08-29-05 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

. . . II. Impact of Garbage Trucks on Our Community Impact of Truck Weight on City Streets Concern about wear and tear on City streets is high on the list of reasons why the Solid Waste COlrunission chose to reopen consideration of organized collection in Falcon Heights. Since the beginning of 1993, Falcon Heights has spent over $5 million dollars in capital improvements to streets and alleys (Appendix E) and over $500,000 on maintenance (average $44,189 per year). Concern about the inlpact of garbage trucks on our infrastructure is not unfounded. A major study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute concluded that "Fatigue damage to rigid and flexible pavements is most directly determined by maximum axle loads and pavement thickness." (1) Typical3-axIe garbage trucks have an axle weight of approximately 20,000 pounds per front axle and 44,000 lbs on the rear pair combined - the highest axle weight of any vehicle traveling city streets. (2) According to standard figures used to calculate the impacts of different kinds of vehicles on pavement, a typical passenger car has an Equivalent Single Axel Load (ESAL) factor of .0007, compared to a truck with 18,000 pounds per axle, which has a factor of 1.0, or the equivalent of 1429 cars. A garbage truck can be as high as 1.6 or 2286 cars; MnDOT uses a formula that says one garbage truck trip is equivalent to 1000 car trips. (3) In Falcon Heights, we have quoted a much more conservative ESAL factor of 0.6 for a 2 axle garbage truck, or the equivalent of 857 cars, given by H.R Green, City Engineer. (4) Even so, a little common sense calculation shows that garbage trucks account for a significant share of the vehicle weight on our streets and, thus, a significant portion of the wear that is due to vehicle weight. (See Appendix E). This is most dranllitic on those streets and alleys that get the least overall vehicle use. Duane Schwartz, Public Works Director of RosevilIe calculated that limiting the number of garbage trucks on Roseville' s streets to only one hauler could extend the usefulness of the street 5 to 10 years, saving a typical homeowner $20 to $40 per year. (5) To put this amount into context, in 2005 the cost to the average Falcon Heights household for seal coating and crack sealing will be about $20, for operation of the City parks, approximately $44; for fire protection the average cost will be about $60. Many cities that have adopted or considered organized refuse collection have cited street wear as an important factor. From the Carver County Environmental Dispatch, September, 1994: "There are many benefits to organized garbage hauling including.. .Lower street repair costs to the city. Reducing the volume of repetitive truck traffic on residental streets will also reduce wear and tear to roadways" Similar comments from many cities are given in Appendix 2E of the Ramsey/Washington Counties Resource Recovery Project "Public Collection Study: Final Report," 2002. (6) City of Falcon Heights Final Report on Organized Collection October 13, 2004 13