The Ashland City Town Council discussed speeding problems and its continued efforts to fill its municipal judge slot at its most recent regular town council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
The town council decided it would hold a discussion at the March town council workshop about establishing a policy to combat speeding on its streets, including investigating the use of speed bumps. City Recorder Mary Molepske was charged with researching what Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County government’s protocols are for speed bumps and other traffic-calming measures.
The decision came, in part, at the behest of Bernard and Judy Arntz, who live on Stratton Blvd., in Ashland City’s 1st ward. The Arntzes have owned their home for 40 years and said speeding on the road is a growing safety hazard. Judy Arntz spoke to the town council at the workshop held on Tuesday, Feb. 4 and Bernard Arntz spoke at the Feb. 11 meeting.
Bernard Arntz said that even when their children were young, speeding was an issue. Because Stratton Blvd. connects Main St. (Highway 12) and Bell St., many use it as a cut-through to get to the Cheatham County Fairgrounds or to avoid the intersections of Highway 12 and 49. Though the posted speed limit is 30 miles per hour, Bernard Arntz says many drivers go well above that.
“We had to sit out by the road [to watch our kids] because of the speeders. They would literally fly up through here. They would start, once they got through the white apartments. The road straightens out a little bit, and then there’s the next intersection of Katye Court and that’s when they start speeding up. By the time they get to Bell Street, they’re probably doing a good 40 to 50 miles an hour, if not more,” he said.
Bernard Arntz jokingly refers to it as the Ashland City 500 and Judy Arntz as the Stratton City Speedway. Both attested to viewing many accidents on the street as a result of speeding, such as drivers taking out someone’s flower garden or retaining wall.
Judy Arntz said she would like to see something done in the interim, as they also have concern for those who live on Stratton who walk to and from work.
“I would like to see a speed limit sign with the flashers that highlight the speed that they’re going. I want the speed bumps more than anything because Stratton is also a shortcut,” she said.
The 1st Ward Ashland City Councilmen are Michael Smith and Tony Young. The Arntzes have spoken with Smith, who was the one who encouraged the couple to come to speak to the town council at a meeting. Smith said the town recently installed speed bumps on Skyview Drive, but they’ve not been there long enough yet to determine if they are making a difference.
“We really haven’t been able to find out how effective those are as far as controlling the speed yet, so that’ll be part of our, when we start looking at our policies, how effective these speed bumps are going to be, too. We don’t want to spend any money unless if it’s not going to make a difference, but hopefully they will. We just really haven’t had much input from the people on the street that were concerned about it,” Smith said.
Young said he’s had friends and family that live on Stratton, and so when visiting, he’s seen firsthand how bad the problem is. Young said he wants to see the problem resolved, but he doesn’t know yet how to go about it or if speed bumps are the best option.
“My question is I’m not a speed bump fan, but if we have to do them to slow traffic down, we’ll do it. I just think there have been so many lawsuits about people having something done to their vehicle and maybe because they were driving too fast, but there have been some lawsuits because of it. My question is water, I mean, when it rains, is there a way for that to drain or is that going to make water go off in somebody’s yard?” Young said.
Nashville’s policy and protocols for speed bumps have come under scrutiny in recent days, including a recently launched online petition (www.change.org/p/speed-bumps-in-west-nashville-nashville-neighborhoods) addressing concerns such as damage to vehicles and impediments to emergency vehicles.
Smith encouraged residents to come to the meetings and workshops to address the issues with the town council.
The town council also voted unanimously to approve a new job description for the recently opened position of municipal judge. Longstanding Ashland City Municipal Judge James William “Bill” Stinnett, Jr. died on Tuesday, Jan. 7 and had served in the municipal judge spot since 1996. Stinnett’s term was set to expire in 2030, so the town council is tasked with appointing a replacement until the 2030 general election for municipal judge.
Municipal judge is an elected position, but should the elected judge not be able to finish the term for any reason, the town council is allowed to appoint a replacement. Cheatham County General Session Judge Phillip Maxey was approved last month to fill in at the Ashland City Municipal Court until the town council finds a replacement.
The Ashland City Town Council meets for its monthly workshop the first Tuesday of each month and its regular meeting the second Tuesday of every month.
Loading Related Articles