A Bone to Pick

I attended a meeting the other day of citizens with a bone to pick. Somehow they figured I would make an adequate spokesman for their group, and I agreed to present their case. It concerns a situation more and more Knoxvillians are encountering each year.

A developer is seeking a zoning change for a fifty-plus acre parcel of land in Karns. On it 185 units will be built on some lots that are only 45 feet wide. Across the road from this development is another one that will contain 40 units.

The problem comes with the infrastructure in the community. To be exact, routes to the subdivisions are old country roads. In some places the lanes are less than 16 feet. It’s ironic that the streets in the development will be more spacious than the main thoroughfares.

In one spot, the road curves sharply, and goes over an outlet for two or three natural springs on the property. When heavy rains fall, water collects there and overflows onto the road. Passing then is impossible, and now even more run-off water will compete for exit. Even worse, the road is so narrow that emergency vehicles like fire engines cannot pass when a car is on the opposite side. In another example of the problem, just last year, two bus accidents occurred on the road.

This road intersects with another that is a bit wider. However, the problem there is school traffic. During the mornings and again at the end of the school day, drivers dropping off or picking up children clog the road and block the normal flow. Again, no emergency vehicle is able to traverse the road during those times, a fact that endangers the lives and properties of present-day residents, not to mention future homeowners and their houses.

One entrance to the larger development is to be located immediately across the narrow road from the smaller subdivision’s entrance. To the south is a blind hill; to the north one-tenth of a mile is the narrow curve that causes so many problems. Another access road to the large parcel is located just west of the school, and a third will connect to an existing subdivision, another problem area.

One official at an earlier meeting said that roads like these are all over the county. To that individual I say that is no reason to continue allowing construction on parcels until those routes are fixed.

The problem isn’t development and growth for Knoxville. It is essential to a sustained and thriving community. Those who would call for a ban on new projects are simply sticking their heads in the sand and hoping the whole situation will just go away and leave things as they are.

The real problem is the need for updated roads so that developments can become realities…safe ones. That means our government has to get busy with those projects. Only after they’ve been completed should new developments be approved.

The kicker for many folks in the area is that improvements that they desire come with a price tag. Yes, tax rates might need to go up. If they don’t, our roads will continue to be dangerous routes that travel by schools and neighborhoods.

What we need are leaders with the foresight who update Knoxville’s infrastructure and puts on hold new developments until they are done. Otherwise, none of us will be able to navigate the future traffic jams to get anywhere on time.

Let’s hope that the MPC will listen and make decisions that keep neighborhoods safe and promote development.