Council lowers Hwy. 231 speed limit

Shelbyville's city council voted Thursday to lower the speed limit on U.S. 231 to 45 mph near Heritage Medical Center so that a traffic signal can be installed.

However, it will be up to the state whether or not a light will be installed or not.

The council voted 6-0 to lower the speed limit from Harts Chapel Road to Frank Martin Road.

A layout of the area was drawn up for the council to examine where the speed limits change on 231.

Mayor Wallace Cartwright said a specific section of the highway had to be selected for the reduction, and councilman Lee Roy Cunningham suggested Harts Chapel near Victory Nissan to Frank Martin Road, which is about 300 feet from the city limits.

Councilman Al Stephenson asked if the traffic signal would go in front of the hospital, but Cartwright said that would be up to the state.

It was also pointed out to citizens by councilman Thomas Landers that the city does not have control over whether a red light will be installed at the hospital.

The topic was raised during last Tuesday's study session after planning and codes director Ed Dodson received a letter from Heritage's Chief Financial Officer Jon Baker.

Baker asked about putting up the traffic signal at the intersection of U.S. 231 and Airport Business Park Drive, explaining that the hospital had placed $97,780 in escrow in 2007 with the planning office and that they were interested in installing the traffic signal.

The letter stated that the need "is actually growing as our hospital volumes grow and the surrounding community of physicians continues to build up."

If the city does not plan to proceed further with installing the signal, "we respectively request to be refunded the amount that has been placed in escrow plus interest," Baker wrote.

But Thursday afternoon, a two-car accident occurred at the intersection that injured three persons, two seriously. Former city manager Burtis Landers, who was driving one of the vehicles, suffered a heart attack moments after the wreck and died a few hours later.

When the planning commission approved the site plan for the hospital in 2007, the plat was based on a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) traffic study, which required a signal.

The site plan review for the traffic signal at the hospital was approved in July 2007 by the planning commission, and in April 2007 the site plan for the hospital itself was approved that included a red light with a 12-foot emergency lane outside the traffic lanes.

Cartwright said last week that a TDOT official had told him that a traffic signal could not be placed in a 65 mph zone and that the speed limit must be lowered to 45 mph before a light can be installed.

The mayor had proposed lowering the speed limit in November 2009 due to the location of Heritage and other establishments on the state highway.

However, when the matter came before the council for a vote, no member made any motion, so the concept died for the lack of a second.