As you undoubtedly know, Old Liberty Road is now closed where it intersects Liberty Road just east of the Linton Road intersection. This is due to construction on the Liberty Exchange project. It has been closed since July – or maybe it was June. Back in 2008, at a meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission, the developer proposed a “relocation of current Liberty to Old Liberty cut through to be more centrally located on property” <http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/Linton_Springs/pages/88809>. Since it appears that the present closure is being made permanent, we are assuming that proposal was accepted.
Over the summer we have not been too concerned about the closure, because traffic has been light with people on vacation and no school. Besides, we thought (naively, perhaps) that the builder would provide a new access road by this time. But of course that has not happened.
Traffic backup on Linton Rd. from the Liberty Rd. intersection has usually been bad during the morning rush hour, even before the Old Liberty Rd. closure. With the closure it has become nearly intolerable. Furthermore, if (God forbid) fire should break out in one of our homes or in the woods, the Old Liberty Rd. closure could result in loss of precious time for the responders, depending on what route they take.
Is there anything we can do to get a new access road built sooner rather than later? The developer of the Liberty Exchange project would probably say that an access road now would not be safe with the construction equipment moving around the project. But that would be just an excuse. They really don’t want outside vehicles in there because there might be a few times when one of their vehicles would have to wait a few seconds for an outside vehicle to pass by.
There is also another safety concern, in that some drivers who become excessively delayed in traffic tend to become agitated, irritable, and inclined to take risks to make up for lost time. That can lead to aggressive driving and possibly even road rage. We wish that were not so, but unfortunately it is part of human nature.
Can we get a legal opinion regarding our rights and what control we may have? If the work as it is being presently conducted was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, we may not have much influence. On the other hand, if we can convince the authorities that the present situation is creating unsafe conditions, that could be a way to compel the developer to give the new access road a high priority – although it might mean taking them to court. At the least, we ought to learn their schedule for constructing and opening the new access road. If it is going to be soon, it may not be worth the expense of a legal battle.
In some communities, some meetings of governing authorities are open to input from private citizens. We are willing to attend any such meetings that could have any influence over the Liberty Exchange work.
Could a discussion of this issue be included in the agenda for the next LSCA meeting?
Sincerely,
Richard and Sallie Cartwright
