City officials,
Happy as I am that American Queen Voyages chose Chattanooga as a port destination for its river cruise, I wish someone would appreciate the congestion it causes on people’s, mine included, early morning commute down Riverfront Parkway. Inevitably, there will be two motor coaches parked in the Riverfront Parkway westbound lane when the cruise ship is close to embarkation/disembarkation. This causes everyone behind them to wait for a break in traffic to try and get around two bus lengths before the next vehicle is coming the opposite way down Riverfront [Pkwy]. Not only is this difficult due to the size of the buses, but also due to the increased congestion of the area past 7 a.m. Traffic can easily back up from the Chestnut/Riverfront intersection to the Aquarium Way/Riverfront intersection.
I wish someone from the city could require those buses park in the mostly vacant street parking immediately in front of the aquarium or the parking lot across from the Southern Belle: this gets them close to the river but doesn’t stop traffic.
Regards,
Matt Clark
Business Owner, Riverfront Parkway
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Matt Clark offers keen insight and a brilliant solution. It is often a far too rare occurrence – the same opinion writer offering up an issue and providing a suggested, workable solution.
Unfortunately, if one is expecting the city to implement thoughtful, reasonable solutions regarding downtown parking and traffic designs – well, that ship has sailed. For far too long, Chattanooga parking and traffic flow planning has been a repeated disaster. The “engineered creations” (e.g., deserted “bike lanes,” untimed traffic signals, lane reductions, and limited street parking) do not consider the logical impacts flowing from the city designs and the frustration or costs imposed on local business owners, residents and commuters.
I have often heard - from locals and visitors alike - that Chattanooga has the worst traffic planning and parking they have ever encountered.
Big city or small, the worst ever.
Good luck, Matt Clark. One can only hope our City Council and County Commission acknowledge your plea seeking a rational solution.
David Higney