez, who objected to the city’s decision to widen Lathrop Road to four lanes from Harlan Road to McKinley Avenue because it brings more traffic at a faster speed along houses that have to back up onto Lathrop Road, noted that many of the trucks that pass along Lathrop Road aren’t delivering locally and are instead passing through.

Because Lathrop Road connects from Highway 99 to I-5, neighbors have argued, the route has long been popular with traffic that use that route rather than the often-congested Highway 120 Bypass.

Mary Meninga, a Manteca resident that has long advocated for removing trucks from Lathrop Road because of the danger that they pose to local residents, was more direct in her appeal to the council.  

“I think you have the absolute moral and legal right to take those trucks off of Lathrop Road and give these residents back their peace of mind and their health,” Meninga said.

By directing staff to prepare a resolution that would bar tractor-trailers from using Lathrop Road, the council indicated that they were not in favor of the other two options that were before them – paying $50,000 for a truck study to determine the actual truck trips and the average speed of the trucks or continue to allow California legal trucks while issuing citations to STAA trucks not using the approved routes.

While the council didn’t approve the truck study, Lathrop will still get some data back next spring when the results of the San Joaquin Council of Government’s Regional Truck Study is completed. The city is also planning on working with the City of Manteca with assistance from SJCOG to address the role that development along the Airport Way corridor has increased truck traffic and which movements will best alleviate the congestion that the trucks cause.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.