CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville City Council has brought forward a resolution asking the Tennessee Department of Transportation to fully fund a pedestrian bridge across Purple Heart Parkway at South Jordan Drive and Jordan Road, providing pedestrian access to the Clarksville North Branch Library, set to open in the fall of 2025.
The library – the first branch of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library – will be at 435 Jordan Road in a 16,000-square-foot facility sharing property with the new Animal Control shelter, being built simultaneously.
The branch library will serve thousands of community members north and south of Purple Heart Parkway, which is state Highway 374. And nearby are Minglewood Elementary School, New Providence Middle School, Northwest High School and the Kleeman Community Center.
“We as a community have been trying to encourage pedestrian traffic vs. car traffic,” said Councilperson Deanna McLaughlin, the resolution’s sponsor. “The city has put sidewalks in around the Minglewood complex to get people as far as the Arrowood Drive area. Now, we’re expecting people, mostly children who are looking for something to do after school, to cross five lanes of traffic with a posted speed of 55 (mph).
“I just feel like it’s not responsible for us to not ask the state to give us our fair share of gas tax dollars. We’re almost the fourth largest city in the state, and this is definitely something that our state delegation should support: public safety for all of our constituents.”
McLaughlin said Commissioner Jeremiah Walker is set to introduce identical legislation at the upcoming Montgomery County Commission meeting, which is set to take place on Monday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, the City Council will vote on the proposed request at their regular session meeting, set for Thursday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m.
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