CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – An intersection of Old Trenton Road is drawing safety concerns from neighbors following a City Council vote that will add more residents, and more drivers, to the area.
The three-way, offset intersection of Old Trenton, Nolen Road and West Drive, with an island in the middle, has a reputation among residents for being dangerous. The intersection has stop signs posted for cars heading down one point of Old Trenton, out of West Drive and leaving Nolen, but not in three other directions.
There’s also a bus stop in the island in the middle of the intersection, but there are no sidewalks connected to it, none in the immediate vicinity, and no crosswalks to the island.
Further adding to the traffic is a cement factory at the end of Nolen Road with trucks coming and going throughout the day.
More apartments, more cars
At their January session, Clarksville’s City Council approved a rezoning that will allow for more apartment buildings on Nolen Road. The rezoning passed first reading 11-2 with “no” votes coming from Ward 9’s Karen Reynolds and Mayor Joe Pitts.
At the meeting, Reynolds objected to previous developments on Old Trenton Road and spoke against the new rezoning, calling additional apartments irresponsible until improvements have been made to the street. Reynolds specifically stressed the need for additional sidewalks.
“We never in all these years, as a city, addressed the concerns of our residents, which were the crazy three-way stop, and the buildup of traffic, and the bus stop in this area. This cannot continue as we infill our communities,” Reynolds said at the special session.
“Those apartments are being added to a busy road and we’re connecting (Nashville State Community College) and the older apartments to where they live and where they go to school with no ability to walk between them,” Reynolds told Clarksville Now.
She referenced the recent addition of 72 new townhouses near the intersection, another example of apartments overloading existing infrastructure.
“Why in brand new construction would we have not encouraged them to put a sidewalk on Old Trenton? … At the other end of it, where we have all this truck traffic coming, they’re going to add more apartments. And again, no sidewalk,” Reynolds said. “It’s always the lack of infrastructure and the respect for the residents that have been there for years. … This is like the last straw,” Reynolds said.
Residents sound alarm
Cameron Jones, who lives at the corner of Old Trenton and Nolen, said he has seen few accidents on his street, but he has often seen people drive dangerously.
“I’ve lived here 13 years, and when they built those apartments down the road, it’s like I need a traffic light at my driveway,” Jones told Clarksville Now. “I’m surprised there haven’t been more wrecks right there with somebody trying to turn down Nolen Road and somebody trying to go down the hill right there.”
Norberto Jiminez, another Nolen Road resident, agreed, adding that a traffic light is needed at the bottom of the hill where Old Trenton meets Wilma Rudolph Boulevard.
“Nobody stops on the one end. People take the turns too quickly and, since nobody stops, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more accidents.” Jiminez said. “The more traffic we get, the worse it’s going to get at the corners. … If you’re going to turn left off that street, you’re pretty much going to sit there half an hour.”
City responds
Clarksville spokesperson Linda Gerron said that the city was aware of concerns about the intersection; however, based on current traffic data, there are no plans for changes or improvements at this time.
“Our Street and Police Departments have evaluated, conducted analysis, and reviewed the history of crashes at this particular location and did not find any data to deem it unsafe,” Gerron told Clarksville Now.
“With that, the City currently does not have any plans to make any modifications to the intersection; however, that’s not to say the Street Department will not reevaluate the site once the current developments around the intersection are complete. Upon completion of those private projects, our Streets Department will review stormwater and traffic impacts, and based on the results, will consider all recommendations for future improvements.”