Catoosa OKS roundabout plans for Warren Road
A new subdivision development is planned for the area of Warren Road in Catoosa County, and officials recently approved the developer’s plans to upgrade the road to the new neighborhood.
During the Sept. 18 Board of Commissioner’s meeting, officials discussed the plans, which include a roundabout at the intersection of Warren and Pine Grove roads.
“Some time back, the Planning Commission and then the Board of Commissioner’s approved the rezoning and subdivision plat of a tract of land off of Warren Road for a proposed subdivision known as Pine Lakes subdivision,” County Attorney Chad Young said. “Warren Road is a county road, but it is a substandard county road, and our ordinances require that anyone who develops off of a substandard road has to bring the road or the portion of the road they use up to county specifications per the Public Works Department’s recommendation.”
Commissioners unanimously approved the plans, which include the roundabout with a landscaped median.
Developer Todd Queen had his engineer from MAP Engineers incorporate the necessary changes into the plan, and then the design was reviewed by CTI Engineers on behalf of the county.
Young says any time there’s a change to an intersection that includes installation of a traffic control device, whether it be signage — or a roundabout in this case — or a traffic signal, the board has to approve it.
The county also notified residents living near the area in question about the proposed road upgrades.
Resident Lisa Guerrini expressed concerns over wildlife in the area, as well as the safety of kids in the neighborhood.
“We have nesting hawks in that field that have been there for the past seven years that I’ve lived there,” Guerrini said. “I hope this doesn’t disturb them as long as with the turkeys and the deer, and several other things.”
The road plans are the responsibility of and will be paid for by the developer. As for the landscaping in the roundabout median, it will be maintained by the home owner’s association (HOA) that’ll be created once the subdivision is complete. There will also be a dedicated left-hand turn lane to Pine Grove Road that will help with safety.
After seeing the design plans, some of Guerrini’s concerns regarding children who are being picked up and dropped off by school buses were put at ease.
“It’ll be much better this way because you’re going to have more kids in that neighborhood, so that’s a plus right there,” Guerrini said.