There are many questions arising from last week’s fallout – literally – involving Signal Mountain Road. Toward the top of the list, however, has to be that of funding. Specifically, who should ultimately be responsible for footing the restoration bill? It is my belief that if substantial reconstruction is required, those using the road should pay a $5 toll until the costs have been recovered.
During a period of massive budget deficits and calls for more responsible government spending, I believe that local politicians would have a hard time convincing most Chattanoogans that taxpayers at-large should be assessed for the cost of this roadwork.
There are two main factors driving this viewpoint. First, Signal Mountain Road is not a conduit used by motorists to link various sections of our city. In this way, it is quite different from other major arteries such as Dayton Pike, East Brainerd Road, Rossville Boulevard, or Hixson Pike. By and large, it is a road that connects the rest of Chattanooga to a single destination: the houses of Signal Mountain residents.
If someone were to build a house on Maclellan Island, it would be ludicrous for that person to demand that the city of Chattanooga use public money to construct a bridge connecting the island to downtown. On a larger scale, it makes little sense for the public to see substantial funds diverted to what could largely be described as an extremely expensive private road.
Secondly, Signal Mountain Road is not a typical road in terms of geography and engineering specifications. If a road in the valley or even on top of Signal incurs some form of damage, repairs are relatively straightforward and can/should be funded by local, state, or federal taxes. However, in this case, a host of factors such as grade, erosion, curvature of the road, and run-off – all while clinging to a mountainside - offers an infinite number of technical challenges. These add exponentially to the expense required to repair the road, not to mention to construct a new road altogether as some have called for.
Paying our fair share for infrastructure is only just; paying millions extra so that a few in our community can continue their standard of mountain-top living is not.
Signal Mountain residents already benefit from their strong public schools, brow views, and a reprieve from the summer heat. It’s not too much to ask that they pay their own way in order to enjoy those benefits that the rest of us do not.
A toll road makes the most sense in this situation in that it assigns the full cost to those who reap the benefits. This cost would be in the form of a user toll for the road, not an explicit tax on residents. For those who enjoy the sounds of the Signal Mountain Opry or savor the World’s Longest Garage Sale, they too will contribute if they travel the road. However, those who rarely, if ever, use the road should not be asked to subsidize the relatively few who utilize it consistently.
There are three things that we can say for sure about the current situation: there are no easy answers, the solution is bound to be complicated, and – rest assured – it will be incredibly expensive. The ultimate answer should be rooted in fairness; that is, if you make the drive, then pay the 5.
Ben Vance
Chattanooga
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I’m not quite sure that the residents of Signal Mountain, Walden and the unincorporated areas of Hamilton and Sequatchie Counties on Walden’s Ridge deserve the contempt that has been heaped our way over the past year.
Would a road repair for the route up Mowbray or Bakewell Mountain prompt such an opinion piece? Did the construction of East Hamilton High or a new elementary school for East Brainerd generate the opinions that the construction of SMMHS did? Did the publicity of the effort to unseat Chip Baker have an equal in regard to the other incumbent school board members?
During the school board election, during issues surrounding the construction of our community school and now in our time of need due to the failure of a U.S. highway, many are again coming out of the woodwork to show their disdain. I don’t have a brow view. I work to pay my mortgage and taxes like most everyone else I know. I certainly have no idea what a “mountaintop standard of living” means.
Since the closure of U.S. 127 this weekend, several accidents have befallen commuters on the W Road. Even though it is a beautiful drive, it was not designed in the 1800s to handle the traffic that it currently experiences.
Please keep our and our childrens’ safety in your prayers as we endure this inconvenience. May you know that I and my neighbors hope that you have the best candidates to run for your school board seat, that you have an opportunity to build or renovate your neighborhood school and may our current transportation misfortunes never visit your community.
P.S. Just to be clear, U.S. 127 bisects the I-75 and I-24 corridors. It serves as a major artery from Chattanooga to Crossville. In fact, from Chattanooga it continues over 700 miles to Northern Michigan. It is not merely a local thoroughfare.
Steve Smith
Signal Mountain