North Chancery traffic ‘just awful’
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The people who live on N. Chancery Street can’t say the same. They are left to deal with a road that’s a direct path to the county’s busiest store, Wal-Mart, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“We thought when we moved here we would never move again,” said Judy Nussbaum, who has lived on N. Chancery Street for 13 years. “But we can’t hardly take this road anymore. It’s just awful. It’s day and night traffic. We can barely get out of our own driveway.”
Judy and her husband, John Nussbaum, are moving today as a matter of fact. They have found a house in Westwood and are anxious to escape the non-stop commotion. Judy says the people who bought her home will most likely use it as a business.
Edward and Ruth Stubblefield say they don’t currently have plans to leave their home of 48 years on the corner of N. Chancery Street and Clark Boulevard. They have raised two sons there and are attached to the property.
In an effort to widen the road to provide a continuous turning lane, the city of McMinnville has sent all property owners along N. Chancery a letter asking them to donate a portion of their property, 3 to 10 feet in most cases. It’s an offer Ruth Stubblefield says she will not take.
“I’m not for giving up my front yard so we can be closer to the road,” said Ruth. “We already have cars running up in our yard as it is.
“No one gave this property to us when we bought it and we’ve been paying taxes on it for 48 years. I’m not going to give it away.”
Alderman Bobby Kirby owns four pieces of property along N. Chancery Street and says he fully supports widening the road. He also said he would donate property to the city if it means a better road.
“Giving away 4 or 5 feet is not going to devalue my property at all,” said Kirby. “In fact, it’s the opposite. A better road is only going to make my property value increase.”
While Kirby and other city officials, such as Mayor Royce Davenport and City Administrator Herb Llewellyn, have spoken in favor of improving N. Chancery Street, finding the funding is another matter. A 1995 study indicated it would cost $1.5 million to widen the road to three lanes from New Smithville Highway to the bypass, and that figure would certainly be higher today.
City officials have pointed to 2007 as an opportune time to address the problem since two McMinnville bonds will be paid off that year.
“I don’t see how this road is going to make it that long,” said Nussbaum. “It’s only going to get worse. The more businesses that come in, the more traffic.”
Cleaners Express owner Matt Hash agrees road upgrades are needed. He is also in favor of adding a stoplight in front of his business on the corner of N. Chancery and Clark Boulevard.
“Maybe a light would slow some people down,” said Hash, who has been at that location six years. “It might keep some people from cutting the corner through my property too.”
Hash said N. Chancery Street is probably the most heavily traveled road in McMinnville and predicted it would one day be completely commercial property. But Hash did express reservations about road construction.
“It does scare me to know we would lose business during that time,” he said. “How many people are going to want to drive their car through a construction zone?”