Jasper converting North Pryor Cove Road to one-way

North Pryor Cove is shown in this file photo.
North Pryor Cove is shown in this file photo.
photo The Jasper government has approved changes to narrow North Pryor Cove Road.
photo The Jasper government has approved changes to narrow North Pryor Cove Road.

JASPER, Tenn. - City leaders have approved a change to North Pryor Cove Road, and now they're examining a similar situation elsewhere in Jasper.

Last month, nearly all of the residents along North Pryor Cove signed a petition asking that the Jasper Board of Mayor and Aldermen make the narrow road a one-way street.

Mayor Paul Evans said he and Police Chief Tim Graham examined the situation recently and agreed that making it one-way was a good idea.

"There's just not enough room there to pass without getting into somebody's yard," Evans said.

At its September meeting, the board voted unanimously to approve the change.

Signs will be installed soon indicating the road as one-way from Pryor Village Drive to Danny Drive.

Evans said there would be additional signs on North Pryor Cove Road at Danny Drive indicating the one-way street and cautioning drivers not to enter from that direction.

Now, city officials are looking into another street in town that Alderman Steve Looney said is in a similar situation.

Ann Avenue, which is just off U.S. Highway 41, is another narrow street that represents a potential hazard to drivers, he said.

"There's room for one vehicle through there at the most," Looney said. "There's quite a bit of traffic through there. It's as bad as Pryor Cove."

Generally, he said, action is taken only "after somebody gets killed."

Looney said he wants any issues with Ann Avenue addressed before something like that happens.

Carolyn Stewart lives in that area and said the residents there have always used their driveways to let other cars pass.

"We manage," she said. "We just watch out for people."

"That's the way we did it on North Pryor, too," Looney said.

There is little chance Ann Avenue could be widened, officials said, so making it a one-way street like North Pryor Cove Road may be the only way to solve the problem.

Evans said that probably wouldn't happen unless all the residents along Ann Avenue request that change, too.

He said city workers would study the situation on Ann Avenue and report to the board at its next meeting on Oct. 13.

"We want all of our streets as safe as we can get them," Evans said. "We'll definitely look into it."

Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.

Upcoming Events