ROYAL CITY — Royal City city officials will start a campaign to inform residents of the city’s rules for parking commercial trucks in town.  

Commercial trucks parking in residential areas has been discussed by the City Council members, and Royal City Police Chief Rey Rodriguez told council members Tuesday that the city does have an ordinance in place.  

“There are specific (streets) designated for heavy vehicle routes,” Rodriguez said. “It also says the (streets) shall be marked for heavy truck routes. So I think (posting notices) could probably be our first step, so people know where they can drive their big rigs.” 

Royal City is growing, and the new development looks different from the existing city. 

“In the past people have just parked at their houses, and it hasn’t been a big deal because are no sidewalks in the (older) part of town,” Rodriguez said. “Now we’re having all these sidewalks, and (drivers) are still doing it, and to them, that’s just normal.” 

Mayor Ryan Piercy said there’s a balance between placing an undue burden on independent truck owners and protecting city property, but that trucks shouldn’t be parking where they damage city property.  

“I think it’s different when they bring (a truck) up their house and put it on their property,” said councilmember Perla Garcia. “It’s different than parking it outside on the street, or on the curb.”  

Council members opted to start with an education campaign.  

In other business at the regular meeting Tuesday, reconstruction of Apple Avenue Northeast at the edge of Royal City probably will take a little longer than originally anticipated. 

Council members approved an application for state funding to pay for the second phase of reconstruction on the road at the regular meeting Tuesday. Piercy said plans for the second phase were adjusted to reflect current fiscal projections.  

“We had to cut it back because they think the state funding will be a little tighter this year. We were going to try to go all the way to (Road 12 Southwest),” Piercy said.  

If the city gets the grant, the revised second phase will extend from Poplar Street Northeast to Slate Lane Northeast. The third phase would finish the project, from Slate Lane to Road 12 SW.  

Construction of the first phase was originally scheduled for June but was moved back to August.  

“If they start by the middle of August, by the beginning of October we should be done,” said Public Works Director Mauricio Romero.  

Apple Avenue will be rebuilt from Road 13 Southwest, at the city limits, to Poplar Street. The existing asphalt will be removed; the roadbed excavated and rebuilt. The new section will be widened to accommodate increased traffic. The project includes upgraded drainage and stormwater improvements, curb and gutter improvements, and installing ADA-compliant ramps on sidewalks.  

The upgrades are scheduled to take about two months, with some sections of the road closed during different phases of construction. Total project cost will be about $1.06 million, with about $52,000 of that coming from the city. The rest, about 95 percent, will be paid through a grant from the Transportation Improvement Board. 

The council awarded a contract for about $903,300 to Wheeler Excavation, Benton City, for the project in April. 

Apple Avenue extends to SR 26, but Romero said the section from Road 13 Southwest to the highway is outside the city limits, and improvements in that section would be the responsibility of Grant County.