Avery Johnson

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Two busy Bradley County roads are the focus of residents' concerns about the dangers of speeding.

The Bradley County Road Committee will meet Thursday at 9 a.m. to consider changes in the speed limit for Urbane Road. Meanwhile, city law enforcers are looking to crack down on speeders on Rolling Hills Drive.

Bradley County commissioners recently proposed solutions after complaints of commercial trucks speeding to and from Tri-State Warehouses at one end of Urbane Road.

The Bradley County Sheriff's Office has monitored the problem and recommended lowering the road's speed limit, which now is 45 mph except near the turnoff into Tri Circle and the Whisperwood subdivision, where the speed limit is 35 mph.

"Sheriff [Jim] Ruth believes this is not so much a speeding problem as it is an issue of speed itself," said Louie Alford, chairman of the County Commission.

During an August public hearing for a proposed development of townhouses that would connect to Urbane Road, residents complained about the commercial trucks. Several said they worried about more congestion on a road already under stress.

The sheriff's office responded by assigning traffic units, including an automated mobile sign that posts the speed of approaching vehicles,.

Officers also discussed the issue with Tri-State Warehouses management, Ruth said.

No plans are under way to make changes to the road itself, said Commissioner Mel Griffith, who is chairman of the commission's Road Committee.

"It's one of the county's better roads," he said.

The Cleveland City Council also is tackling speeding problems.

At a recent meeting, Councilman Avery Johnson reported problems in the Rolling Hills subdivision between Candies Lane and Freewill Road. Rolling Hills Drive had speeders taking shortcuts between Candies Lane and Freewill Road, he said.

"People are still using that road as a quicker way to get to Freewill Road and some of those subdivisions over there," he said.

Johnson said he did not think the subdivision's residents would respond well to noisy speed bumps, but he said they were willing to have them to make the road safer.

City police would respond to the problem, police Chief Wes Snyder said.

"Those radar units are real quiet," he said.

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.