A suspect in a Friday night hit-and-run in Oak Ridge is in custody in Morgan County, and more charges are pending in Oak Ridge, authorities said.
The hit-and-run involving a pedestrian was reported at about 8:34 p.m. Friday at West Outer Drive and North Illinois Avenue, the Oak Ridge Police Department said. [Read more…]
The storefront of the Kroger Marketplace, under construction at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue. The new store is expected to open June 29.
A new traffic signal will be activated at the intersection of North Illinois Avenue (State Route 62) and Ivanhoe Road on Friday, June 20.
It’s part of the new Kroger Marketplace shopping center, the Westcott Center, at the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.
The signal will operate in flashing mode several days before it’s activated, a city press release said. Activation of the signal could be delayed due to bad weather. [Read more…]
Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. said an eastbound traffic camera at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue/Lafayette Drive had the third-highest rise in detected speeding violations, a 243 percent increase in the number of drivers traveling at 46 mph or more, after the cameras were disabled April 21. Pictured above is the westbound camera.
The Arizona company that operated traffic cameras in Oak Ridge for five years said reckless driving has increased significantly, average speeds have risen, and there has been an increase in red-light running and speeding violations since the systems were disabled April 21.
The two biggest increases in speeding violations were in school zones on eastbound and westbound Robertsville Road near Willow Brook Elementary School, camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. said in a report that could be discussed during a Traffic Safety Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday. The average number of school zone violations jumped from a little more than two per day in the 14 days before the cameras were disabled to 10 or 11 per day afterward.
A school zone violation occurs when a driver is detected traveling at 21 mph or more in a 15 mph school zone.
Meanwhile, detections of red-light violations, which can lead to the most serious accidents, increased from an average of 20 per day at four locations in the three weeks before the cameras were disabled to up to 28 per day in the fourth week afterward, Redflex said. [Read more…]
By Dale Gedcke
The referenced documents were downloaded from the Oak Ridge City Council posting in advance of the (Feb. 24) work session. The numbers quoted below were calculated from the data supplied in the referenced report.
Accident Rates During 2013
Using the total crashes listed in the report, and the number of detected vehicles through the pertinent camera locations from both directions, the accident rates during 2013 were:
The traffic camera for the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike in front of Oak Ridge High School is pictured above. More than half of the speeding violations issued in 2013 were for vehicles driving west here.
Note: This story was last updated at 4:17 p.m. March 24.
Oak Ridge City Council could consider extending the controversial traffic camera contract on Monday, but not without some changes. Among the proposed changes are mobile units, different camera locations, and a new revenue split between the city and the camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., of Phoenix, Ariz.
On Thursday, Redflex said it is negotiating these and other issues with Oak Ridge officials.
“Redflex is very proud of our five-year public safety partnership with the City of Oak Ridge,†said Jody Ryan, Redflex communications director. “We are prepared to discuss various options to ensure the city’s traffic safety camera program is comprehensive and provides the highest public safety value.â€
Council has been presented two options to consider during a special Monday night meeting. One would extend the five-year contract for two years with the changes. A second would end the program when the current agreement expires April 21. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider extending or ending the traffic camera contract.
The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider extending a controversial traffic camera contract for two years, or ending it.
The Council postponed a vote earlier this month. It will now be considered during a special 7 p.m. meeting on Monday.
The current five-year contract with Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Arizona expires April 21. If it’s not extended, the city staff has asked Council to consider installing a traffic signal in front of the Oak Ridge High School on Oak Ridge Turnpike.
The high school stoplight would have to be approved by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. It could cost $150,000 to $200,000 and take nine months to install. [Read more…]
The traffic camera for the westbound lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike in front of Oak Ridge High School. More than half of the speeding violations issued in 2013 were at the camera systems near the high school.
The four traffic camera systems in Oak Ridge have generated more than $6 million in ticket revenues during a roughly five-year period. The city has kept $2.6 million of that, while the camera vendor has collected the other $3.6 million.
The amount of money generated each year has fallen from about $2 million in fiscal year 2010 to roughly $1 million today. That could be at least in part because drivers have grown more accustomed to the cameras.
The automated devices issue $50 citations to drivers who speed or run red lights, and the proceeds are split between the city and camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. So far, the city has collected about 42 percent of the total revenues while Redflex has kept 58 percent.
The city revenues were originally put into a general fund, but starting in Fiscal Year 2011, they were deposited into a special fund that has been used to pay for pedestrian safety projects. That fund now has a cash balance of $778,305. [Read more…]
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…]
The largest crash reduction near red-light cameras occurred near the system at Oak Ridge Turnpike and New York Avenue/Lafayette Drive.
There has been an overall decrease in the number of car crashes near red-light camera systems installed at four locations in Oak Ridge five years ago, and vehicle speeds have dropped near two schools, officials said.
Council members had requested information about crash frequency and history as the controversial five-year red-light camera contract, approved in August 2008, comes up for renewal in April. The crash information, as well as data on vehicle speeds, is included in the agenda packet for a Monday night Oak Ridge City Council work session.
The information said the largest crash reduction occurred at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Lafayette Drive/New York Avenue. Accidents there fell from 86 to 58, or roughly 33 percent, and injuries fell from 25 to 13, about a 50 percent reduction.
The totals compared the number of crashes from one four-year period starting March 2005 and ending March 2009, and a second period starting April 2009 and ending in November 2013, or a little more than four years. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
Water line breaks caused traffic detours in Oak Ridge and Clinton early Tuesday morning.
A water main break on West Outer Drive caused water to spill onto North Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge and freeze. The water was shut off, and crews worked to put down salt and sand on the roadway. Traffic was detoured around the area while crews worked to repair the line.
The early-morning water main break in Clinton shut down a portion of Main Street. Crews closed down the road between Weaver and Washington while they worked to repair the busted pipe.
A half-dozen excavators, scrapers, dump trucks, bulldozers, and loaders were moving dirt and debris and knocking down trees late Friday afternoon on the north side of the planned Kroger Marketplace, near Raleigh Road and the former Robin Lane in Oak Ridge.
Demolition work is under way, and construction could start this fall on a new Kroger Marketplace shopping center in Oak Ridge that is expected to include a range of services from a fuel center and sushi shop to a drive-through pharmacy and Baby World.
Demolition at the shopping center—named the Westcott Center in honor of renowned photographer James Edward Westcott—began Monday, July 29, said Glynn Jenkins, director of communications and public relations for the The Kroger Co.’s Atlanta Division. Home demolition work is expected to be completed by Aug. 23.
The demolition of the former Super 8 motel, Vista Inn, and Cancun’s restaurant on Oak Ridge Turnpike and North Illinois Avenue is expected to start next week. [Read more…]
An Oak Ridge woman and Oliver Springs tow truck driver were taken to area hospitals after a Ford Ranger pickup ran into the back of a stalled Quality Towing wrecker on North Illinois Avenue. Oak Ridge firefighter Duane Chase is pictured above. (Photos by Tom Scott)
An Oak Ridge woman driving into the sun up a slight hill on North Illinois Avenue crashed into the back of a stalled wrecker south of West Outer Drive on Monday morning, sending two people to the hospital with possible injuries, authorities said.
Elise A. Williams, 47, was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center after the collision, and tow truck driver Charles T. Jones, 38, of Oliver Springs, was taken by ambulance to Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, an Oak Ridge Police Department accident report said.
