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Editor’s Note: This is the Fifth in a series on the City Council’s planning efforts

In the final portion of the Morristown City Council’s recent three-hour work session, its members journeyed out of the box a bit to review a proposal for a roundabout to be placed in a high-traffic area.

The intersection at Walters Drive and Cherokee Drive has seen its share of development over the years and is set to see more residential growth soon – specifically on the property where TerraBella Retirement Center is located on Walters. Future growth on Cherokee Drive is anticipated in the area of Noe’s Chapel Road.

“We wanted to quickly show you this. The project budget is estimated $820,000, to preclude any need for a traffic signal,” Jason Elliott, principal engineer with LDA Engineering, said.

The roundabout includes a ‘slip ramp’ which would provide a right turn from Walters onto Cherokee.

“That right hand turn sems to be the highest volume of traffic,” Elliot said, explaining that with a slip ramp, vehicles are not required to enter the roundabout.

“You just bypass it on that slip ramp and that would avoid any kind of backup blocking the driveway into the retirement home,” he said, adding that there would be no stop condition on the roundabout – “It’s yield only as you enter.”

There are a variety of sizes of roundabouts, with the largest of single-lane options measuring up to 140’ feet in diameter. The option presented by Elliott is 110’ in the inscribed circle.

“We looked at a few different configurations for this one and this is the best option,” he said. “This one is on the smaller size to lesson the impact on the surrounding properties.”

Elliott reiterated the functionality of the slip ramp – “So people who are turning right from Walters onto Cherokee will not have to enter the roundabout in a yield condition; they could just freeflow turn. Therefore, that would prevent backup.”

Morristown Mayor Gary Chesney compared the slip ramp to the right lane exiting from West Andrew Johnson Highway onto Morris Boulevard in front of the Valvoline Instant Oil Change location.

“There are so many different things you can do; this just happens to fit well at that location. You know, you’ve got that wall (Lochmere subdivision). It’s again just a concept, so there are a lot of variations that we can do with this,” Elliott said.

Councilmembers Tommy Pedigo said, “It’s a constant stop there, wondering who’s going to go next. The majority of the traffic that gets to that intersection goes from Walters Drive right to Cherokee Drive. That’s a good idea to have that slip ramp.”

“Do you recommend that as opposed to a traffic light?,” Councilmember Bob Garrett asked, to which Elliott responded, “Absolutely. I avoid traffic lights at all cost.”

According to councilmember Al A’Hearn, Chattanooga is utilizing roundabouts in the city’s residential areas.

In answer to councilmember Kay Senter’s question regarding the Morristown Fire Department and whether their large engines could maneuver the turns, Elliott explained the two colors of the roundabout.

“The lighter gray circle is called the truck apron. Between the darker circle and the lighter circle is a mountable curb for larger trucks, fire trucks. They could run their back wheels onto that apron and not get any damage,” he said.

City Administrator Tony Cox told councilmembers they will hear more about the concept in the future.

“We’re going to have to do something to improve this four-way stop, and I think a lot of us agree that a traffic signal is probably not the best answer,” he said.

Assistant Administrator Larry Clark added, “The slip ramp does require a little bit of right-of-way acquisition, so just ‘fyi’ to council.”

Cox advised councilmembers of upcoming meetings that will continue the work that began in the three-hour session.

“We started with capital financing,” he said, adding that city staff will prepare Requests for Proposals regarding the bond issue in hopes of providing a list of financial instutions for their consideration at the next council meeting (5 p.m. Aug. 15), along with a special resolution for their consideration.

He advised that city staff will need councilmembers’ feedback regarding the Charter and that a work session to focus on the Charter in general will be held after the Aug. 15 meeting. A meeting is to be scheduled for 5 p.m. Aug. 29 in Council Chambers to facilitate public comments regarding any changes to the city’s general election process.

As for the concept plans for roadways for Frank Lorino Park, Cox said, “We’ll take a great more time to ponder your questions and concerns and look at how that might be built into a longer term plan.”

Pedigo added, “We can not ignore stormwater problems on Walters Drive. I saw the verification yesterday that at one time it was not in the floodplain and now it is, so we’ve got to do something about that.”

“In terms of the stormwater project, we talked about this with our stormwater consultants, LDA, and they’re preparing a proposal for us to evaluate the Havely Springs drain basin which is much larger than Walters Drive. You’ve got to go where the water starts. So we’ll get you an idea to look at overall concept of that drainage system,” Cox said.