Neighbor upset about lack of safety on Highland Drive
By Mike Steely
Senior Writer
steelym@knoxfocus.com
An Inskip resident is frustrated with fruitless attempts to get sidewalks installed, slow down traffic and get some city help with police enforcement on Highland Drive.
“Highland is almost exclusively a residential road and there is only one church the length of Highland and yet there is no indication that drivers need to be careful other than the very few 30 mph signs,” the resident wrote to Christy Branscom, COO of the City, a few years ago. A stop sign was put up as well as a flashing sign that most drivers ignore according to the resident, who declined to publically release their name.
For years, homeowners along Highland and the adjoining streets have been trying to slow traffic down and create a safer street. Highland Drive runs between Rowan Road and Broadway and falls into City Council District 5 and borders District 4 where it ends on North Broadway. Council members Charles Thomas and Lauren Rider represent the two districts respectively.
The resident’s complaints include the dangers to pedestrians from the hills blocking the visibility of drivers and the deep ditches along the street making it hard to safely walk beside the street. They are also worried about safety along the road for the school and city bus routes there and don’t think there are enough police patrols.
The Focus contacted neighborhood leaders and city officials about safety along the busy connector street.
“Only the portion of Highland from Rowan to Inskip is in the Inskip area. Across Inskip it’s Fountain City to Broadway,” said Betty Mahan, past president of the Inskip Neighborhood Association.
“Highland is like all of our streets, busy and people in a hurry. We would have to slow people down to slow vehicles,” Mahan said.
“As a result of our complaints, one stop sign was installed at Jenkins, halfway down Highland. I wish that had helped but it has not,” the Highland resident told The Focus, adding that drivers blast by the all-way flashing stop sign and speed bumps along the route were not considered because of the bus routes.
Carlene Malone of Fountain City Town Hall said, “I have not heard anything about traffic issues on Highland. Grant Rosenberg and two representatives from City Engineering provided a program at FCTH’s Oct. 14, 2024 meeting. I don’t recall Highland Dr. being mentioned by staff or audience.”
While District 4 Councilwoman Rider pointed out that she does not represent Highland Drive residents, she did respond, “People want peace and quality of life in their neighborhoods. They want to feel safe getting their mail and playing in their yards. It’s unfortunate that people speed in other people’s neighborhoods. We are trying to address this with education, speed warning signs with radar, and speed humps.”
“Speeding has been a problem on Highland Drive and we placed a speed indicator sign there and added a stop sign at one of the intersections. I was hoping that would help, but I will talk to Engineering to see if they have other suggestions,” replied Councilman Thomas.
“We have excessive speeding across the city. Our Vision Zero strategies will help, but it’s a challenge to be sure,” Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon told The Focus.
At-large councilmembers were asked about safety along the street and Councilwoman Amelia Parker responded, “While the city’s budget does not contain money for new sidewalks this year, the city’s Vision Zero coordinator seems anxious to work with neighborhoods on some innovative, cost-effective solutions and could be a viable next step for neighborhood leaders seeking solutions.”
Some of the city officials contacted by The Focus did not respond during a three-week inquiry.
Transportation Engineering Chief responds to Highland Drive traffic safety
Knoxville Transportation Engineering Chief Karen J. McKeehan responded to the various questions about traffic safety on Highland Drive.
Here is her statement:
In 2019, an application for the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program (NTSP) was made by residents for Highland Drive between N Broadway and Inskip Road. Under the NTSP, street classification is a key consideration. Minor collectors located within residential neighborhoods, like Highland Drive, have been considered on a case-by-case basis through the program. On Highland Drive it was deemed that installation of traffic calming measures would interfere with emergency response for both the police and fire departments, not KAT bus operations.
In 2023, an all-way stop was installed at the intersection of Highland Drive and Jenkins Road due to crashes, not speeding. Prior to the installation there had been 7 crashes at this location, with one of them being a fatality and two involving injuries. Since the stop has been installed, we have only seen one documented minor crash. Additionally, the set of radar speed feedback signs on Highland were relocated from the Jenkins Road area to the block between Mount Pleasant and Horton Roads during this same timeframe.
Pedestrian accommodation is an important goal of the City of Knoxville and we are always looking to improve pedestrian safety. In order to help the City determine which new sidewalk projects are the most needed and beneficial to the most people, we recently completed a Citywide Sidewalk Study . A review of the study shows that a gap in the sidewalk system along Highland Drive has been identified as a needed project. The link from Inskip Road to N Broadway is nearly 1.6 miles long and the estimated cost in 2020 was $6.9M. This project is the 80th highest ranked sidewalk project in District 5.
Unfortunately, the need for new sidewalks is extensive in the City, and the funding is limited, so it’s challenging to construct all the needed projects as quickly as we would like. Funding varies from year to year and will be announced as part of the mayor’s annual budget. Once the yearly budget is approved and funds are available, new sidewalk projects will then be selected for design and construction.
