Oak Ridge Today

State announces $347K grant to improve sidewalks in Norris

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

TDOT Norris Grant

Among those pictured above during a TDOT grant ceremony in Norris on Friday are, third from left, Senator Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican; Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, fourth from left; Norris Mayor Chris Mitchell; Representative Dennis Powers, a Jacksboro Republican; and partially obscured, Representative John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican. (Photo courtesy TDOT via Facebook)

 

NORRIS—Tennessee officials announced Friday that they have awarded a $347,760 transportation alternative grant to the city of Norris for a project known as East Norris Sidewalk Improvements.

The grant was announced by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer during a Friday visit to East Tennessee that also includes stops in Rockwood and Knoxville.

The Norris project includes a six-foot-wide concrete trail starting at the intersection of East Norris Road and Dairy Pond Road extending approximately 2,000 feet to Andersonville Highway, a press release said. At the end of the trail, two crosswalks will be constructed to provide pedestrians with safe access to Sycamore Place and a nearby shopping center. The project will join existing sidewalks along East Norris Road, providing the final connection to area schools, recreational facilities, the local business district, and shopping. [Read more…]

Report: Haslam in Norris on Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bill Haslam during Presidential Visit at Pellissippi State

Governor Bill Haslam is pictured above during a visit by President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College on Friday, January 9. (File photo by Rob Welton)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

According to the Norris Bulletin, Governor Bill Haslam will be in Norris on Friday to announce that the city has been awarded a $347,000 grant by the Tennessee Department of Transportation to build a new sidewalk along East Norris from Dairy Pond Road to the intersection with Highway 61.

The grant will also provide financing for a new crosswalk that will permit easier pedestrian traffic and easier access to the existing retail shops on the other side of the highway.

Officials told the Bulletin that a significant amount of preliminary engineering and design work will be required before construction on the project can begin and said it is likely that no actual work would begin for at least a year. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Council asked to extend, or terminate, red-light camera contract

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Red-light Camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider terminating a five-year contract for traffic enforcement cameras—or extending it for two years.

Note: This story was last updated at 3:25 p.m.

For some people, traffic cameras in Oak Ridge have been an irritant since they were installed, a detriment to visitors and businesses, an undesirable surveillance tool, and an unwelcome outsourcing of a police function.

But for others, the four systems erected on busy roadways in April 2009 have helped slow down traffic, reduced car crashes, and provided extra revenues to the city, including for community safety projects.

On Monday night, the seven members of the Oak Ridge City Council will have to take a side. They have been presented two options: extend the contract with camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz.—or terminate it.

If Council continues the program, the five-year contract with Redflex could be extended for two years, through April 21, 2016. If members end it, they have been asked to consider installing a traffic signal on Oak Ridge Turnpike at Oak Ridge High School. The stoplight could cost between $150,000 to $200,000, and it would have to be approved by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. [Read more…]

In split vote, Council rejects pedestrian safety projects on Turnpike

Posted at
By 18 Comments

Jackson Square Pedestrian Improvements

A pedestrian safety improvement project at Jackson Square is almost complete, but on Monday, the City Council balked at a second project to improve intersections on the nearby Oak Ridge Turnpike.

They had already authorized the spending, but on Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council balked at awarding a $365,000 construction contract that would use red light camera money for pedestrian safety projects.

The contract would have been awarded to Ronald Franks Construction Co. LLC of Savannah, Tenn. The project would have made traffic safety and pedestrian crosswalk improvements at eight Oak Ridge Turnpike intersections and three residential intersections.

The Oak Ridge Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan had said the intersections needed improvements, and the Council authorized the spending during a special meeting in August. [Read more…]

Pedestrian safety project at Jackson Square to be completed soon

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jackson Square Pedestrian Improvements

Workers repave Broadway at Jackson Square on Oct. 25 as part of a pedestrian safety improvement project paid for with red light camera money.

The city-owned parking lot on the north side of Jackson Square now has two handicapped-accessible areas, and the pedestrian safety improvements under way there could be finished in another week, an official said Tuesday.

The project, which includes road and sidewalk work, is being done under a contract approved by Oak Ridge City Council in August.

It’s part of more than $500,000 worth of projects that use red light camera money. The other projects are designed to make eight Oak Ridge Turnpike intersections safer for pedestrians. Those improvements, which will provide a pedestrian walkway and crosswalk system near Oak Ridge Turnpike businesses, are estimated at $370,000. [Read more…]

Guest column: Runner, driver safety at risk in ‘Death Zone’

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Melton Lake Pedestrian Crossing

The pedestrian crossing at Melton Lake Drive and Emory Valley Road. (Submitted image)

The subject of this article is safety awareness for pedestrians and drivers at the crosswalk near the intersection of Melton Lake Greenway and Emory Valley Road Greenway (pictured at left), which I have dubbed the “Death Zone.”

To establish some credibility on the subject, I’ll note that I’ve been running competitively for 34 years, running nearly 75,000 miles, placing in all race distances and age categories. I’m also a board member of the Oak Ridge Track Club, an organization dedicated to promoting fitness through safe running and road racing in the Oak Ridge community.

Running as much as I do, and traveling as much as I do, I find myself at the subject intersection almost daily, as well as many other intersections throughout Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and the United States in general. With this running experience, I am keenly aware of the importance of running safely, and I advocate safety while running above all other interests. After all, if I don’t get home alive, my run wasn’t very successful at improving my health, right? Although an experienced runner, I have no legal experience, so I speak only as an educated layman on the legal aspects of Tennessee pedestrian law.

With regard to the “Death Zone,” a few weeks ago I came the closest to being killed by a vehicle while running than ever before—that is, other than the deliberate attempts by drivers to kill me while I’m running, which could easily be the subject of my first book. This near-death experience occurred because of three key factors, some of which are unique to this crosswalk, while others are universally applicable:

[Read more…]

Police Department starts crosswalk safety operation Friday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Starting Friday, the Oak Ridge Police Department will conduct an intensive eight-day pedestrian crosswalk safety operation that will focus on drivers who fail to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, a press release said.

Known as Operation Drive Safe 2013, the operation starting Friday will focus on a particularly dangerous location on Emory Valley Road, the press release said. It’s meant to improve pedestrian and traffic safety in the city.

[Read more…]