Evans Road trio respond to ‘hybrid’ plans; also North Campbell
With a desire to keep a more “rural” feel yet improve a number of Town of Farragut roads with a “hybrid” plan — one side of shared use or a sidewalk plus greenery and slight road widening in most cases without curb-gutter or foot/bike paths on both sides — Farragut Municipal Planning Commission laid out staff-recommended plans for seven roads in a discussion-only session.
Road improvement proposals outlined during FMPC’s monthly meeting Thursday, July 17, were detailed by Mark Shipley, Community Development director, for North Campbell Station, Herron, Boring, Allen Kirby, Evans and Boyd Station roads plus Red Mill Lane.
North Campbell and part of Boring Road would include a full curb-gutter and either shared use or walking path on both sides of the road, which is required on North Campbell and is needed to accommodate the new elementary school traffic on part of Boring; the others would be hybrid.
“These cross-sections, if they are adopted ultimately, they replace the requirements that are currently in our subdivision regulations,” Shipley said.
“Let’s try not to destroy the rural character of these streets, but we’ll still address the other strategies to some extent,” he added. “It’s a hybrid. And so what we looked at here is most of these streets are not wider than 11 foot lanes, and they have open ditch drainage and no curb and gutter.
“And then they would have space between a shared-use path and the edge of the street for street trees or to keep a tree-aligned corridor through these sections.”
Financially, “lowering cost,” Shipley said about the hybrid option. “This would lower development cost, maintenance cost, because you wouldn’t have as wide as facilities, wouldn’t have as many facilities.”
And finally, the hybrid option “would be far less impactful on the property owners that have properties along these particular streets,” he added.
The overall goal “is providing for complete streets — streets that are not just for motorists,” Shipley said. “They also accommodate other users. That’s an important aspect of our community. It’s what makes us marketable. It’s one of the most valued amenities that we have in the community. So that’s something that we are trying to achieve.”
The current road and proposed changes are given for each road:
Evans Road segment 1 currently has two 9-foot lanes with landscaping stripes and swale (grass ditch) on each side.
Evans Road segment 1 proposal: two 10-foot lanes while adding an 8-foot shared-use path to the south.
Evans Road segment 2 currently also has an 8-foot shared-use path to the north.
Segment 2’s only change, in addition to adding some trees to the south landscape strip, would be the two 10-foot lanes.
Evans Road “is about a 4,200 linear-foot road; it has about 1,800 trips per day on it with the latest count I had, at least,” Shipley said.
Boring Road Segment 1 currently (beginning at Kingston Pike going north): two 8-foot lanes and landscaping strips with swale on each side.
Boring Road Segment 1 proposal (beginning at curve heading west): two 10-foot lanes bordered by landscaping stripes of various sizes (with swales), plus trees on the west side, and an 8-foot shared-use path to the west.
Boring Road Segment 2 currently: (same as Segment 1 configuration)
Boring Road Segment 2 proposed: (basically same as Segment 1)
Boring Road Segment 3 currently: Same as Segment 1 and 2 except with an 8-foot shared-use path to the north.
Boring Road Segment 3 proposed: lanes to increase to 11-feet each with 2.5 feet of curb-gutter on each side, a 6-foot minimum landscape strip to include trees to the south with an 8-foot shared-use pass adjacent. The north side also would include a 6-foot landscape strip, a 5-foot walking path and another landscape strip.
“Boring Road is undergoing a lot of change right now with the school and with the new subdivision out there,” Shipley said.
Boyd Station Road currently: two 10-foot lanes with landscaping stripes and swale with some trees to the south side.
Boyd Station proposal: two 11-foot lanes with north-only curb-gutter (2.5 feet), then a 6-foot landscaping strip, then an 8-foot shared-used path. Nothing would change to the south.
Herron Road currently: two 9-foot lanes with landscaping stripes on each side.
Herron Road proposed: no change in lanes; keep a minimum 6-foot landscaping strip to the east before an 8-foot-minimum shared-use path.
“Herron Road is about 1,700 feet that’s unimproved,” Shipley said. “And the reason this road was identified is we’re not proposing any changes to the width of the road.
“… You’ve got Founders Park on one end of Herron Road, crossing over (North Campbell Station),” he added. “Then you’ve got the Turkey Creek development and a walking trail that comes in at the very north end of Heron Road.
North Campbell Station Road currently (from just beyond Overlook Apartments north to Town limits): two 10-foot lanes with landscaping stripes on either side.
North Campbell Station Road proposed: two 11-foot lanes with 2.5-foot curb and gutter on each side followed by a 6-foot landscaping strip and an 8-foot shared-use path to the south and a 5-foot walking strip to the north.
Red Mill Lane currently: two 12-foot lanes with landscaping stripes on each side and a swale on the south side.
Red Mill Lane proposed: no change in lanes, but a 6-foot minimum stripe to include trees to the north beside an 8-foot shared-use path. Trees would be added on the south side.
Red Mill Lane, labeled “a local collector, has a fairly high traffic count, about 1,250 (daily) from the latest count I have,” Shipley said. “It’s about 2,600 linear feet.”
Allen Kirby Road now: two 7-foot lanes with landscaping stripes and swale (both sides)
Allen Kirby Road proposed: two 11-foot lanes with an 8-foot shared use path to the north.
“There’s about a mile of Alan Kirby Road that’s ... really substandard,” Shipley said of the roughly 3,900 linear feet proposal. “If anybody has ever been on it, it’s barely wider than a walking trail, frankly.
“There’s a big difference between what we’re trying to do for Alan Kirby and what current subdivision regulations require,” he added.
