City set to retime traffic lights on three major roads on The Murfreesboro Post

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City set to retime traffic lights on three major roads

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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer

Posted: Friday, January 15, 2010 11:39 am

Studying the timing on traffic lights gets better returns than anything else the city does, City Manager Rob Lyons said.

“As part of the city’s overall transportation operations program, traffic signal retiming is one of the most cost effective ways to improve traffic movement and make streets safer,” Murfreesboro Traffic Engineer Ram Balachandran said.

In 2008 Murfreesboro studied the timing of lights at 39 intersections and in 2010 the city will continue that study by looking at 29 intersections on three different roads.

At a cost of almost $75,000, the study will look at traffic flow through Medical Center Parkway between Gateway Boulevard and Interstate 24, Middle Tennessee Boulevard between Southeast Broad Street and North Highland Avenue and New Salem Pike between Bridge Avenue and River Rock Boulevard.

Consultants will spend 270 days traveling these streets during the morning, lunch and evening rush hours, where travel time, speed, stops and delay will be measured to evaluate traffic flow along the three streets.

Balachandran said these streets are particularly important because they haven’t been studied since they were improved.

Medical Center Parkway, especially, needs study because the lights currently work individually and coordinating the lights will help reduce delays, air pollution by cutting idle time and driver frustration as well as, increase safety.

The city will also focus energy on retiming lights on North Thompson Lane at Sam Waldron Drive, Robert Rose Drive and Wilkinson Pike.

•••
Council also approved a contract to start the final construction of Veterans Parkway from Highway 96 to Overall Creek.

At a cost of more than $4.7 million, the project should be completed by the fall of 2011.

When completed, Veterans Parkway will run all the way through Franklin Road to New Salem Pike.

•••
Other Murfreesboro City Council business:
• Approved the purchase of two police pursuit vehicles for the Murfreesboro Police Department.

At a cost of more than $44,000, the cars will replace two older pursuit vehicles that were totaled in a crash in November 2009.

The Murfreesboro Fire Department has also requested funding to buy a 75-foot aerial truck at a discounted price of more than $610,000.

• Approved reallocating $50,000 in grant money from the Community Development Department’s Housing Rehab fund to its Affordable Housing Assistance fund.

Community Development Director John Callow said the money shift is necessary because the Affordable Housing fund has run out of money and “this will help at least five first-time homebuyers become home owners.”

• Council will also scheduled public hearings on Feb. 11 for:
A. Zoning Ordinance Amendments to Section 2, 9, 24, Chart 1 & 4 regarding Postmortem Establishments;
B. Zoning request to rezone approximately .52 acres located along Medical Center Parkway from PCD to CF;
C. Zoning request to rezone 1.29 acres located along Lascassas Pike & Wenlon Drive from RM-16 to CL.

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.

Tagged under City, Traffic

Member Opinions:

By: randalce on 1/15/10
here is an idea... learn to let these lights blink for certain hours of the day, like from 7pm to 6am. i can't tell you how many times i get stopped at a light when a blinking light would have sufficed.
please, place timers on the lights to blink during non-rush hour traffic. up and down 99, medical center parkway, 96 west of I-24 and i am sure there are many other areas this would be useful.

By: tennessean on 1/16/10
Good idea, and not just at the main roads. Lots of places a flashing light would suffice during the off hours. Both ends of Pitts lane for example, Old Lascassas and Greenland, the new Osborne lane and Memorial light all make you stop when nothing is in sight in either direction. At night or during non school function hours, flashing would suffice, and that is just a few on the North side of town.