Vail can once again prohibit delivery trucks from its pedestrian malls, a federal appeals court has ruled, overturning a Denver judge\u2019s decision last year that\u00a0put a stop to that ban.<\/p>\n
A divided panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals\u00a0decided Aug. 29\u00a0that laws regulating the trucking industry do not prevent the resort town from excluding UPS and FedEx.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese statutes ordinarily preempt local trucking regulations, but exceptions exist for motor vehicle safety,\u201d Judge Robert Bacharach wrote. \u201cDo these exceptions allow a town to regulate trucking companies that frequently deliver goods in a pedestrian mall? We answer yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Gregory Phillips disagreed with his colleagues. Dissenting from the 2-1 opinion in favor of Vail, Phillips wrote that the truck ban cannot be logically tied to pedestrian safety, since Vail still allows similar trucks driven by a city contractor, 106West Logistics, on the malls.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed, the amended ordinance restricts neither delivery vehicle size nor delivery vehicle frequency. Instead, it regulates based on the owner of the vehicle,\u201d Phillips noted.<\/p>\n
In 2022, Vail passed an ordinance prohibiting delivery trucks from entering Vail Village and Lionshead Village, to make those areas friendlier to pedestrians. Trucks had to leave their cargo at loading docks, where small 106West carts would then pick it up and deliver it.<\/p>\n
The ordinance initially made an exception for commercial mail carriers, like FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. But in 2023, Vail\u00a0began cracking down\u00a0on them as well. The Colorado Motor Carriers Association\u00a0sued\u00a0to stop that crackdown. Because trucking is federally regulated, towns can impose their own rules only when public safety is jeopardized, it noted.<\/p>\n
The industry group won a victory in late 2023 when U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney blocked enforcement of the ban, finding it had been enacted to maintain mountain aesthetics rather than save lives. She, too, questioned why 106West\u2019s vehicles were allowed.<\/p>\n
That ruling was appealed to the 10th Circuit, which sided with Vail. In a statement this week, the Town of Vail said it remains \u201ccommitted to providing a safe environment for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 10th Circuit\u2019s opinion directing the district court to dissolve a preliminary injunction that barred the town from fully enforcing its loading and delivery regulations is a significant step forward in Vail\u2019s ongoing efforts to reduce vehicular-pedestrian interactions,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n