Representatives from Catasauqua Borough, North Catasauqua Borough, East Allen Township, Northampton Borough and the office of state Rep. Zach Mako, R-183rd, met Jan. 13 at the Catasauqua Municipal Complex to continue their pursuit to redirect FedEx Ground truck traffic in the area.

Ever since the opening of the massive FedEx Ground shipping center on Willowbrook Road in November 2018, unwelcomed truck traffic has surged, causing public disturbances, consistent traffic delays and recurring damage to municipal property, it has been reported.

Residents and public officials alike have called for changes to the trucks’ routes. With no response from FedEx, the local governments have banded together to take matters into their own hands.

At a meeting in December 2019, Catasauqua, North Catasauqua, East Allen and Northampton decided to form a joint police task force, so they can address the issue across all municipalities affected. On their GPS-guided routes, FedEx drivers typically cut through residential parts of Catasauqua and North Catasauqua to get from Whitehall to Willowbrook Road and vice versa.

Catasauqua Borough Manager Steve Travers has supplied the task force with a mobile electric sign that can be programmed with specific messages and placed on roadsides to alert drivers. At the Jan. 13 meeting, representatives discussed how the sign could be most effectively used to reroute the drivers.

They concluded that the message, “No trucks, truck enforcement ahead” should be placed on Willowbrook Road to at least keep trucks off a local small bridge, which has been a site of great concern throughout this ordeal.

An officer from the Catasauqua Police Department will also be sent for Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program training in June. That certification will allow the officer to stop trucks for inspection, which the task force hopes it can use to deter truckers from using certain routes through residential areas.

The group also discovered there are height and weight limits for vehicles driving on Bullshead Road, another common thruway into residential areas for FedEx Ground trucks. If given permission by Allen Township or Pennsylvania State Police, officers from municipalities in the joint task force would be able to pull over trucks in that area to deter drivers from that route. Catasauqua Police Chief Douglas Kish expects state police will allow it and anticipates a state police presence at the next task force meeting.

The representatives in attendance used their time together to discuss the ongoing plans for a multimunicipal comprehensive plan, known as the River Central Comprehensive Plan.

What began over a year ago as an inter-borough planning program for Catasauqua and North Catasauqua has since expanded, with the help of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, to include Hanover Township (Lehigh County), East Allen Township and now possibly Northampton Borough as well.

Originally organized with the intention of coordinating the development of parks and public spaces across multiple municipalities, parties involved decided that a joint comprehensive plan would better allow them to address broader regional issues just like the FedEx Ground truck traffic. The plan’s steering committee meets regularly to discuss development in the area.

Northampton Borough Community Planner Victor Rodite described the regional plan as “a very positive program” and said the borough is planning to join in on the plan since it is still in the early stages of development.

Travers said “a lot of good has come out of it already” just by getting everyone together to talk about the issues.

The group will meet again Feb. 3 at the East Allen Township Municipal Building, 5344 Nor-Bath Blvd.