Some drivers passing through Tellico Village may see a radar device on the side of the road notifying them of their speed.
The one-way tracker is what Tellico Village Property Owners Association officials are calling an “awareness device” for those traveling in the area.
“Some drivers don’t necessarily look at their speedometer all the time, and when it’s placed in strategic areas where the speed’s a problem, I think it’s a good ... indicator of what their speed is in places they usually drive. So it’s an awareness” device, Alan Hart, POA board president, said.
POA Public Relations Manager John Cherry said the device was afforded into the Public Works Department’s 2015-16 fiscal year budget at a cost of $5,000 and was first put into the Village earlier this summer. The device is not placed on state highways, and instead, is only being put in the neighborhoods, he said.
“We’ve had it just about in every neighborhood at one time or another on our roads,” Cherry said. “We don’t put it out there on the parkway because that’s a state road. We don’t put it out on (Highway) 72 because that’s a state road. We just put it on our roads. We’ve even put it over on the Kahite neighborhood on Kahite Trail, the main drag there.”
Cherry said in addition to reminding drivers of their speed, which is typically 35 miles per hour in the Village’s main arteries, the one-way tracking device can help Public Works Director Jeff Gagley and his crew keep up with how heavily trafficked some roads are in the Village. Cherry said the information can be used to determine how often work on certain roads needs to be done.
“Every five to six years we put down a new layer of rejuvenate product which keeps the asphalt ... flexible, if you will, so that when it heats and cools it doesn’t crack, and that’s what that product does for you,” Cherry said about paving dressing conditioner. “So it extends the life of your asphalt, and if you get a heavy traffic count, and it’s still doing well, that’s a good evaluation of that product.”
The device is placed around the Village and kept in certain areas for about a week. Cherry said it will be out alongside roads all year.
“We in Kahite have a couple of stretches where it’s kind of a turn and downhill, and people tend to speed past entrances to some of the townhouse areas, and so it’s just a way of awakening the drivers to watch (what) the speed limit is, that’s another thing,” Hart said. “Quite often some people don’t even know what the speed limit is, and so this kind of makes them aware of the signs and the fact that what their speeds are in certain areas.
“It’s just a safety device for use in the city and the area; it’s not a finding device,” he added. “It’s just an awareness device.”
As it stands right now, Cherry said there are no plans to purchase additional devices.
“I wouldn’t expect so simply because it’s very easy to just close it up, hook it up, drag it to another location and set it up,” Cherry said. “It really isn’t that hard to do, and we really don’t need them everywhere. But it’s nice to move it around.”
Cherry said while there is not a way to determine how effective the device is in slowing drivers’ speed down around the Village, POA officials have received comments from residents assuring them it works.
“We just get anecdotal information from people thanking us for putting it out,” Cherry said. “Like we put it on Chota Road right there where the banks are and the fire department, get people to slow down on that stretch because there’s a lot of side streets there. It’s a blessing we don’t have more fender-benders because that is such a busy area. It’s got a good visibility, but just the amount of traffic we get through there, it is a blessing that we don’t have more accidents.”
