Medina Road Plan could ease school traffic in future
As work continues on the future site of South Gibson Elementary School, many residents have posed questions to city officials regarding the already high-traffic areas around the city’s schools. Photo by Logan Watson.
Medina Road Plan could ease school traffic in future
By Logan Watson
At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 6, the Medina Board of Aldermen adopted a revised version of the city’s Major Road Plan that could potentially reduce traffic woes for the residents of southern Gibson County.
“The city’s Road Plan is basically us looking at our region to see how we would like the roads to run,” said Mayor Vance Coleman. “It’s something we’d like to see in the event that this land is developed.” Mayor Coleman stated that the city is not currently involved in any plans for land development, but that the increased traffic from South Gibson Elementary and the potential for a new church in the areas could result in new roadways in the future.
According to the plan, there are 11 areas where proposed roads would be located. The plan includes two sub-collector roads, which funnel traffic from local streets to collector roads. One sub-collector would extend Mt. Zion Road to Stavely Road, while the other would run perpendicular to Mt. Zion, through a large tract of undeveloped land to connect with Lonnie Holt Road near the city limits.
The plan’s proposed collector roads, which, in turn, move traffic onto major roadways, called arterials, would run around the heart of the city: the schools. Possible collectors would connect Blackmon Road to Mt. Zion Road, with a branches extending from the collector to Middle School Street and Church Street. Middle School Street could also be extended from its intersection with Blackmon, crossing over Bob Whitt Road and Annie Russ Road, across Highway 45 and ultimately connecting to Hope Hill Cemetery Road. Another proposed collector would run South from Church Street to the city limits, with yet another running from the intersection of Sweede Parrish Road and SR 152 to Latham Chapel Road. Smaller collectors, which would run from Stavely Road to SR 187 and along Highway 45 from Church Street to Bob Whitt Road, were also added in the proposal.
A major arterial road, which is designed to carry large volumes of traffic, would run from the southern intersection of Highway 45 and Main Street, across Hargrove Road and end at the intersection of Christmasville Road and SR 152.
Mayor Coleman stated that several residents were concerned about school-related traffic, but future developments could require new roads that would alleviate the morning and afternoon congestion.
“With 1,400 students at the middle school and 600 more at the high school, plus the addition of traffic from the new elementary school in the future, residents in those areas should expect some delays.” The mayor stated that, while the city is not in the business of building roads, there are ample alternate routes for morning commuters, some of which might even reduce the residents’ average commute times.
There were no comments at the public hearing for the Major Road Plan, which took place before the recent Board meeting, but Alderman Frank Baker did ask that the Medina Police Department patrol traffic speed along the school routes, which had caused some concern from residents for the safety of students.
For a .pdf copy of Medina’s revised Major Road Plan, click here: med_mrp_2016-3
