letters to the editor
Lane narrow talk not ‘properly noticed’
I am very concerned about what I have learned in the past few weeks concerning an important proposed road project in Farragut. On April 14, the Farragut Mayor and Aldermen approved in the 2022/2023 Farragut Capital Improvement Program to add two new left-turn lanes at the intersection of Campbell Station Road and Kingston Pike.
On June 9 in the Mayor and Alderman meeting, there was discussion about these two new left-turn lanes. Vice Mayor (Louise) Povlin spoke first and claimed, “A capital project to produce a design to add an additional left-turn lane to northbound and southbound Campbell Station Road at Kingston Pike has been budgeted for Fiscal Year 2023. Nothing has happened with this proposal: no funding, no design, just budgeted.”
The people of Farragut never knew about this because it was never properly noticed. The most important thing the people of Farragut do not know is that on Campbell Station Road, starting at Jamestown Boulevard all the way to Municipal Drive where the Town Hall is, traffic lanes will be reduced in size from 11 feet to less than 10 feet.
You can see this in the video of the meeting here: https://youtu.be/4SUSZcBodiA?t=4201 … and comments about Board members favoring 10-foot lanes at https://youtu.be/zFQ0HmCnuA4
A concerned citizen met with Farragut Town engineer Darryl Smith on Monday June 11, to find out what was true about reducing traffic lane widths. Mr. Smith showed him the design to reduce the traffic lane widths, and it was over a year old.
This is a serious public safety hazard to all people who drive through this intersection. Campbell Station Road at Kingston Pike is one of the most heavily traveled intersections in Farragut.
Parents whose children ride Knox County school buses have a right to know what is happening without their knowledge. School buses are 40 feet long and require a larger turning radius than a dump truck.
Semi-tractor trailers require an even larger turning radius. Campbell Station Road at Kingston Pike is just down from Farragut High School and Farragut Middle School and school buses, dump trucks and semi-tractor trailers turn through this intersection many times a day.
Mike Mitchell, Farragut
