The city of Chattanooga announced Thursday two potential redesigns of Frazier Avenue, both of which would reduce the four-lane roadway to one lane either way with a turning lane in the middle.
City Council Vice Chair Jenny Hill, of North Chattanooga, led the announcements during a public meeting at a city facility in Coolidge Park.
"Frazier Avenue is vital to the people who live adjacent to the road, who live in the North Chattanooga neighborhood, but also Coolidge Park, we know, is the backyard for a lot of Chattanooga," Hill said. "It's a road that is important to a lot of people in Chattanooga."
Residents can give input on the potential redesigns via an online survey at cha.city/frazier.
The survey will end March 15, and the city plans to finalize a redesign by March 29, said Ross Pitcairn, the city's public works administrator, during Thursday's meeting.
Hill said the plans presented Thursday are not final and subject to changes based on community feedback.
She said any redesign could serve as a model to change traffic patterns on other roadways in the city.
"Once we figure out Frazier, how do we implement this on Brainerd Road? How do we do this, close to home, on Manufacturers (Road), on Cherokee (Boulevard), on Hixson Pike?" Hill said.
The city conducted the traffic study following a crash in November that killed two pedestrians. The victims — Ana Posso Rodriguez, 41, and her son, Jonathan Devia, 1 — were walking on the sidewalk in front of the Walnut Bridge Gift Shop when they were struck by a vehicle.
The study was conducted during weekends in December, when the city's transportation division blocked off the center two lanes of Frazier Avenue, a four-lane road with two lanes going in either direction. In early January, the city put the same reduced-lane traffic pattern in place on weekdays.
A few weeks after the temporary traffic pattern ended, the Northshore Collective, a group of business owners in the Frazier area, publicly opposed permanently reducing the number of lanes, opting instead for raised crosswalks at intersections on the roadway.
Other business owners want more extensive redesigns of Frazier, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
Dan Reuter, executive director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, said during Thursday's meeting the city will consider the views of pedestrians, cyclists and drivers when formulating a final redesign.
"What we're really trying to understand is how we balance all those different competing interests," Reuter said.
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Plan details
During the traffic study, the city found that traffic congestion decreased and speeds were reduced.
Speeds were reduced from a 28 mph average to a 22 mph and 24 mph average for westbound and eastbound, respectively.
"That's one of the things that we are trying to achieve with going from a four-lane to a two-lane with a turning lane," Pitcairn said.
Pitcairn said the decreased congestion could be attributed to drivers taking alternative routes away from Frazier.
As for the redesigns, one option would have cyclists share a lane with drivers. The other would have bike lanes installed on either side of the road.
Either redesign could be put in place quickly, Pitcairn said.
"Whichever one we pick, a good portion of it, we will be able to implement fairly quickly," Pitcairn said.
The primary difference between the two redesigns, Pitcairn said, is parking as bike lanes would reduce space for on-street parking.
Of the two redesigns, the city is leaning toward the shared lanes with the drivers and cyclists.
"We're trying to focus on improving the roads," Pitcairn said. "It's really safer to have bikers go through the park than on the road."
He said the city wants the Frazier area to be a place for all residents.
"We want people to come to Frazier, to come to the North Shore, because it's a pleasing area to spend time with family," Pitcairn said.
(READ MORE: With streets built mostly for cars, some want Chattanooga to make way for pedestrians)
Crash details
Randy Vega, the 44-year-old driver from Florida who crashed and struck the pedestrians, faces two charges of vehicular homicide by impairment and charges of aggravated vehicular assault, driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and failing to maintain a lane.
According to Chattanooga police officers responding to the crash, Vega was aggressive and fighting first responders.
The case was bound over to a grand jury in January. Patrick McGinty, a second driver local to the area involved in the crash, was still under investigation as of early January.
Contact Ben Sessoms at bsessoms@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.