For those of you who enjoy the frisbee park on Signal Mountain Road (Hwy 127) and the beautiful view of trees and natural landscape at the foot of Signal Mountain, it might be time to kiss that beautiful scenery goodbye. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission will be voting May 9 on whether to re-zone four tracts of land directly across from the frisbee park from residential to commercial and to place on it yet another grocery store and gas station.
Despite the fact there are already five gas stations on Signal Mountain Road between the foot of Signal Mountain and the on-ramp to Hwy 27, this one mile stretch could see a sixth gas station along with an 11,000 square foot glorified convenience store. It will take the place of the billboard and the small abandoned building currently in its place...and it will be huge.
It will have 50 parking spaces, will require cutting into the side of Signal Mountain, the removal of tons of mature trees, most likely will require a massive retaining wall behind it...and not to mention it will be in a curve of the road that has already seen its fair share of accidents as people try to turn left onto Glendale Drive.
If a traffic light is merited, it will stop traffic that is ascending in one direction and descending in the other and will back traffic up into a blind spot...that is, unless the decision is made to widen the road. And if the city decides to widen the road, kiss the frisbee park goodbye. After all, the park is owned by the city of Chattanooga.
If you aren't sure just exactly how big this development will be, it will consume roughly the same amount of acreage as the Raceway and the Surf's Up Car Wash combined (also located on Signal Mountain Road just before the Hwy 27 on ramp.) So this will be more like a Pilot Travel Center that you would see located along major interstates. Huge.
Yet, only 2/10 of a mile from this proposed location is a tract of land on the same side of the road, with a seemingly equal amount of acreage, all on flat land and road, is already zoned commercial and has a large for sale sign sitting on it. No one would question this location if indeed we absolutely must have another convenience store and gas station.
North Chattanooga friends and neighbors, if you would like to voice your concern about this proposed development at the foot of Signal Mountain, please email members of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission and members of City Council immediately. The Planning Commission will vote first on it May 9 before it is passed to City Council for a vote in early June. Please reference in your email "Zoning Case No. 2016-077."
Wendi Morgan
Signal Mountain