McKenzie Mayor Converts Broadway to One-Way Street

McKENZIE (April 23, 2024) — Motorists in McKenzie may notice a change in how they navigate the downtown area. After roughly 100 years as a two-way street, Broadway, at the behest of McKenzie Mayor Ryan Griffin, was changed to a one-way street without prior public notice or ordinance; then, the change was executed within the same business day on Tuesday.

According to the Waldren Street STP Lighting project plans on A2H’s website, Broadway was supposed to remain a two-way street.

Broadway is an exceptionally wide street as it used to feature center of the roadway parking in the 1950s and 60s.

The manner in which Broadway was changed is also not customary. According to the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) and state law, changes in the direction of travel on a roadway must be done by ordinance and public notice in the city’s newspaper prior to the change.

The Banner reached out to McKenzie Mayor Ryan Griffin, requesting insight into the decision-making process for changing Broadway to a one-way street without prior notice.

The Banner asked, “On Tuesday, Broadway Street was changed to a one-way street. We are working on a story about the change. Would you like to provide a comment regarding why Broadway Street was changed to a one-way street? Additionally, was changing Broadway to a one-way street part of the original plans from 2018 or was this a new decision? If so, what was the date of the council meeting when it was discussed? How did the council vote? Can you provide a copy of the minutes from the meeting?”

McKenzie Mayor Ryan Griffin provided the following statement, “After consulting with Chief [Ryan] White, Director [Johnny] Mercer, and our contractor, the decision was made that for public safety, it was best to make it a one-way street. Time constraints precluded the convening of a formal meeting, yet, this matter will be deliberated and voted upon at the forthcoming May meeting. I’ve also sought the insight of MTAS, whose concurrence underscores the importance of safety in our considerations. As mayor, public welfare remains my utmost priority.”

On Tuesday morning, The Banner witnessed Mayor Griffin on Broadway Street talking to workers, gesturing to the road and pointing to both ends of Broadway Street. However, this did not seem out of the ordinary as Mayor Griffin is regularly seen downtown talking to workers.

That same day, contract work crews were busy repainting lines and installing new road signs on Broadway that indicate the change of travel. The crews were likely on scene to continue work according to the Waldren Street STP Lighting project plans, but at some point during the day the plan deviated from the approved architectural drawings to implementing the change in the direction of travel on Broadway Street.

The direction of travel on the entire length of Broadway is now from Cedar Street (the location of Super Drugs and the Park Theatre) to Lee Street (the location of the Wrinkle Hardware Building). Compared to Broadway, Lee Street is a narrow one-way street that exits onto Main Street (in front of Smith & Smith Optometry). Lee Street requires motorists to turn left at the end of Broadway. Banner Row is a one-way street running from Main Street to Broadway.

On Wednesday, The Banner contacted MTAS representative Dana Deem about the change of Broadway Street.

“Does a municipality have to give public notice or hold a public meeting to change the direction of a city street?”

Deem replied, “Making a street “one-way” must be done by ordinance. This ordinance will require two readings on separate days and public notice must be given for both meetings.”

The Banner found two sources on MTAS Library website that align with Mr. Deem’s advice.

In “Converting two way streets to one way streets” written on March 19, 2007, MTAS Public Works Consultant and Technical Consulting Program Manager Sharon Rollins said, “As we discussed during my visit, whenever traffic patterns change, there may be some initial confusion and even an increase in accidents until users become accustomed to the new traffic flow. For those reasons, it is extremely important that (1) the public be alerted to the proposed changes by newspaper notices, by written notices, town hall meetings, personal visits, etc. and (2) that intersections and parking zones be clearly marked with appropriate signage.”

Also, “One way street ordinance” written in 2015, by John Chlarson, is an ordinance template made available for other municipalities to use when changing a street from two-way to one-way.

Another local municipality recently changed the direction of travel of a roadway.

On February 28, 2023 the Town of Huntingdon heard its first reading of the ordinance converting Ashbury Circle to a two-way street, at the request of its citizens.

During that meeting, Tim Atkins, pastor of the Huntingdon First United Methodist Church, spoke in favor of converting Ashbury Circle to two-way from the current one-way street. The street circles the church and serves the church and a few residences.

The Town of Huntingdon approved the Ashbury Circle ordinance after its second reading on March 21, 2023.

According to Tennessee Code Annotated:

6-54-512. Actions of governing body to be by ordinance. The following actions of the governing body of a municipality shall be by ordinance unless otherwise allowed by general law to be done by resolution: (1) Any action required by general law or the charter of a municipality to be by ordinance; or (2) Any action that: (A) Levies a tax; (B) Makes a special assessment; (C) Is permanent in nature; or (D) Has a regulatory or penal effect.

6-32-202. Passage, amendment and repeal of ordinances.

(a) Each ordinance, before being adopted, shall be read at two (2) meetings not less than one (1) week apart, and shall take effect ten (10) days after its adoption; provided, that, where an emergency exists and the public safety and welfare requires it, an ordinance containing a full statement of the facts and reasons for the emergency may be made effective upon its adoption if approved by a majority of the members of the council on two (2) readings on successive days. As used in this subsection (a), “read” means the reading of the caption of the ordinance.

(b) At least the title and a brief summary of each ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, shall be published in the official city newspaper at least one (1) week before final passage, either separately or as part of the published proceedings of the council.

6-32-204. Preservation and publication of ordinances.

(a) All ordinances and their amendments shall be recorded by the clerk in a book to be known as the “ordinance book,” and it shall be the duty of the mayor and clerk to authenticate such records by their official signatures. A separate record shall be maintained for resolutions. The original copies of all ordinances, resolutions, and motions shall be filed and preserved by the city clerk.

(b) At least an abstract of the essential provisions of each ordinance shall be published once in the official city newspaper within ten (10) days after its adoption, except that only the title shall be so published of any technical code adopted by reference.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, “One-way streets tend to have higher speeds which creates new problems. If a street is converted to one-way, it should be evaluated to see if additional changes should be made, especially if the street or lanes are overly wide. Also, traffic circulation in the broader area must be carefully considered before conversion to one-way streets.

“As a system, one-way streets can increase travel distances of motorists and create some confusion, especially for non-local residents. One-way streets operate best in “pairs,” separated by a block to no more than one-quarter mile. Conversion costs can be quite high to build “crossovers” where the one-way streets convert back to two-way streets, and to rebuild traffic signals and revise striping, signing and parking meters.

“Conversions can go the other way as well: some places are returning one-way streets back to two-way to allow better local access and to slow traffic. Two-way streets tend to be slower due to “friction,” especially on residential streets without a marked center line.”

After reviewing the Waldren Street STP Lighting Project plans, it is clear that changing Broadway Street to a one-way street was not part of the project and therefore was not passed via ordinance or by providing prior public notice as state law dictates.

Changes to roadways can be disorienting for drivers, in early April of this year, a McKenzie resident struck the new curbed sidewalk in front of McKenzie Station Bar and Grill at the corner of Lee Street and Broadway.

Both The Banner and Williams Furniture receive daily or bi-weekly shipments via semi trucks that park on Lee Street.

Sometimes deliveries temporarily obstruct the flow of traffic. An issue that may soon be more pronounced by the rerouting of all Broadway traffic to Lee Street.

According to the bid notice dated March 9, 2018, The Waldren Street STP Lighting project plan involves street light installation, curb ramp installation, and sidewalk replacement to comply with ADA regulations. The project is located in the City of McKenzie, Tenn., on Waldren Street, South Main Street and Broadway Street.

The bidding process for this project was closed on August 31, 2023. Architectural drawings illustrate Broadway as a two-way street.

MTAS was created in 1949 to provide technical assistance to municipal governments within the state of Tennessee. MTAS assists with municipal management, legal assistance, public safety, finance and more.

According to MTAS’ website, municipal management consultants work one-on-one with city officials to solve problems and answer questions. MTAS’ legal consultants help city officials navigate the municipal legal environment. Services offered by MTAS attorneys include drafting ordinances and resolutions, providing copies of sample ordinances from other cities, writing legal opinions, and preparing and revising city charters.