In other business
The city of Ringgold is restricting overnight parking in downtown. The new ordinance states “no vehicles shall be parked in the public parking lot located at the intersection of Depot Street and McClain Street between the hours of 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. next of each day. It is the intent of the Mayor and Council that any unauthorized parking shall constitute a trespass upon public lands of the city, and public notice is given to that effect.”
After Bluffview Subdivision residents, including Ringgold Mayor Nick Millwood, brought the issue of speeding in their neighborhood to the City Council, officials unanimously decided on stop signs, as opposed to speed bumps, to slow people down.
“I am anti-speed bumps,” resident Jamie Chambliss told the council before their vote. “We have laws and rules in place already if we utilize those rules and laws. I think speed bumps will direct traffic elsewhere. It will reduce emergency vehicles’ time coming in. We have a choice of metal speed bumps that cause damage to vehicles, including emergency vehicles. Rubber speed bumps require more upkeep. Young drivers hitting a speed bump at a high rate of speed can hurt themselves and someone else.”
Chambliss didn’t support stop signs, necessarily, either. He asked for a different sign: one that states what the speed limit is, thus saving the city the expense of speed bumps.
“I’m an ex-police officer,” he said. “Some of the police officers that live there are worried about people’s reactions [if they issue tickets] since they are neighbors, but I would rather do that [issue a ticket] than a death notice.”