FOLEY, Ala. - The Foley City Council is looking into an ordinance that would make it illegal for longer vehicles to make any turn at the Laurel Avenue and McKenzie Street intersection in downtown Foley.

The proposed ordinance was brought before the council at Monday’s work session. The council decided to hold it over until a future meeting before taking any action to iron out some more details.

Butch Stokes, city engineer, said the idea has been discussed for more than a year. Stokes said one of the major issues is the definition of a “longer vehicle.”

Stokes said the original plan was to define a longer vehicle as anything with more than three axles, but he received some opposing viewpoints from the council.

“This encompasses a lot of folks coming through town, and even some local folks,” Councilman Wayne Trawick said.

Trawick said he thinks the ordinance is intended to stop tractor trailers from making the turns and damaging the curbs and flower beds at the intersection, but the three-axle qualification would include more than just tractor trailers.

“Maybe we should just attach this thing with tractor trailers and come back if there are more problems,” Trawick said.

Stokes said he was looking into making the limit more than four axles. Trawick asked if the definition could be determined by length, but Stokes said that would make it even harder on the Foley Police Department to enforce.

Mayor John Koniar showed support for the ordinance, stating that “anything is going to be an improvement.”

Councilman Charlie Ebert III said another town in Alabama did a similar type of ordinance involving restrictions to larger vehicles.

“I think it was in Bessemer,” Ebert said.

Stokes said he sent the original ordinance to the Alabama Department of Transportation offices in Montgomery and received approval. He said he will send the revised and final ordinance to the offices in Mobile.

Stokes said that the ordinance would not prohibit longer vehicles from crossing the intersection. It would only affect turns.