County asks for Edgemoor work to include greenways
During the Anderson County Commission meeting Monday, Sept. 18, Commissioners voted unanimously to approve sending a resolution to representatives with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) asking them to consider including in their development plans for Edgemoor Road, greenway planning to connect Anderson County’s proposed nature preserve with the Melton Hill Lake greenway in Oak Ridge.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank presented the request to Commissioners last week at the Commission’s Operations meeting. In Operations, Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend approving the resolution and passed it forward to the full board of Commissioners to vote on it Monday.
“As the widening of the Edgemoor Road project goes forward, if we want to connect our greenway with Oak Ridge’s greenway and see the nature preserve come to fruition, we need to get in on the front end and ask that TDOT consider the greenway,” Frank pitched to Commissioners on the Operations Committee last week.
Dist. 8 Commissioner Phil Yager replied to Frank’s proposal to the Operations Committee by advising that the county’s conservation board and county law director Jay Yeager also be involved.
“We need to make sure they [the conservation board] agree with this and this is probably part of Mr. Jay Yeager’s responsibilities, too,” Yager stated in Operations.
Jay Yeager, Anderson County law director, who was also present at the Operations
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank presented the request to Commissioners last week at the Commission’s Operations meeting. In Operations, Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend approving the resolution and passed it forward to the full board of Commissioners to vote on it Monday.
“As the widening of the Edgemoor Road project goes forward, if we want to connect our greenway with Oak Ridge’s greenway and see the nature preserve come to fruition, we need to get in on the front end and ask that TDOT consider the greenway,” Frank pitched to Commissioners on the Operations Committee last week.
Dist. 8 Commissioner Phil Yager replied to Frank’s proposal to the Operations Committee by advising that the county’s conservation board and county law director Jay Yeager also be involved.
“We need to make sure they [the conservation board] agree with this and this is probably part of Mr. Jay Yeager’s responsibilities, too,” Yager stated in Operations.
Jay Yeager, Anderson County law director, who was also present at the Operations Committee meeting last week, apprised Commissioners on Operations he was all for what the mayor was proposing commission support.
“That was our original plan if you remember, to do the greenway. What the mayor’s proposing right now is an excellent idea, connect it to the Oak Ridge greenway. If we can get grants to cover this, I’m absolutely all for it,” Yeager said.
The Edgemoor Road project is a three-year transportation plan by TDOT that involves a 6.2 mile stretch of highway SR 170 (Edgemoor Road) between SR 9/US 25W (Clinton Highway) and SR 62 (South Illinois Avenue) in Oak Ridge. It is currently in the early stages of development.
The resolution proposal met no opposition at the Commission meeting Monday, getting a unanimous 15-0 vote from Commissioners. Dist. 6 Commissioner Steve Mead was absent Monday.
“Greenway” is a term applied to a wide range of landscape planning strategies, concepts, and plans, and is considered a useful strategy for planning, design and management of sustainable landscapes.