Editorial: If we saw trucks before on Belleville Road, just wait

The Van Buren Township Planning Commission has been working with a distribution center on Belleville Road at Yost Road to direct its many truckers to Ecorse Road to the south and Michigan Avenue to the north to keep them from the busy business district south of Tyler Road in the township.
It seems to be working these days, after flyers to the truckers and signs and more signs. They seem to be staying out of the area between Tyler and I-94 and heading to the freeways they want by the alternate routes.
But, now we will have a whole different group of truckers when the Stellantis Mopar distribution center, which is much, much bigger, starts its work. These truckers will have to be diverted from the busy area on Belleville Road and it will take a whole new effort for that.
Drivers already tell me they avoid Belleville Road between I-94 and Tyler because the traffic is so heavy. That can’t be good for the businesses located there.
Traffic into the city of Belleville in mid afternoon is a nightmare, as well. It’s stop and go as the five lanes in Van Buren Township funnel down into two lanes in the city.
The construction on High and North Liberty streets will add to the traffic problems in the city this summer, but that will eventually go away. In Van Buren Township it will just keep on growing as developments continue to come to town.