Parents on Signal Mountain want to see a solution to the heavy traffic at Nolan Elementary and Signal Mountain Middle/High School during student dropoff and pickup times.
At the Nov. 17 town meeting, Nolan mom Renee Shoop expressed her concerns to the Town Council.
“I’m curious if there are any plans in place regarding widening that road [Sam Powell Trail, which takes drivers to Nolan and SMMHS], because I’m afraid there will be some sort of emergency at the middle/high school one day during Nolan’s pickup time and no emergency vehicles would be able to get back there,” she said. “Literally, the traffic is blocked completely.”
SMMHS starts its day at 7:20 a.m. and from 6:45-7:15 at least 50 cars can be seen in either direction on Shackleford Ridge Road, stretching to Signal Mountain Bible Church in one direction, and to Edwards Point Road in the other.
“The high school traffic isn’t as big of an issue as the Nolan traffic,” Town Manager Boyd Veal said in an interview following the town meeting.
Dropoff for the elementary school starts at 8:20 a.m. in preparation for the 8:45 bell, blocking access to SMMHS during that time. In a follow-up interview, Shoop said she typically sits in the school traffic for 45 minutes when picking up her child in the afternoon. Nolan lets students out at 3:40 – when extracurricular activities like sports are going on at the middle/high school behind it. SMMHS dismisses students at 2:25 p.m.
“The problem is the road simply will not accommodate the level of traffic. It would be very, very difficult to create a space wide enough for an emergency vehicle to get to the middle/high school in a timely fashion,” said Shoop. “My fear is that nothing will be done until something bad happens.”
During the meeting, newly elected Mayor Dick Gee said the road isn’t in the town’s jurisdiction, and Councilman Chris Howley said he’d made calls the previous week to find out who would be responsible for widening the road.
“I don’t have a firm answer yet. I talked to someone from the county and they are pointing the finger back at the town,” said Howley. “I’m going to be bringing it up at meetings and trying to do something about it.
“I think just widening Sam Powell by one lane would alleviate that problem,” he continued. “I think it’s going to take some time to figure out who’s going to be responsible and where the funding will come from.”
In his follow-up interview, Veal said while the school is within Signal Mountain town limits, Hamilton County owns the property that it sits on, including Sam Powell Trail.
Hamilton County External Communications Manager Mike Dunne said Sam Powell Trail is the responsibility of the Department of Education and the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department, since it serves both the schools and Shackleford Ridge Park.
A decision to widen the road, if it’s needed, would need to be made by the Department of Education, he said. Superintendent Rick Smith could not be reached for comment before press time.
In the past, Signal Mountain town officials have suggested building a new road cutting through adjacent property and taking drivers directly to SMMHS, effectively bypassing Nolan and its traffic, said Veal.
He also said Signal Mountain Police Department makes it a priority to place an officer at the SMMHS and Nolan entrance, as well as at Thrasher, to direct traffic.
Since only three patrol officers are on staff during any given shift, if there is an important call an officer directing traffic needs to answer, he or she may not be able to be at the school to aid in traffic or may have to leave the school before the traffic lessens, said Veal.
“[Directing school traffic] is a priority issue. If [a call] is something that can wait, we will give priority to that traffic issue because it is potentially a safety concern,” he said. “The officers’ presence really doesn’t help a lot once you reach gridlock. … There’s only so much you can do.”