Saratoga Springs residents and officials are renewing calls to re-route tractor trailer traffic away from the core of the city.
Last month, a late-night collision between a Skidmore College bus and a tractor trailer at the intersection of Van Dam and Clinton streets blocked traffic for hours.
While no major injuries occurred, the accident has reignited conversations around a years-long debate to re-route the trucking industry away from the city’s northern neighborhoods.
“So, the Department of Transportation asked us to do an engineering study to reroute truck traffic. Very similar to what we did in the late 90s, but every time we've done this, they play essentially a game of whack-a-mole. They shoot us down. We give them studies. They don't like it or it's unreasonable, the route for the trucks to go. And they seem to take the back of the truckers' union every time, and they won't they won't come to the table,” said Gosier.
Dennis Gosier is part of the Van Dam Church Neighborhood Association, a group that has been petitioning both the City Council and New York State Department of Transportation to do something about the heavy truck traffic on the road.
As is, Van Dam Street is a designated truck access route, connecting the Adirondack Northway to Route 29, and, according to a DOT letter sent to Mayor John Safford, it’s been that way for almost four decades.
In December 2023, the City Council unanimously passed a five-ton weight limit ordinance for Van Dam. Within days of signs going up, however, they came down. DOT said city officials had no authority to pass local ordinances on a state-designated route.
A city request for a traffic study outlined a proposed re-routing of truck traffic, moving it away from the city’s core through Route 9 from the Northway’s exit 14 in Malta or via Route 50 through Ballston Spa.
Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford said the city can’t move forward with any re-routing without DOT approval.
“If the DOT was willing to change some of the truck routes, we think we could get some more relief. But every time we come up with an idea the DOT sometimes has a different idea. So, it’s an ongoing requirement. I think you have to remember the DOT’s primary interest is making sure that commerce moves as quickly as possible,” said Safford.
The city initiated a new Traffic Safety Unit in 2025 and, according to Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll from April 2025 through January 2026, of the 172 commercial vehicles stopped and inspected by the unit, 71 were placed out of service.
“We know that there is a significant number of trucks now that don’t come through the city with the concern that they may be inspected. And it’s good too because it’s a safety issue for the trucks that do. We want to know that every truck coming through the city is safe,” said Safford.
Gosier says the neighborhood association’s most recent traffic study found upward of 700 trucks use the road daily, including dozens of trucks for major retailers.
“Every piece of lettuce that goes to Maine, New Hampshire, and northern Vermont drives down drives down Van Dam Street because their produce warehouse is in Johnstown,” said Gosier.
In a statement to the Van Dam Church Neighborhood Association, DOT said in addition to identifying alternate routes, “there must be documented operational deficiencies or a provable history of accidents directly tied to the vehicles on that specific route.” When asked for comment a DOT spokesperson for the agency pointed to state guidlines to de-designate truck routes.
Longtime resident Scott Averill fears the worst if trucks aren’t re-routed away from the residential street.
“You know, and then when some child or individual is killed, everybody will be pointing fingers, you know, and blaming everybody, and it'll be another 10 years before it's solved,” said Averill.
In a statement, Trucking Association of New York President Kendra Hems said the organization recognizes the concerns of local residents but de-designating Van Dam Street could “force hundreds of trucks onto alternative routes, potentially increasing mileage, operating costs, and creating new safety challenges elsewhere.”
Hems added drivers are trained to operate in residential areas and the organization “would not support de-designation without clear evidence that it is warranted from a safety and engineering standpoint, and that viable alternatives exist that would not simply shift trucks onto other residential streets creating new concerns.”
