A friendly 12- to 11-foot road request: FMPC to Knox County
As Knox County Schools move ahead with its building plans for the new elementary school along Boring Road, Town of Farragut will be expected to ask the school system to reduce its street lane widths from 12 to 11 feet when it improves Boring Road.
In a 4-1 vote, Farragut Municipal Planning Commission voted to ask for the reduced lane widths even though it already approved the school system’s transportation plans for 12-foot lanes during its meeting March 20.
“It can’t hurt (to request),” Commissioner Louise Povlin said.
While Farragut Mayor Ron Williams, FMPC chair Scott Russ, Commissioner Jon Greene and Povlin voted in favor of the request to school board, Commissioner Ron Pinchok voted no.
“I’ve got to say, I don’t have a problem with 12-foot lanes,” Pinchok said.
“I know you don’t, but they’re fat,” Povlin said.
“But, you’ve got big buses, and you’re going to have all the buses on that road,” Pinchok retorted. “I know when the buses come through my neighborhood, if there’s a car parked along the road, which they’re not supposed to be, it’s tricky, and I think every extra foot is for the safety of our (children) …”
“I have a huge problem (with 12-foot lanes,” Povlin said.
Commissioners Noah Myers, Shannon Preston, Jeff Devlin and Vice Mayor Scott Myers, also an FMPC member, were absent.
At the Jan. 16, FMPC meeting, commissioners approved road improvement plans to Boring Road associated with Farragut Elementary School, which is to be constructed to the south and east of the Baldwin Park subdivision off Boring Road.
As part of the proposal, Town Community Development director Mark Shipley said Knox County included a section of improvements to Boring Road that would
extend the cross section of
Boring Road that was improved from Smith Road across the frontage of the Baldwin Park subdivision.
“This cross section included two 12-foot lanes with a 2-foot curb and gutter on each side, he said.
Then, at the Feb. 20 Planning Commission meeting, (Povlin) mentioned, under Citizen Forum, that she would like for the Planning Commission to consider recommending to the county two 11-foot lanes rather than 12-foot lanes, given the rural character of the remainder of Boring Road and the likelihood that any future improvements to the remainder of Boring Road would not include 12-foot lanes with curb and gutter.
“The county has already
bid the project with the
12-foot lanes,” Shipley said. “However, if the Planning Commission wishes to recommend 11-foot lanes, this
could be considered by the county if changes occur to the plans during the course of the project.
“The staff has no objections to the proposed request,” he added.
