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| Traffic circle on Scott
and Glenwood with new instructional signs. If you are making a left turn,
please follow the arrow.
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By Tim Sparer
Seeing orange during football season (or anytime, for that matter) is nothing new in east Tennessee. In ONK we have some new orange additions to our streets. In October, the City of Knoxville began implementation of the traffic calming plan for ONK with the temporary additions of orange traffic barrels located wherever traffic circles will eventually be installed.
Traffic calming is intended to slow down traffic through ONK while not impeding its flow. This plan was approved with a 95% approval rate a year ago after polling the entire 589 residences in ONK. It was the culmination of more than five years worth of community meetings with input from the
City of Knoxville, East Tennessee Community Design Center (ETCDC) and the ONK traffic calming committee. Special thanks to our neighborhood traffic calming committee including the former chairs,
Annalee Bohon and Robert Marlino, and to David Watson of ETCDC and
Bill Cole of the City of Knoxville Engineering Department for their hard work and perseverance. Here are some of the common questions that people have about traffic calming:
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| These signs indicate
that everyone should be going around with the circle on their left hand side.
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How do I make a left turn around the
traffic circles?
Unless you have a long trailer, you should treat the circles as “roundabouts” and proceed around the entire outside of the circle in order to turn left. Recently the city installed signs on each of the barrels to show how to make a left turn. Once we all get used to this, it will become second nature for everyone.
What is planned for the traffic circles?
Hopefully the big orange barrels will soon be replaced with a fully developed concrete traffic circle with plantings inside. Unfortunately, there are limitations on what can be put into these circles. Only small trees (less than four inches in diameter) and plantings can be used. I think we can work within these limitations and use this as an opportunity for ONK to make a distinctive and attractive addition to our neighborhood. If anyone has ideas for what to put on the inside of these circles please contact the head of ONK’s beautification committee.
Why did I get a traffic calming device on my street?
The city and ETCDC planners considered several factors in determining which streets would get which types of devices. For example, the number of accidents and the width of the intersection determined whether a traffic circle would work. Also, the slope of the street limited the types of appropriate devices; if a street is too steep, speed bumps cannot be used. Those of you on Kenyon are only getting high visibility crosswalks as you live on one of the few historic concrete streets left in all of Knoxville. Too many devices make it too difficult on the neighborhood (as well as the city’s budget). The idea is to have traffic calming devices surrounding our neighborhood while not just pushing traffic onto someone else’s street.
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| Traffic circles on
Armstrong and Glenwood. The signs atop these barrels caused some confusion and
have since been replaced. The double yellow lines are intended to lead you
around the circle.
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Why is it taking so long to get these things installed?
The ONK plan has been delayed for years while the city formulated new policies on how traffic calming would be carried out citywide. In fact, ONK is the first neighborhood to have completed this process so many eyes are on us to see whether the process works. Our plan was further delayed this spring because
KUB needed to dig up many of our streets to replace water pipes. KUB just officially finished the replacements just a few months ago and this allowed the temporary measures to go forward. Besides traffic circles on Glenwood, Scott, and Grainger, other devices such as raised intersections and speed humps have been marked out and will be installed in the coming months depending on the weather. Although it has been a long time coming, I hope that once we get used to these additions, our neighborhood will be safer and more enjoyable.
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