Haywood County residents and the Department of Transportation butted heads at a public meeting two weeks ago (April 20) over plans to widen a semi-rural two-lane road in front of Hazelwood Elementary School.

About 75 residents attended the meeting and challenged the DOT’s plan. They said a wider three-lane road would alter the character of their neighborhood, encourage speeding, ruin their front yards and defy the smart growth principles in the town’s land-use plan. Only one resident spoke in favor of the idea.

Joel Setzer, DOT division engineer for 10 western counties, said the reason for widening the road is to reduce traffic back-ups when parents pick up their children from school. Setzer said the DOT has not collected traffic counts nor conducted observations on Plott Creek Road. He said the DOT developed the road-widening plans based on anecdotal information.

“How is this a good use of taxpayer money if we haven’t done a traffic study and don’t even know if there is congestion?” asked Vicky Gribble, a nearby resident.

“I don’t have an answer to that,” Setzer said.

“If I was going to spend $700,000, I would probably spend five days sitting and watching it at least,” said Donald McCall, also a nearby resident.

The DOT sent out letters six months ago announcing the plan and inviting residents to a meeting to learn more — primarily how much property they would be losing. The DOT planned to start buying and condemning people’s front yards this winter, but that has now been put off until summer 2006, Setzer said. Despite a backlash from residents after the first meeting, the plans remain virtually unchanged.

Opponents of the widening plan argued that a second entrance into the school would fix the problem. The plan is “asinine and ill-conceived,” according to Jack Britt, a resident along the road.

“I think the best solution would be to get an engineer with some brains in his head to put in a second entrance,” said Britt.

In addition to having only one entrance, part of the parking lot is blocked off while school buses are being loaded. A parent heading for that side of the school — where the fourth- and fifth-graders are picked up — can’t turn into the parking lot until the buses have departed. A line of cars forms in the road in front of the entrance. A middle turn lane would provide parents a place to sit and park while waiting for the buses to finish loading and until they can get in the parking lot.

“The need is to get the traffic off Plott Creek Road and into school property. The need is not to make Plott Creek wider,” said Mary Britt.

Waynesville Alderman Gavin Brown, who also attended the meeting, said the DOT is “spending $700,000 on a problem that could be fixed with about $10,000.”

The plans call for a third lane from the school to the edge of downtown Hazelwood. Setzer said a middle turn lane is needed for people making left turns onto side roads and into businesses on the edge of Hazelwood.

JR Frisbee, owner of Pioneer Feed and Seed, said large trucks don’t have a problem making left turns into his parking lot, or pulling back out again. Don Bryson, who lives on one of the side roads that would supposedly benefit from the middle turn lane, said he never has a problem either.

“Is anyone aware of any congestion through there?” asked Chuck Dixon, an attorney who would lose part of his yard to the widening.

“No!” the audience responded.

Setzer said the middle turn lane would provide for future growth.

Dixon asked Setzer what he was basing these growth projections on.

“Didn’t we do some analyses at all the intersections?” Setzer asked, turning to a DOT staffer.

“We didn’t do any traffic counts,” the DOT employee replied.

“I’ve lived there 20 years and it’s never been a problem,” Bryson said.

“Well, I don’t know if it is or not,” Setzer said.

The congregation of North Hazelwood Baptist Church is particularly upset about the middle-turn lane in Hazelwood. It eliminates the handicapped parking spaces beside the church and poses a risk for churchgoers who park in the main lot across the street from the church, said Jennings Plemmons, chairman of the board of deacons.

“It’s going to make it more dangerous for our people crossing the street, old people and children. I don’t see the safety factor,” he said. Plemmons asked Setzer if crossing three lanes of traffic is more dangerous than crossing two.

“I don’t know,” Setzer replied.

“I’d like to see you cross a three-lane with traffic going 60 miles per hour coming off that bypass,” said Mary Britt.

Mark Tice, a tool-maker and member of the church, said crossing three lanes would also be a problem for some of the older residents in the area who walk to the nearby grocery store.

After 90 minutes of comment, the meeting broke up and residents milled about studying the maps, arguing with DOT representatives on an individual basis and complaining to each other.

“If they put this road in here it will beat everything I’ve ever seen,” said McCall.

“They’ll do whatever power and money and politics dictates,” said Jack Britt. “They’ve been allocated some money and they feel like they have to spend it.”

The Britts and several other residents said contractors and construction crews barrel up and down the road daily to work on large, expensive homes in subdivisions further up Plott Creek on the mountainside and could possible be an impetus behind the road widening.

“All us little people down here get forgotten about,” said Pat Boring.