The San Pedro Town Council is facing legal pushback tonight over a controversial traffic directive that restricts large and container trucks from trafficking main streets in the heart of the island. The dispute pits the Council's push for traffic safety against truckers who say their livelihoods are being threatened—and unlawfully so.
On April 30th, the San Pedro Town Council issued a public notice announcing that the heavy trucks would no longer be allowed to traffic the area between the Boca del Rio Bridge and the South Gas Station.
In its statement, the Council confirmed that all bridge passes for large and container trucks had been discontinued. Dump trucks and vehicles transporting fill material are now required to use barge routes, and all container cargo must be offloaded at the barge station. Medium and small delivery trucks are allowed to operate as usual.
The Council noted that work is underway to finalize legislation backing the move.
But just a week later, on May 7th, a group of truckers fired back—this time with legal muscle behind them.
In a letter addressed to the Mayor and Town Council, attorney Orson Elrington, acting on behalf of nine truckers and trucking companies, slammed the directive as unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional.
Elrington argued that the Council itself admitted there is no legislation currently in place to authorize or enforce the ban. He cited Section 17 of the Belize Constitution, which protects citizens from arbitrary deprivation of the right to work.
The letter goes on to declare the Council's directive null, void, and of no legal effect—warning that if enforcement continues, legal proceedings will begin immediately.
We reached out to the mayor for a response, but he's out of the country on council business. We'll continue to follow this developing story as the situation unfolds on the island.
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