Traffic Circle Suggestions for Knoxville

I have written in the past about traffic circles. I have two additional intersections which would benefit from traffic circles, where traffic needs to kept moving and in general is low to moderate pace of traffic. The first is at the intersection of Gleason and Gallaher View. This intersection is usually low traffic, but backs up tremendously during rush hour and on Saturday mornings. The shape of the intersection is also odd, which could rectified or fit into the traffic circle design.


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The second intersection which could benefit from a traffic circle is the intersection Cross Park Drive and Park Village Drive in the Cedar Bluff area. Traffic backs up during early morning and late morning rush hour.


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Both these intersections are four way stops and suffer from the "Stop Sign Menace", where you have drivers who are too impatient to wait their turn and double-pull into the intersection and suffer from drivers who do not monitor whose turn is is to go through the four way stop. A traffic circle is the best option for these intersections.

Are you a good steward?

I was asked this question yesterday and it had a profound effect on my thoughts for the last 24 hours. "Are you a good steward?" In both a religious and secular sense, this question brings quick clarity. A steward is a person who controls assets and makes decisions for those things which do not belong to him. Your goal as a steward is to continually improve those assets which are entrusted to you. The status quo is not acceptable for a true and good steward.

"Are you a good steward?" This question strikes quickly to any issue facing where a person spends their time. "Are you a good steward?" Am I spending my time as I should, with my work, home and family life? Am I giving guidance to my children? Am I doing all that I should to help my work colleagues? Is my attitude correct in all relationships? There are a host of questions which are generated when this question is applied.

Are you a good steward? I am still working to answer this question.

Mu Alpha Theta for Marty

Marty was inducted into Mu Alpha Theta, high school math honor society, this afternoon. Short but good ceremony for both Mu Alpha Theta and National Honor Society, held at Knox Catholic.

Zipper in merging situations

I heard the zipper term from a European colleague of mine. The definition is that, during merging situations from two lanes to one, that cars alternate in merging. What a great concept for the United States. There are too many situations where the signs for merging indicate that a merge is required 1-2 miles down the road. All the traffic comes to a screeching halt and the merging process starts way to early. The entire lane that is being merged is empty, and a lot of road capacity is wasted.

What is worse are those individuals who feel the need to enforce this premerger behavior, by getting in the merging lane and going as slow as possible. Then there are the people who will swerve into your lane as you pass, to intimidate you, and creating a dangerous situation.

Now we have highway signs that indicate "Start Merging Now", two miles before the merge occurs. Not only is is crazy, but the state governments are supporting it. Let's use common sense, some merging civility (see previous post) and also use the highway capacity. Zipper together and keep the traffic moving.

Traffic Notes - Blinker On, Let them In

Given that I just posted re: slow traffic keep right, this may seem like a weird post from me. This is my little stab at the rude world. If a person is active enough to turn on the blinker, they will get an entry into my lane. It does nothing for the world to let the person sit in the left lane and block all that traffic, when a little southern hospitality will go a long way to keeping the traffic moving. I see this all the time in highway merge situations and daily in the Cedar Blufff area, as people feel that they need to police the mergers. If they then add a hand wave, it is a double-bonus. So turn on your blinker and merge.

Traffic Notes - Slower Traffic Keep Right

My recent post on the Cedar Bluff traffic caused me to think about general rules of driving. These thoughts are sure to stir controversy, as driving skills are right after religion, sports and operating systems in inflaming mass public passions. See an example at www.knoxvilledriverssuck.com, a page that I disagree with for most of the information. So, flame on....

Rule One: Slower traffic keep right. - this used to be the rule of the road. You would actually see signs for it. It was enforced. A good summary for keeping right is here. I won't repeat all the points, but will add that slow cars in the left lane should honor the five second rule. If a car is behind you for more than five seconds, pull over and let them pass. The capacity boost to our roads will be huge.

Beg Week - Oh No!

This week has been the infamous "Beg Week" on WUOT-FM, the local Public Radio Station, happing now twice yearly. I understand the need and contribute, but I still find the continuous stream of banter annoying. These two weeks of the year are the times that I catch up on my sports radio listening, pop music, you name it!

In addition, it always sounds like their goals are never met. I have an idea for them. Offer the listeners that, if the goals are met for one of the hours, that the cheerful banter will be ended and the regular programming will return. This would drive a lot of listeners to rush to the phones.

Ok, rant over. Support Public Radio!

Our own little version of New York

I have, for years, thanked my lucky stars that I had the short commute, low traffic environment of Knoxville, Tennessee. Lately, though, I am seeing more and more that we have our own little version of New York City in West Knoxville. I drive daily from one end of the Cedar Bluff "zone" to the other. Starting at Kingston Pike and ending at Knoxville Catholic High is a joy. Between the traffic lights, the red light cameras, traffic merging, Starbucks turns and Cedar Bluff School traffic, the transit time is murder and the southern politeness is out the window. Now I am as aggressive as the next guy, but I will let someone with their blinker on and a legitimate reason to merge, into my lane.

I do not travel downtown, often. Nor have I experienced the New York, San Fransisco or LA traffic very often. Nevertheless, I feel justified in asking, "What are the plans for this Area?" This could be a classic overdevelopment situation.

BTW, lunchtime is no better. Pictures to follow.

Knoxville Traffic Circles

I am interested to see the continued development of traffic circles in our area. I am a big fan of them, as they keep traffic moving through intersections at low or medium traffic densities. Two circles which I have seen, which did not seem to be reported through the local media, consist of the circle at the intersection of Gleason and Wesley Park Rd. While not appearing to be tackling a traffice problem, it is attractive nonetheless.


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The second circle is at the intersection of Concord Road and Northshore, and this circle solves a major traffic problem. Turning left from Concord onto Northshore was a nightmare, especially after work. The traffice circle solved a lot of traffic movement problems.


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Below are a couple of links to additional traffic circles that are positioned in North Knoxville, though I have not experienced them.

WBIR link

Old North Knoxville Organization link

To close, I love the use of traffic circles. I have not, historically, seen a lot of them used in the United States, though they are popular in Europe. I am glad to see they are becoming an increasingly used tool in the hands of traffic planners.

Downtown and Historic Lenoir City, Tennessee

In a happy driving mistake, I stumbled across the downtown area of Lenoir City, Tennessee and drove through the historic district of older and restored homes. Definitely a happy accident. The downtown appears to have remained alive, through the growth phases and the efforts by the homeowners to restore homes was evident. The area was very attractive. I am glad to see that retention of the town center has been possible and hope that it will continue.

District Pinewood Derby

Charlie participated in the district pinewood derby today. The car was competitive, but we were a tenth of a second too slow for the top three slots. Well run race and a lot of fun. A short video of the event is on YouTube here.

I love rain in the spring

I love the rain in the spring; it means that soccer and baseball are canceled for tomorrow. Sorry to be so happy when sports are canceled, but this will make two saturdays, back to back. It has been months since both my wife and I and all the kids are in town. Last weekend, we built one full rock wall for our landscaping and improved a second one. (pictures hopefully coming tomorrow). Same for this weekend. Only one activity, the district pinewood derby for Charlie!

The wall built (part of 3 tons of stone). The wall improved.