A proposal to build a new 21-unit subdivision off Hixson Pike near the so-called “S curves” was endorsed by a planning group Monday, though some neighbors raised safety concerns.
Jeffery Gefter, who lives in the nearby Olde Towne subdivision, cited eight traffic deaths that have occurred at the Hixson Pike site over the years. He also mentioned an accident involving his daughter at the location that demolished the car though spared her life.
Gefter called for a new traffic study at the 3200 Hixson Pike location and mentioned the building of a potential left turn lane.
Future accidents could put the city “at jeopardy for millions of dollars,” he said at a meeting of the Chattanooga- Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission. In 2015, the city paid a $150,000 settlement related to a fatal 2003 traffic accident at the Hixson Pike S curves.
Blythe Bailey, administrator of the Chattanooga Department of Transportation and a planning panel member, said his agency would review past traffic studies of the Hixson Pike site before the new subdivision proposal comes before the City Council on Oct. 10.