Metro businesses express traffic frustrations tied to Purina plant

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Some Oklahoma City metro business owners say they've been dealing with ongoing frustrations tied to daily traffic congestion near the Purina plant.

News 4 received video Thursday from Gerald Goad, with Superior Concepts and Window Tinting, who said he finally reached his breaking point with traffic.

In the video semi trucks can be seen at a standstill, blocking the only entrances to the lot of businesses. Some vehicles are observed trying to leave, but Goad told us they couldn't until traffic cooperated.

"There are signs out there that say don't block entrances, but they ignore them," said Goad.

Goad says his business has been in the Lincoln Boulevard and Memorial Road area for over a decade, and that he's only noticed problems in the past year.

He said he was told by Oklahoma City Police that Purina changed its check-in procedure and that the plant was going to create an overflow lot for the trucks to stay in, but that hasn't happened.

"I don't know what else to do," said Goad. "The only recommendation that I got was that we could hire an off-duty officer $60 to $90 per hour to stand out there and keep the entrances free."

Other businesses nearby are just as frustrated, like Dave Williams with iCarOKC.

"I have to stand there and direct traffic," said Williams.

A News 4 employee asked Williams if that's convenient for his business.

"Absolutely not," said Williams. "We have a lot more important things to do than direct traffic."

News 4 reached out to Oklahoma City Police for comment and received the following statement from a spokesperson:

We will always respond where somebody feels a situation is becoming dangerous, whether it's on the roadway or otherwise. However, it becomes problematic when it's an issue involving a large business that has heavy traffic coming in and out of it for numerous hours each day. In those circumstances, it is not uncommon for a business to hire off duty police officers to help with the traffic control problem they are having.

Oklahoma City Police Department

"I don't know how you fix the problem," said Goad. "I just know that it's a probably and nobody wants to say they can fix it."

News 4 reached out to a Purina spokesperson Thursday for comment, asking if the company was aware of the issue, and if it was working with truck drivers to potentially resolve it.

We continuously strive to be a good neighbor and have worked with our logistics partners to encourage more steady truck traffic throughout the day, with the hope of reducing significant bottlenecks that can sometimes occur. We have not been contacted by any neighboring businesses in more than two years on this topic but appreciate their input as we look for additional solutions. Efforts are underway to add a second entrance onto our property to further limit truck traffic on nearby roads; we hope to break ground on that capital improvement project in the coming months.

Purina spokesperson

It's important to note, after reaching out to Goad for a response to the statement, he says traffic problems only started occurring around a year ago. He also provided evidence that showed he contacted Purina about the issue locally as recently as Tuesday.