BRADY FLANIGANStaff Writer

The City of Tullahoma Planning Commission recently held a study session to discuss a number of possible maintenance projects for the future. Among these, there was discussion about how to properly maintain parking lots, sidewalks, and signs.

One major topic of conversation centered on how to ensure sidewalks in Tullahoma can be kept out of disrepair. City ordinance mandates, “the City of Tullahoma shall be required to maintain such sidewalk in good repair.”

This consists of the City Engineer/Public Works Director conducting a survey a minimum of every two years in areas where “the most need for sidewalk replacement exists.” The criteria for a sidewalk to qualify for replacement is based on five factors: unevenness, drainage, spalling, stumbling blocks, and cracks. If any one of these criteria is not met, the city is authorized to determine that the sidewalk in question qualifies for replacement.

According to members of the commission, a number of sidewalks in Tullahoma would not meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) requirements. Not only would this put disabled citizens at a disadvantage, but many of these damaged sidewalks exist around Tullahoma High School, where students often walk to school during peak traffic hours. There was also discussion of adding language to a new sidewalk ordinance that would require any new construction, change of use, or renovation/expansion to increase its value by 25%, along with a requirement for all minor subdivisions to place sidewalks if the neighborhood’s frontage touches a Tullahoma public arterial or collector street.

The next Planning Commission is set to meet Monday, Sept. 16.