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More housing planned for busy Whitfield Road




An increase in housing will cause an increase in traffic in the area of the Whitfield Road and Needmore Road intersection. City planners are working on converting the busy intersection into a roundabout. SUBMITTED

An increase in housing will cause an increase in traffic in the area of the Whitfield Road and Needmore Road intersection. City planners are working on converting the busy intersection into a roundabout. SUBMITTED

The Clarksville City Council continued to approve more housing for an already busy traffic area on Whitfield Road near 101st Airborne Division Parkway and also Needmore Road, with traffic improvements planned for the area.

At a Sept. 3 council meeting, a rezoning case on Whitfield Road and Prewitt Lane just south of the parkway was approved that would prepare for the development of 105 single-family homes.

The rezoning changed the 54 acres of land from agricultural district to single-family residential district.

The council also approved, upon first reading, a zoning change for 2.4 acres on Whitfield Road near the intersection of Needmore Road and right across the street from the entrance of Glenellen Elementary School.

If finalized next month, the proposed rezoning would change the property from an agriculture district to a multiple-family residential district, which would pave the way for the development of nearly 30 apartment units.

During a July 30 city council executive session, when the rezoning case was first presented, Jeff Tyndall, director of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Regional Planning Commission, said the staff and commission both disapproved of the zone change.

 

 

 “The traffic assessment indicates the level of service as being inadequate for Whitfield and Needmore Road intersection,” Tyndall said. “The proposed rezoning should be delayed until the intersection improvements are complete.”

Council member Jeff Henley said he had a hard time understanding the consistency coming from the planning commission with its disapproval.

“Down the road, we’re going to do 105 houses,” Henley said. “This one [the R-4 rezoning request] has less families. Is it because it’s closer to the Needmore Road intersection?”

Tyndall said the acreage is 500 feet from the intersection, where the Prewitt Lane is 1,600 feet from 101st. He said the concern with the property had more to do with the backing up of Whitfield Road on the northern side of Needmore.

Tyndall said the commission received five letters of opposition to the zone change.

At the Aug. 6 regular city council meeting, the council postponed discussion on the rezoning case after hearing that an area resident voiced concern about the inability to see the planning commission’s rezoning sign due to the high grass in front of it.

Councilman Tim Chandler said he didn’t favor adding more traffic problems to the area with the future development planned for the site.

Henley said he spoke to the developer who said construction would not begin until after the city’s planned improvements for the road were completed.

The first reading of ordinance rezoning the property passed 11-2 with council members Chandler and Valerie Guzman opposed.

Traffic relief planned for the area

The Clarksville Street Department continued its plans to improve traffic flow at Whitfield and Needmore roads near the 101st Airborne Parkway and Glen Ellen Elementary School. The plan called for widening travel lanes and the addition of sidewalks and bike lanes to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. A new traffic flow feature – a roundabout – will be added at the intersection of Needmore Road and Whitfield Road, according to Richard Stevens, communications director for the city of Clarksville.

The improvements also call for Whitfield Road to be widened from Tracy Lane to north of Needmore Road and for intersection improvements at Whitfield and the 101st Parkway. 

Stevens said the city council approved money for design and right-of-way acquisition in the 2020 budget, and budget amendments to provide money for construction would be considered next month. The next steps will be utility relocation in spring 2021, and then construction is scheduled to begin next summer with completion expected in 2022.

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