City staff recommend traffic signal at Independence Boulevard and Wakefield Drive after study of alternatives

City staff presented an informational briefing on a proposed traffic signal at Independence Boulevard and Wakefield Drive, recommending a traditional signal as the preferred option after a multi-year study and public outreach.

Wes Parker, project manager for BHB, told the council the purpose of the briefing was "to provide an overview of the project and a history of the project as well as the purpose and need" and stressed that "this is an informational briefing only." He summarized prior traffic studies (initial counts in 2018, a corrected 2020 entry, and updates in 2022 and 2024) and said each update confirmed that signal warrants were met.

Staff said the project’s primary purpose is safety: to reduce risky left-turn maneuvers from the side streets and to provide protected pedestrian accommodations where none exist now. Parker summarized public outreach from a March meeting that drew 84 attendees and produced 106 public comments (96 unique households). He said roughly 61–63% of comments were opposed and that opposition concentrated on the Lake Smith Terrace side while the Thoroughgood neighborhood on the east largely supported the signal.

Engineers presented five alternatives: (1) corridor signal-timing adjustments only; (2) installation of a conventional traffic signal (the staff-preferred option); (3) full median closure to eliminate left turns; (4) an "R-cut" restricting side-street lefts; and (5) full closure of Paul Revere to prevent cut-through traffic. Staff reported tradeoffs: alternatives that restrict left turns reduce some local conflicts but tend to redistribute traffic and could increase risky maneuvers elsewhere. Using device-derived trajectory data and Bluetooth app traces, consultants estimated about 5% of southbound Independence vehicles currently cut through the Lake Smith Terrace neighborhood from the study origins.

Parker said Alternative 2 (a signal) "provided the best measure of effectiveness" across the engineering criteria used — reducing unsafe left-turn exposure and enabling a protected pedestrian crossing — while acknowledging it would cause modest additional delay on southbound Independence because capacity must be reallocated to create gaps for side-street lefts.

Staff told council they will finalize design toward 100% plans in 2025, order signal equipment, and advertise construction through city on-call contracts with work slated to begin in 2026 and complete later that year. City staff emphasized there is no request for council action at this briefing; any final approvals or changes would return to council through the standard project and procurement processes.

Council members discussed sequencing across nearby intersections, corridor signal timing, and the potential for localized delay at Haygood Road to affect system performance. A council member who lives in the Thoroughgood neighborhood described repeated near-misses and school-bus conflicts at the unsignalized crossing, and the city engineer said Public Works recommends a traffic signal at the site based on the data and safety analysis.

The briefing mixed technical modeling, new mobility-data techniques to measure cut-through movements, and substantial public concern about neighborhood impacts. Staff said they will continue outreach as design is finalized and before construction procurement.