POPULAR TRUCK ROUTE NOT A BYPASS FOR INSPECTION SURVEY FINDS RIGS AREN'T AVOIDING FREEWAY STATION.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A three-hour survey of big rigs traveling through the Valencia Industrial Center determined that the trucks are not using the route as a way to bypass a freeway inspection station, officials said.

City traffic engineers surveyed the trucks driving on Avenue Stanford on two different days in May, writing down the license plate numbers and the amount of time spent in the business park.

Ian Pari, a city traffic engineer who conducted the study, said all the trucks they noticed stayed in the business park for more than 20 minutes and weren't using the road to bypass the weigh station along the Golden State Freeway - one of the busiest one-way stops in the state.

``The fact we got zero, that's good indication,'' Pari said.

With no proof trucks use the route to bypass the station, the city refused to post signs prohibiting semi-trucks from using the road despite objections from the California Highway Patrol.

Sgt. Dwight McDonald, of the CHP's commercial vehicle enforcement division, criticized the survey, saying it was insufficient time to survey the trucks.

``There are trucks. We see them,'' he said. ``If you sit out there for an hour and a half a day, you're not going to see it.''

There are about 15,000 trucks a day that drive through the weigh station, and several thousands are issued citations, McDonald said. But since the sign came down and the word is spreading, more trucks are bypassing.

That includes trucks that are making deliveries or picking up a load in the industrial center, he said. Once drivers have completed business, they are expected to get back onto the freeway and go through the weigh station.

Andrew Yi, a city traffic engineer, said officials didn't stop each truck as it traveled down Avenue Stanford to determine its business because it would have disrupted business and traffic.

The city plans to conduct another survey later this year.

In January, the city removed the sign restricting truck traffic. The sign, which restricted trucks weighing more than seven tons from using the road, was removed after truck drivers approached the city asking about evidence or data that supported the posting of the sign.

According to the state engineering guidelines, a study or data must show why a sign or traffic signal is needed before is can be installed, officials said. The county posted the sign before the city incorporated so truckers wouldn't bypass the station.