SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – Spartanburg County Council members approved the introduction of an ordinance that would ban cars from stopping on roads in parts of the county.
If passed, the proposed county ordinance would make it a misdemeanor for drivers to park or stop their vehicles along specific roads in unincorporated areas.
Official documents say the “ordinance [is] to prohibit parking, stopping [or] standing in or along certain roads within the unincorporated area of the county.”
County council members referred to feedback they have heard from residents in the county.
“I’ve had constituents in one particular neighborhood [say] that trucks have basically taken over,” said District 1 council member Monier Abusaft. “They line up to go to an oil company. Those trucks idle on a very small road. When we reach out to the company, we get no response.”
Mary Jo Turner lives on Nebo Street in Abusaft’s district. Turner said she’s fed up with the trucks coming through and blocking her driveway.
“During a busy day like today, you may see hundreds of cars and trucks go through this street,” explained Turner. “There are times when you would have a truck coming from [the oil company’s campus] and the trucks coming from [Union Street] and stop in the middle of the street.”
Nebo Street connects to Union Street from the southwest; just one left turn away from Asheville Highway to the north. A railroad crossing sits just feet away from Turner’s driveway.
Turner recalled lots of tractor-trailers coming in from both sides of the street during the day and when a train comes, Nebo Street becomes unpassable.
“We’ve had emergencies where we’ve had the ambulances down here and the fire department,” said Turner.
Abusaft said Kinder Morgan, the oil company that sits on Nebo Street, hasn’t responded to communication efforts made by the county.
“[The ordinance] allows the sheriff’s office to be able to go in there and ask the 18-wheelers to move and if they refuse they can be ticketed which would go to the magistrate’s court and if they refuse, they could be towed,” said Abusaft.
The ordinance awaits a second reading by county council.
A full copy of the proposed ordinance can be read below.
