Road revamp for new school: FMPC yes, 5-1
Planning Commissioner Noah Myers made the motion to approve the road construction plans while Commissioner Ron Pinchok seconded the motion. While Mayor Ron Williams and Vice Mayor Scott Meyer, who sit on the FMPC, and other Commissioners Ron Pinchok, Myers and Shannon Preston voted in favor of the plan, Commissioner Jon Greene voted against it, saying it was too premature.
However, residents had concerns regarding traffic flow and construction standards.
“This plat map does not allow for the continuous flow of parents to pick up their children,” Kimberly Parks said. “There should be one entrance in and one entrance out.”
She urged the Town to follow Farragut Primary School’s lead in how it conducts traffic in and out of the school.
“I’m asking that you make it more functional … it would help mitigate traffic,” Parks said. “I’m asking that you put another entrance on Boring Road.”
“Are they going to employ the (construction) standards that we have in the Town of Farragut?” asked another resident, Joe LaCroix. “We know that Knox County does not uphold our standards.”
Looking at Loop Road and Woody Road, “are we going to have the same problems with this development?” he asked. “I know that this body and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen cannot enforce our rules on Knox County, but we also know that Knox County Schools is the primary cause of traffic at West End (Avenue) … we know it’s a mess.
“What is the Town going to do to make changes to that roadway to keep the level of service there?” LaCroix also asked.
On Boring Road, “with increased number of cars versus buses, that increases the issue of Boring Road and Kingston Pike,” Boring Road resident Brittany Moore warned. “I think it’s important to look at both ways (Boring Road and Kingston Pike and Boring Road and Smith Road) before we put in a right-in and a right -out (at Kingston Pike).”
She also observed the proposed field area for the school could be built and used, causing traffic to come into where the field is, “creating a lot more noise” and other issues for residents along Boring Road.
She asked the Town to require buffers around Boring Road.
“Currently the intersection of Boring Road and Smith Road is uncontrolled,” Burney Circle resident Karen Johnson said. “There’s no traffic light and there are no stop signs. There’s inadequate visibility here.
“Once we build this new school, there’s going to be more traffic,” she added. “I want to make sure the school buses can safely make that left-hand turn onto Smith Road from Boring Road.
“I would be a proponent of having school zones with the flashing lights.
She also suggested a four-way stop light or a signal.
Meyer asked Town engineer Darryl Smith to look at installing a traffic light at the intersection of Smith and Boring roads after the school is built.
“I think it’s evident from the comments made … there are going to be some degrading of traffic conditions,” Greene said. “We can’t mandate that the county does certain things. What tools do we have in our toolbox to request certain things, for example, stop signs at Boring Road and Smith Road, and maybe a right turn in, right turn out at Boring Road and Kingston Pike?”
“As far as requesting additional considerations, I’m not sure what we can do,” Smith answered.
At the beginning of the meeting Board members voted for Williams to run the meeting, as chairman Scott Russ and vice chair Louise Povlin were absent.
The school is planned to be built by the architectural firm McCarty Holsaple McCarty on 41 acres at 202 Village Commons Blvd., which was sold to the school system by Farragut developer Doug Horne, owner of Horne properties and Republic Newspapers, Inc., parent company of farragutpress.
It is just east of Village Commons and south and east of Baldwin Park off Boring Road.
“The county conducted a traffic impact study for this project, and there were two areas that were specifically looked at that the county is proposing to make road improvements to Town of Farragut streets,” Community Development director Mark Shipley said. “The first area, where they’re proposing improvements, is up along a section of Boring Road.
“... From Smith Road to the eastern end of Baldwin Park, when Saddlebrook developed Baldwin Park, they improved that section of Boring Road to basically two 12-foot lanes with curb and gutter and a sidewalk on the south side of Boring Road,” he added. “So, the county is proposing to extend that same cross section all the way just past the eastern leg of the walking trail, where that was constructed where the Country Way subdivision on the north side of Boring Road comes into Boring Road.
Moreover, “This is designed to be the best entrance and exit for the school, and (buses) will be coming off of Smith Road, not coming off Boring Road (from Kingston Pike) because everyone knows this section of Boring Road is very substandard,” Shipley said.
He added the builders would continue that improved section with a sidewalk that ties from the sidewalk being built onto Boring Road into the school. Additionally, they are planning to add school speed limit signs along Smith Road and a marked crosswalk along Boring Road at the intersection of Smith Road.
The second area of development, on Village Commons Boulevard, the school system’s architects plan to remove the southernmost raised median and part of the northernmost raised median “in order to have better turning movements and more stacking,” Shipley said.
