Representative Ryan Williams wants to explore solutions for improving traffic flow in downtown Cookeville.
Williams said that there has been a desire for some time to better east to west routes through the city. He said that over the years there have been two traffic studies that recommended making Spring Street and Broad Street one-way roads.
Williams said that making that change could allow traffic to flow more freely.
“We already have a problem in the square, I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Williams said. “That the city police department has put signs that say ‘Do not block the intersection’ because there’s so much traffic flowing through those and that intersection are often block because so many people try to seize the light before it changes.”
Williams said that as of now, there are limited east-west efforts besides Jackson Street and 10th Street. City Manager James Mills said that engineering is currently underway for the first phase of widening West Stevens Street. Williams said that project could provide another east-west corridor for traffic.
Williams said that there are potential negatives to this change. He said that some businesses believe it could pose as an impediment.
“In order to participate in a business on say an eastbound Spring or Highway 70,” Williams said. “You might have to go down and cross further down from the business from which you try to access on spring in order turn around and come back on a one-way road.”
Williams said that as it has been explored in the past, he hopes that he and city officials can take a look into this plan again.
“There’s many options out there and this was just a thought that we had,” Williams said. “We’re constantly looking for ways to economically provide safe infrastructure for the community. And I think this is one that (James Mills) and others in the past, including two traffic engineering studies suggested it might be a solution.”
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