Press Conference Report 
on the April 24, 2000

Goshen Truck Survey
  • number of trucks 
  • safety 
  • air quality
  • noise 
  • historic landmarks 
  • boundaries
  • other studies 
  • prior data problem
  • sample size 
  • results
  • recommendations
    		•
     

    On April 24, 2000, 135 18 wheel semis  were followed through Goshen to determine their destinations. Here a car driven by citizen volunteer, Bill McDonald, follows a truck. 

    What follows is the full text of statement presented by citizen volunteer, Cynthia Cannaday,  at a Press Conference on May 8, 2000, at the Historic Police Booth, Main and Lincoln, Goshen, IN. 

    Introduction
    My name is Cindy Cannaday, I am one of the Goshen citizens who conducted a semi-truck traffic survey in Goshen on April 24th 2000. I was selected by my peers to speak today for our findings of that survey. Let me just say here that it is never a good idea to leave a meeting of citizen volunteers for any reason regardless of how short the time period because when you return you will find that you have been volunteered for something! Having given you the wisdom of my experience, let me say that I am nonetheless happy to speak . We thank the press who are here today, it is because of your coverage that the common citizen can have a voice. We thank Mayor Allan Kauffman for coming as well and we hope that this press conference will open honest and meaningful dialogue between us and the City. This issue of traffic in the City of Goshen is vitally important and today we speak specifically to the semi-truck portion of traffic which has such a great impact on Goshen. 


     

     Number of Trucks in Goshen
    During the time frame of our study we counted 18-wheel semi-trucks, other large commercial trucks, manufactured houses and RV’s. This count was taken at the Historic police booth which we are standing by today. The number of 18 wheel semis which passed this checkpoint during the 7 1/2 hour study was 725. The number of other large commercial trucks was 519, manufactured housing 12 and RV’s 75 for a total of 1,331 large commercial vehicles. The significance of this heavy amount of commercial traffic is measured not just in numbers but should as well be measured by the impact of this traffic upon Goshen, its central business area and near neighborhoods. 

    Number of 18-Wheel Semi-Trucks in Goshen
    725 18-wheel semis traveling through the heart of Goshen during a 7 1/2 hour period. These semis are traveling not only through our downtown commerce area but also through our neighborhoods, affecting our quality of living and the health of our city and community.

    Number of Truck Accidents in Goshen
    This semi traffic directly affects the safety of our citizens. During a 1 year time frame from April 1999 to April 2000 there were 43 traffic accidents involving semis in the downtown area of Goshen. Not surprisingly, many of these accidents where caused by semis making turns at intersections and by semis failing to stop at red lights. 

     Safety Concerns
    While we are concerned for the safety of our motorists, we are also concerned for our pedestrians crossing with semi-truck traffic. We are concerned for our children who must cross the streets congested by semis on their way to school or to the playground, the library, the park or to a friends house. Chandler Elementary school and the Goshen High School are both located on Madison street which is also US 33. St. John’s School is located on Third Street which is a City proposed US 33 route. The Goshen College and Parkside Elementary School are impacted as well by truck traffic on SR 15 South. The Maple City bike path crosses Madison Street as well as Third street and we are concerned for our families who use this for recreation and transportation. 

    Air Quality and Health Concerns
    The semis which travel through our city and neighborhoods leave choking air pollution in their wake as they pass through. It is unpleasant to say the least , to walk next to a semi as the plumes of noxious black smoke billow out of its stacks. Needless to say, we can multiply that number by several when we are talking about our downtown area. Aside from being unpleasant, this air pollution can trigger asthma attacks and cause cancer. 

    Quality of Life and Noise Concerns
    Noise pollution caused by Semi- trucks is significant as well. Recognizing this, the City Council has adopted a resolution to ban jake breaks in Goshen. The jake breaks are extremely loud, the congestion of semis traveling through our city in itself is loud. It is impossible to carry on a conversation while shopping downtown or while chatting with a neighbor on your porch in the near neighborhoods while a semi-truck or 3 is passing by.

    Historic Landmark Concerns
    Goshen has several significant Historic Landmarks that are negatively impacted by structural vibration damage caused by semi-trucks. We believe these landmarks are important and should be protected.

    Because we are concerned with these issues, and because traffic surveys conducted in the past have either not provided specific information for large trucks or have provided conflicting information, we decided to conduct a semi-truck traffic survey in order to document that needed information. 

    Strengths and Weaknesses of Previous Studies
    In order to educate ourselves in preparation for our own survey we studied the 2 traffic studies that have been commissioned by the City and upon which future traffic proposals are being based upon. 

    These studies are the:

    1996 Thoroughfare Plan by Woolpert & the

    1998 Video Destination Study by MHM Associates.

    Thoroughfare Plan Study by Woolpert, 1996
    We now refer to the 1996 Thoroughfare plan by Woolpert.

    According to this study in the Executive Summary section under "Transportation Goals" is listed the following:

    • Remove truck traffic from the Central Business district and residential areas.
    • Develop alternative truck routes.
    We concur with these goals and just as the Thoroughfare Plan notes that Goshen has a small town atmosphere within the central business district, we also take note of this quality.

    We would further like to point out that the Thoroughfare Plan did not include the industrial park just as our study did not. Additionally, the Thoroughfare plan lists as a transportation goal a railroad overpass on the North/South line that parallels State Route 15. 

    Video Destination Study by MHM Associates, 1998 
    We now refer to the 1998 Video Destination Study by MHM Associates.

    Because the actual city limits are in fact far removed from the central business district and also from the town's neighborhoods, a large portion of the traffic counted in this video study moved in and out of the edges of the city without passing through the city. For example, shoppers who came to the Meijer store from Elkhart were included as "local" traffic if they simply came to Meijer’s and went back home. Likewise, shoppers from Syracuse or Ligonier who came to the Super Walmart were counted as "local" traffic if they returned home after shopping. These vehicles have very little impact on Goshen’s traffic problems. However, large trucks in the center of the town do make a very significant impact on our traffic problems. The MHM study did not make any attempt to report the destination of truck traffic. They simply gave total numbers. The Thoroughfare Plan clearly states that truck traffic is an important facet of the City's transportation goals and yet this destination information was lacking in this study when it could easily have been included.

    In studying the MHM Associates report, there appear to be a number of findings that are not based on actual data. 

    What you see here on this display is a simple spreadsheet summary of tables 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Destination Study for Goshen by MHM Associates. The numbers in this spreadsheet are taken directly from the Destination Study. The column going down lists Inbound vehicles and the various major routes and the rows going across list the outbound vehicles on the various major routes. 

    You can see that these numbers are listed in separate graphs in the Destination Study and were simply put into a spreadsheet in order to view all the information together.
     

    In several cases identical traffic numbers were reported for two or three traffic count locations. As an example, SR 15 S inbound & US 33 outbound lists 377 vehicles, likewise, SR 15 N inbound & US 33 S outbound also lists 377 vehicles. Further, US 33 S inbound & SR 15 S outbound lists 164 vehicles as does US 33 N inbound & SR 15 S outbound as well as SR 15 N inbound and SR 15 S outbound. There are 6 additional pairs of matching vehicle numbers in this study. 

    Click here to view this data 

    Statistically speaking, the probability of finding this frequency of matching numbers at the various traffic count locations is far beyond the realm of reasonable probability. It would be perhaps as likely as winning both the Lottery and the Powerball on the same day - during a full solar eclipse while vacationing in Guam. Scientifically speaking, a statistician could give us the statistical probability of these matches occurring, it would be an outlandish number.

    In our opinion, these apparent errors invalidate the video study's findings related to local vs. through traffic in Goshen.

    And so, we come to the reason why we are here today. To release the findings of our citizen's semi-truck traffic survey conducted on Monday, April 24, 2000 between the time of 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM.

    BOUNDARIES of the April 24 Survey
    The area surveyed is bounded by Wilden Avenue on North Main, College Avenue on South Main. On the West the boundaries are Bashor Road on US 33 and Indiana Avenue on SR 119. On the East the boundaries are Logan Street on East Lincoln and College Avenue on US 33. 

    These boundaries, rather than the city limits, are important to the goals of this study. The purpose of the study was NOT to determine how many trucks come into Goshen. The purpose was to assess the problems that truck traffic creates for Goshen. Secondly, the designers of the study assume that trucks outside the study boundaries could reasonably be expected to use a bypass. 

    DATA GATHERED
    A total of 30 volunteer drivers, assistants, and data takers participated in this destination study focused on the large truck traffic that passes through the central neighborhoods and downtown central business district of Goshen. Volunteer citizen drivers followed 18 wheel semi-trucks as they entered and exited the boundaries set by the study. The volunteers documented trucks by time entered, location entered, description, plate number, time past the police booth checkpoint, and time exited. If a truck stopped for business in Goshen, the location of the stop was recorded and it was counted as a "local" truck. Trucks that passed directly through Goshen were counted as "through" trucks. Trucks were selected for following on no other basis except whether or not they were 18 wheel semi-trucks and whether or not a volunteer car was available to follow the truck through town to verify its route. Volunteers were also stationed in the historic downtown police booth to count the total numbers of 18 wheel semi-trucks, other large commercial trucks, manufactured housing and RV’s during the 7 1/2 hours of the study. Each volunteer signed an affidavit to give an honest record of their observations. 

    SAMPLE SIZE
    The volunteers stationed downtown (at the historic police booth) counted a total of 725, 18 wheel semi-trucks, 519 other large commercial trucks, 12 Manufactured houses, and 75 RV’s for a total of 1,331 large commercial vehicles. 

    Volunteers followed a total of 135, 18 wheel semi-trucks. By comparing the number of trucks counted and the number of trucks documented by following, the study is able to establish the percentage of trucks actually documented. Because of the large sample size, we are very confident that any repetition of the study would yield essentially the same results. 

    Survey Results
    Of the 135, 18 wheel semi-trucks followed, 
    4 were lost. 
    17 made local stops. 
    114 passed through. 

    12.59% of the 18 wheel semi-trucks followed were local stops. 
    84.44% of the 18 wheel semi-trucks followed were through traffic.
     

     We will now answer questions of clarification regarding the information we have presented.

    We would like to extend 5 minutes time for the Mayor to make a statement if he so chooses (declined by the Mayor).

    Press conference, May 8, 2000


    Conclusions and Recommendations 
    In closing, we believe the information from this study to be relevant and important when considering the future of Goshen’s transportation plans. Semi-truck traffic passing through the heart of our city is inconsistent with healthy downtown business and neighborhoods. The City's preferred option of widening Third Street and Madison Street to a 4-5 lane highway will only perpetuate the decline of our Central business district, our downtown neighborhoods, and our historic district. We request that the city act immediately to facilitate a public meeting with INDOT and the Elkhart County Commissioners to discuss these issues at the same table. We further ask that the City request INDOT to adequately and credibly study the options of building a bypass or peripheral road system around Goshen.  To our fellow citizens of Goshen we would like to say that what most of you have felt and known all along is true - we have too many semi-trucks in Goshen and the majority are not local deliveries. A widened Third and Madison Streets will not solve our traffic problems, it will simply increase the amount of traffic moving through our city. 

    Cynthia Cannaday presented the above statement at the the press conference, May 8, 2000. Jim Malcom, left, is steadying the chart. Ed Ersnst, television reporter is on the right. 


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