The Signal Mountain Town Council has come to a general consensus regarding the resurfacing of James Boulevard, though official action has yet to be taken.
At the regularly scheduled town meeting Oct. 14, Council members agreed that they want the boulevard to remain 38 feet wide, to be resurfaced in concrete instead of asphalt, and if any rails are going to be reinstalled, they want the original ones.
“Since the public meeting, I’ve driven on James Boulevard more than I have in several years, just to go down there and get a feel for the place,” said Councilman Dick Gee. “I have come to the conclusion that the appeal of that boulevard is its width. I’m reversing my opinion here, but I think it would be a mistake to narrow that road to 26 feet.”
At that point, attendees at the meeting broke out in applause.
“I think it would be a terrible mistake to narrow it and I think it would be a mistake not to concrete it,” added Vice Mayor Susan Robertson. “It really is a boulevard that goes somewhere. It goes to our one little national park, Signal Point Park. It goes to the trailhead of the Cumberland Trail and it goes to Alexian Village.”
While the Council discussed the idea of using what they called “faux rails,” steel strips that would better fit into the roadway with possibly less maintenance required, the idea was generally unpopular with the Council and the crowd.
“I am absolutely 100 percent against putting fake rails in there,” said Councilman Bill Wallace. “If we’re going to preserve [the roadway] and honor it, let’s put it back like it’s supposed to be.”
“We just passed zoning amendments that encourage developers to preserve cultural and historic features and we’re having a hard time finding any out there, and here we have one,” agreed Councilwoman Annette Allen.
Though the Council seems to be leaning in the direction of replacing the original rails in the roadway after resurfacing James Boulevard, a final decision was deferred until more information on cost estimates could be gathered.
Council members said they still need to know if there is a cap on the amount of money they can spend as part of the related Tennessee Department of Transportation grant, which covers 80 percent of the cost of the project. After the 80/20 split, the cost of resurfacing a 38-foot-wide James Boulevard in concrete, with original rails, is estimated at $103,400.
The Council also wants to know more about construction costs, which could amount to $250,000 on top of the project costs, as well as total engineering costs. Other considerations include the possibility of leaving the rails out of intersections as well as the type and tint of the concrete to be used. Questions were raised as to whether the concrete should have a “historic” brownish look, Allen reported.
“Will there be a chance for citizen involvement in terms of fundraisers or things of that nature?” asked Ohio Avenue resident Eric McLean. “This is such an emotional issue I really think some additional funding could be raised in the neighborhood. I think that would add up.”
Council members said they would be very willing to hear such a proposal.
The issue will be discussed further at the Council’s next work session, for which a date has yet to be set. In a follow-up interview Robertson said the meeting will likely take place toward the end of October or early November.