Lenoir City — Lenoir City Council heard more than an hour of public comment on traffic and safety concerns tied to a proposed Loudoun County middle/high school site, and council members discussed asking the planning commission to ensure intersection improvements at U.S. 321/Simpson Road and Simpson Road/Shaw Ferry are completed before plans advance.

Residents and an outside engineer told council Tuesday that existing congestion on Simpson Road, Shaw Ferry Road and Highway 11 (U.S. 11/321) could create delays for emergency vehicles and daily commutes if school traffic is routed onto local streets. “Before any request goes to Loudoun Council or Loudoun County, this council should produce a full traffic impact safety study detailing vehicle impact, emergency response delays, and required road improvements before the school opens,” said resident Anthony Duran.

Why it matters: speakers said the site is close to Fort Loudoun Medical Center and to senior living transport routes, and they warned that the proposed school could add hundreds to more than a thousand daily vehicle trips at already congested intersections. A third‑party reviewer hired by local residents, Robert Jackson of Ajax Engineering, told council the current traffic study is unclear about a secondary access point that would connect the campus to Simpson Road through a church parking lot and recommended that any secondary access be “tightly controlled” or included in revised traffic modeling.

Jackson said the study submitted to the state Department of Transportation (TDOT) assumed most traffic would egress to U.S. 11/321, and that the report did not account for school traffic using the Simpson Road access. “If they do not control it, obviously people are going to use it,” Jackson said. He also noted site‑distance limitations at the northern access onto Simpson Road and recommended advanced warning signs and monitoring for future signal warrants.

Multiple residents described scenarios they said were omitted or under‑modeled, including event traffic for ballfields and the possibility the campus could be expanded in future phases. “We found that they can add another thousand students to that campus,” said a resident who referenced remarks by school officials at a separate school board meeting; council members and staff confirmed questions remain about how future expansion would be addressed in traffic and permitting documents.

Council discussion and legal guidance: Councilmember Sam moved that the council authorize the mayor to send a letter to the planning commission asking that the two intersections be improved before any approvals and requesting an independent traffic study of U.S. 321 and Simpson/Shaw Ferry. Councilmember Brandon seconded the motion.

The city attorney advised caution on language that would appear to direct the planning commission to reach a particular result. The attorney recommended asking the commission to “scrutinize and make sure they have done what they must do,” rather than issuing a directive to withhold approval pending an agreement on improvements.

Council members said they want the commission to carefully review the traffic study and site plan because the city has limited control over construction jurisdiction for portions of the project that fall in the county’s area, including building approvals and state fire marshal jurisdiction. Planning staff and public commenters noted one portion of the school’s storm detention pond lies inside the city and that a portion of the access route would convert a church parking lot to a roadway that must meet city street standards (construction detail discussed included subbase and binder/topcoat thicknesses requested by city staff).

What remains unresolved: The transcript records the motion and a second; it does not contain an explicit roll‑call result for the council’s request in the portions provided. Councilmembers said they would work with the city attorney to draft letter language and follow up with planning staff. Several speakers asked the council to seek a new or revised traffic study that explicitly models Simpson Road access, game/event parking, school bus staging and emergency‑vehicle response times.

Next steps: Councilmembers invited additional technical follow‑up — including staff requests for the full TDOT study and expanded review by the city’s third‑party reviewer — and said a draft letter would be circulated to the council and city attorney before it is sent to the planning commission. The council also accepted public invitations to tour the middle school campus and hear a related presentation from school officials later in the week.

Ending: The conversation closed with councilmembers and residents urging clearer traffic controls and more complete modeling before the school site plan proceeds through regional review, with the city attorney and planning staff to help shape any formal request to the planning commission.