letters to the editor
Traffic response to Letters: Vice Mayor
This is in response to two Letters to the Editor in last week’s farragutpress regarding traffic in the heart of our Town and sidewalks on Sonja Drive.
Regarding traffic in the heart of our Town, the Automated Traffic Management System is currently being installed and is not operational yet. It’s unfortunate that the writer felt the need to mislead this community in this regard.
If “solving” the traffic problem by widening all the intersections and roads in the heart of our Town simply turns our community into a wide spot in the road with zero community character ...what have we gained? The destruction of our Town just to send more traffic through it?
The Town was founded to protect and enhance its residential character. We shouldn’t be so willing to surrender that just so folks from outside our Town and the Interstate overflow can use our Town as a cut-through. In light of the principles of induced demand, the congestion we are experiencing now will return but our community character will have been irrevocably sacrificed.
More importantly, pedestrian safety will be negatively impacted. Farragut has been striving to build a connected pedestrian network of sidewalks and trails for more than 30 years. It seems that some have decided that this endeavor is no longer a worthy one and are actively working to undermine it. Nevertheless, state and federal mandates have made it clear that we cannot ignore pedestrian safety in our transportation project planning.
There are solutions to our traffic problems. Building a more resilient transportation network would better serve our community’s needs. TDOT intends to build a fourth lane on I-40/75 between Lovell Road and the split. Knox County is conducting a mobility study for Choto which includes some ideas for addressing efficiency on Northshore Drive. TDOT has some solutions for Northshore east of the Concord Road roundabout to address safety and efficiency along that corridor. The build out of our street network in the heart of our Town is not yet complete. The Ford and Biddle properties will eventually develop and a connected network of roads are planned for that area as well.
These projects will help distribute traffic over a broader network of roads instead of through the heart of our Town. We should not be so quick to destroy our community character when there are projects on the horizon, which will better address our traffic concerns.
Regarding Sonja Drive sidewalk proposal, which has not come before the Planning Commission yet, according to Knox County Schools, Sonja Drive from Campbell Station Road through the Farragut View neighborhood to Wardley Road in Stonecrest is in the Farragut High School parental responsibility zone (PRZ).
Currently there is a sidewalk on Sonja Drive in Farragut View from Campbell Station Road to Admiral Road. This portion of Sonja Drive is in the Farragut Middle and Farragut High School PRZ.
The portion of Sonja Drive in Farragut View east of Admiral Road does not include a sidewalk. Installing a sidewalk along this portion of Sonja Drive is in keeping with the established character of the neighborhood and would provide a safe place for kids to walk to school.
A road widening project has been suggested with this sidewalk project. It should be removed as it is over-designed and not in keeping with the neighborhood.
However, adding a sidewalk to this portion of Sonja Drive is in keeping with the existing character of the neighborhood and in keeping with the long-term goal of the Farragut community to connect it with sidewalks and trails.
Farragut Vice Mayor
Louise Povlin
