Citizens say Ridgeview Drive dangerous
Concerns are rising regarding traffic issues in South Clinton.
Citizens Jerry Graham and Melinda Williams brought up issues around the intersections Ridgeview Drive has with Melton Hill Drive and Unaka Street at the June 24 meeting.
City Manager Roger Houck said the city needed the traffic engineers’ recommendation before acting.
Graham, a South Clinton resident, recommended four-way stop signs at those intersections, while admitting that wasn’t a popular idea.
“I know there will be a lot of people probably pretty mad, but I’ll take the blame for it if it passes,” he said.
Houck said Clinton had a traffic-engineering study done about 12 weeks before that June 24 meeting and said Public Works had already done several improvements in general. He said he would refer Graham’s comments back to traffic engineers.
“For a liability purposes, we have to kind of rely on their recommendations on any safety improvements or any changes to the roadways,” Houck said. “Definitely something where we can refer the question back to them and have them look at it and see what else if anything else can be done.”
He also said he wasn’t sure about the engineers’ recommendations regarding speed limits there.
“I know it’s not a good place to pull out,” he said, adding that he usually tries to take South Fowler Street.
He said that the area’s roads weren’t set up well because they pre-dated Clinton’s annexing of the area
Williams spoke of wrecks in the area and the threat to children.
“There’s already been one wreck where the car was almost in the football field,” she said.
She said wrecks bothered her, particularly the possibility of them harming children who are playing. She said she didn’t need a four-way stop, but would like a specific stop sign to prevent harm to those children.