There's Room for Everyone on Broadway

So we find ourselves at a crossroads. Put on this path by short-sighted decision making and the breakdown of transparency.

I keep asking the question, “Why?” Why would a public official decide to change a street in the heart of McKenzie, affecting residents and businesses, but not follow the advice of MTAS to inform the public ahead of time as Tennessee Code Annotated suggests?

If the change was in the interest of safety, wouldn’t it be safer to let people know ahead of time instead of SURPRISING them while they are trying to operate a motor vehicle in downtown traffic?

A brief background…

On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, Broadway Street was changed to a one-way street at the request of McKenzie Mayor Ryan Griffin without prior notice.

The change was made during the implementation of the Waldren Street STP Lighting project, a project that was proposed, funded and specifications completed during the previous mayor, Jill Holland’s, tenure. According to the project plans, Broadway was supposed to remain a two-way street.

The change affects travel on Banner Row, Broadway Street, Lee Street, Main Street, and the traffic light intersection of Cedar and Main Streets. Lee Street and Banner Row have been one-way for a long time. Broadway has always been two-way as it is an exceptionally wide street that used to feature center of the roadway parking.

The lone sign indicating the change of travel faces Banner Row and prompts motorists to turn left on Broadway, then left on Lee Street, go behind Williams Furniture and The Banner then turn left or right onto Main Street.

If the motorist was hoping to get back to, let’s say, Stonewall Street, you turn left on Main Street, wait at the traffic light intersection and then turn left onto Cedar Street.

Before the change of Broadway, the route was shorter: Banner Row, right on Broadway, and left on Cedar Street.

The details of the project and the architect plans were created after a period of back and forth between various agencies such as TDOT, A2H and others. During the planning process, if these professionals thought Broadway Street was too narrow, it would have been addressed at that time.

So why did the street direction need to be changed? Is it ok for a city official to change a street without letting the citizens know?

How does this affect the money received for the Waldren Street STP Lighting project? Will the city now be liable to pay more because the plan was not followed?

What about the population that has only ever known Broadway as two-way? What happens if someone has an accident and sues the city?

What about the effect on businesses downtown? Will new businesses want to locate downtown if travel is an issue? Does it create a hardship on businesses that rely on semi-truck deliveries to sustain their business?

Mayor Ryan Griffin says he’s going to run it past the council at the upcoming May meeting on May 9, 2024, after the change has already been made.

Tennessee Code Annotated and MTAS say a city has to run public notices in the newspaper and have an ordinance with two readings BEFORE changing a street.

The process takes months, not days.

Usually these changes are done at the request of area residents, but there is no known official request for the change. A2H said on Wednesday, May 1, that the change was solely at the mayor’s request.

The McKenzie Banner started a petition to keep Broadway Street two-way.

The change of travel affects our customers. Many of our customers are older, and I have witnessed them for two weeks turn right instead of left onto Broadway. It is a habit and an understandable mistake given the lack of prior notice.

So now it is up to you, citizens of McKenzie.

The Banner has done our due diligence and researched, interviewed, asked questions and laid out our findings for your consideration.

If you feel that an error has been made, please contact your city council members and mayor prior to Thursday’s meeting.

Contact us and we will do our best to amplify your voice or share your concerns anonymously if you wish. If you feel compelled to act, consider lending your voice to the petition to have Broadway Street remain a two-way street.

My request is this…

There is plenty of room for two-way travel on Broadway Street.

I implore the city to simply remove the sign that indicates one-way.

Let’s not spend more money fixing the lines that were painted in the opposite direction.

Take the sign down, let people continue traveling two ways on Broadway and let’s put this matter behind us.

Thank you for your time and thank you for reading and supporting this small business. It is an honor to serve you.

Contact the McKenzie Banner at 731-352-3323 or banner@mckenziebanner.com.

Contact the City of McKenzie at phone: 731-352-2292 or Fax: 731-352-2259 or mail: 2470 Cedar Street, PO Box 160, McKenzie, TN 38201.

Your mayor and council are as follows: Mayor Ryan Griffin, Vice Mayor Jessie Townes, Tom Alexander, Carol Armpriest, Josefina Batton, Charles Pruneau, and Bobby Young.

Contact information for city council members is available at https://www.mtas.tennessee.edu/city/mckenzie.