Robert Little tells Hendersonville board Creekwood Lane needs sidewalks and traffic calming

Robert Little, a Creekwood Lane resident, told the Hendersonville Board of Mayor and Aldermen on April 14 that the city’s current striping plans leave pedestrians and children at risk and urged the board to require physical traffic-calming measures before nearby development increases traffic. "Residents were asked for input," Little said, "and nothing was implemented after that meeting despite claims of progress."

Little said a city traffic study found roughly 86% of vehicles exceeding the posted speed limit on Creekwood Lane and criticized earlier decisions to adopt 10-foot travel lanes that leave only a three-foot space for pedestrians and bicyclists. He told the board he had submitted a 9-foot lane design that would provide more separation, and he said that paint and striping alone "does not provide safe separation from traffic."

Little recounted prior committee action and meetings with city officials; he said the public works director recommended longitudinal pavement markings but that follow-through was lacking. He also warned that Creekwood Lane is planned to become a through street connecting to a new shopping center at Stop 30, which would raise traffic volumes and make the current three-foot buffer unsafe for people using wheelchairs, parents with strollers and children on bicycles.

As described by Little, the current striping approach leaves a narrow edge that, he argued, is not a pedestrian facility under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and does not meet the separation safety objectives recommended by AASHTO and other transportation guidance. He said his remarks "begin a 30-day review period before formal demand under Tennessee law."

The board did not take immediate action on Little’s request at the meeting. The record includes Little’s specific complaints about the lane width choices, his design proposal and his contention that the city has not responded adequately to neighborhood requests. No city staff formal response to the technical claims was recorded on the transcript beyond routine acknowledgment and thanks at the close of his comment.