Trucks will require a permit to operate in the town of Fox Creek in Alberta, Canada. The town’s revised road use agreement will go into effect Aug. 1. Fees range from $35 daily permit to operate off a heavy vehicle route to a $5,000 annual fee for small fleets.
Beginning Aug. 1, truckers will need to purchase a $35 permit for each 24-hour period to operate or park their truck off the designated heavy vehicle route, in the town of Fox Creek,Alberta. Fleets consisting of one to 10 trucks can purchase an annual permit for $5,000 or an individual annual permit for $2,500.
For fleets with more than 10 trucks, the annual fee will increase $5,000 for every 10 units. For example, fleets with 11-20 trucks will cost $10,000, and fleets with 21-30 trucks will cost $15,000.
According to Roy Dell, Fox Creek’s chief administrative officer, there are currently no fleets running in the area with more than 20 units. Dell said he does not expect any larger fleets. However, if larger fleets find the annual fees to be a hardship, the town may consider revisiting the bylaw.
Trucks are allowed to access the town only via the designated truck route, which includes these routes:
- Kaybob Drive from Highway Avenue to Third Street East (Bypass Road)
- First Avenue from Main Street to Third Street East (Bypass Road)
- Third Street East (Bypass Road) from Highway Avenue to town boundaries (north of town)
- Second Avenue from Third Street East to First Street East
- First Street East from First Avenue to Highway Avenue
- Main Street from First Avenue to Highway Avenue
- First Avenue from First Street East to Second Street East
- B Avenue
Drivers of heavy vehicles are prohibited from operating or parking their trucks on a highway in Fox Creek without first obtaining a permit. A heavy vehicle is defined as a vehicle weighing more than 16,500 pounds or longer than 32 feet in length.
In cases where the gross weight is more than 140 percent of the certificate weight, only an individual permit can be issued. An extra fee of $100 for every 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) above the certificate weight will be tacked on. Amendments to permits will cost an extra $35.
A triaxle group that exceeds approximately 37,500 pounds (17,000 kilograms) will require a Transportation Association of Canada permit at $100. TAC permits are annual permits for a fleet with up to 10 trucks.
For a list of all permits and associated fees, click here.
Fines range from $350 for operating a heavy vehicle off designated routes without a permit to $5,000 for companies that continue to operate in the town without a road use agreement.
Permits are not required for drivers who are passing through. Truckers driving on Highway 43 that need to stop for fuel, food, parts or emergency repairs will be able to do so without a permit.
In a public notice issued June 29, the town of Fox Creek noted consolidation of its traffic control bylaw and an amended road use agreement. Earlier this year, several truckers received a notice about the road use agreement that was to go into effect June 12. Due to confusion and a general misunderstanding of the agreement, the town revised the agreement and moved the effective date to Aug. 1.
In a letter sent to one trucking company earlier this year, Dell noted that over the past few years the town has noticed roads in industrial areas have “taken a harsh beating from all the truck traffic it has encountered.”
According to the letter, 90 percent of trucks operating in Fox Creek are from out of town, making it impossible for the town to collect taxes to repair the roads. Despite money drivers spend in the town for fuel, food and lodging, that tax revenue is not enough to cover the costs of road repairs that the town claims is a direct result of the increased truck traffic.
“We do not want to chase business away from Fox Creek, but we also do not want to create a hardship for our local companies that are paying taxes here in Fox Creek,” Dell wrote.
For more information, visit FoxCreek.ca, call 780-622-3896 or email permits@foxcreek.ca.
