No solution seen for Capital truck, train traffic jams
More than 30 times a day, traffic is blocked on Capital Avenue Southwest between Dickman Road and Hamblin Avenue just south of downtown.
Semi-tractor trailer trucks block all four lanes of Capital Avenue as they back up to the docks at Graphic Packaging International Inc. Just north of the paperboard plant are railroad tracks, where traffic comes to a stand-still as trains go by several times a day.
It’s frustrating for motorists, and it's an issue that’s not going to change any time soon. There'll be changes at the rail crossing for the soon-to-be implemented railroad quiet zone, but there'll be no realignment of traffic lanes on Capital. And a spokeswoman for Graphic Packaging, a global packaging manufacturing company, said it has no plans to change its loading dock operations.
“For the time being, I’m not aware of any changes that we’re going to make,” said Sue Appleyard, spokeswoman for Graphic Packing. “The mill has been there for over 100 years and there’s really nowhere else to put the docks.”
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Appleyard said 30 to 40 trucks pull in and out of Graphic Packaging each day. Truck drivers use an empty lot across Capital Avenue to line up and wait to back into the building. When it’s their turn to back into the dock, truck drivers either back straight across Capital from the lot and into the building, or they do a jack-knife turn to back in. Either way, the drivers bring traffic to a complete stop until the truck is in the dock.
“Each one is 20 to 30 seconds to back into the dock,” Appleyard said. “Total time, that’s about 15 minutes a day that they are potentially blocking traffic.”
The spokeswoman said the company is aware of the traffic disturbance and has moved some truck loading to off-shifts to avoid blocking the street between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
On Monday afternoon, while the southbound lane of traffic was blocked by a train, a driver took two full minutes of backing before all lanes were clear. Truck drivers who frequently visit Graphic Packaging said it usually takes them one to three minutes to back into the dock.
According to the city of Battle Creek’s Public Works Department, said about 20,000 vehicles per day travel that block of Capital Avenue.
Assistant City Manager Ted Dearing said the city pondered ways to alleviate the traffic build-up on Capital Avenue while planning the quiet zone. He said the city approached the company to discuss the minimal effects of the quiet zone on the packaging company.
Dearing said when he talked with the company about diminishing the traffic backups, he discovered it's not possible to load the trucks anywhere else.
Dearing said the city and Graphics Packaging are open to changes that could make traffic flow more smoothly, but have not found a viable option.
“It’s just another one of those things that can disrupt traffic that folks would hope would go away, but they also have to deal with it in their everyday lives too,” Dearing said. “It’s just part of dealing with that particular corridor.”
Because Graphic Packaging has been around so long, Dearing said he isn’t sure if the city had ever tried to work with the company on a solution.
“The impact on vehicles was back before my time,” Dearing said. “So I’m not exactly sure what initial arrangements may have been made and developed over a period of time.”
Mark Behnke, a city councilman and owner of a fenced-in lot across Capital from the paperboard plant, called the situation a “logistics nightmare.”
Some have wondered why the city allows the trucks to block traffic, but Behnke said the street should remain open to everyone. The owner of Behnke Transportation said if the blocked traffic is too much for other drivers, they should take alternate routes like Washington Avenue or Division Street to and from downtown.
For truck drivers the issue is more than an annoyance. It can be frightening.
About 4:30 p.m. on a recent Wednesday afternoon, a truck driver backed his semi-truck out of the lot across the street from the plant. As the truck creeped backwards across the street blocking three lanes of traffic, a red compact car zoomed past the truck's tailgate in the only open lane.
The truck driver hit his brakes to avert a collision. Both drivers honked at each other and the red car continued down the street.
“It’s nerve-wracking,” said retired truck driver Mike Bogen. “People, if you give them an inch they’ll take a yard.”
Bogen said he picked up loads at Graphic Packaging for 17 years. He said the company’s docks are difficult to navigate for several reasons: the docks are enclosed; one of the two Capital Avenue docks is narrow; and there's the traffic hassle.
Bogen and other drivers said backing into the dock from the lot across the street is a dangerous method because the driver can't see what's directly behind the truck. Bogen said the safest way is for a truck to turn in the middle of the street and use the jack-knife method.
Bogen, who drove trucks for 36 years, said once the truck is aligned with the building, the back of the trailer disappears. Even though the company added lights to help aid drivers, the docks are in the shade. On sunny days there is glare, making it more difficult for truck drivers to determine where the truck ends and the building begins.
For safety reasons, the truck drivers say they block traffic on purpose so that cars won’t sneak past them and into a blind spot. Bogen said the truck drivers know other motorists get frustrated with them, but it’s part of their job.
“They’re angry, they’re frustrated, they want to go -- especially if you sat with the train, too,” he said. ‘’‘Why can’t you go, I can see where it’s going,’ but until you’ve done it they don’t understand.”
Alan Berner, a driver who delivered a load to Graphic Packaging last Thursday, said when car drivers get restless it can make the process take longer.
Berner, who has been driving for 38 years, said other drivers on the road become anxious while waiting, and some try to drive around the trucks. He said he’s seen a few cars collide with trucks over the years.
Berner said the best thing other drivers can do is sit and wait. The faster he can back into the dock, the faster traffic can resume as usual.
“It takes time,” Berner said. “Sitting out there blowing your horn doesn’t do anybody any good. Be patient.”
Call Enquirer reporter Olivia Lewis at 269-966-0663. Follow her on Twitter: @TheWrittenPeace