Ironton police officers get frequent complaints from people who narrowly avoided a car collision because they were trying to pull onto a street and their view was blocked by a large truck that, more often than not, should not have been parked there at all.

Now, Police Chief Bill Garland said they are going to do something about it.

During February, officers will issue warnings to people who park large trucks on city streets outside the truck route. Beginning March 1, the warnings will be replaced with $115 citations.

"We're not trying to pick on anyone and we don't want to write citations. That's not our goal," Garland said. "What we're trying to do is avoid accidents and eliminate hazardous situations where people are trying to pull out into traffic and can't see around these trucks."

Any truck 10,000 pounds or more must be parked on a truck route such as Third Street or must be parked on an off-site location such as a driveway, back yard or parking lot. Trucks over 10,000 pounds include most small dump trucks, semi tractor trailer cabs and the like.

Garland said the laws have been on the books for years but city leaders have been lenient about enforcement.

Garland said in addition to safety concerns, the city is also concerned about the damage that trucks can do to pavement when parked on city streets for extended periods of time.