PIGEON FORGE — The effort to get a new traffic light on the Parkway near Black Bear Jamboree and the under construction Titanic museum attraction moved forward a bit Wednesday as city leaders agreed to put the matter on the agenda for their meeting Monday. At the same time, though, the group got word another similar petition is likely not going to get a green light from the state.

Owners of several attractions in the Music Road development including Titanic, Black Bear Jamboree and WonderWorks have joined together in the request to get a signal installed at the intersection of Music Road and the Parkway.

“Between our three attractions we will be moving 1.5 million people through that area next year,” David Fee told the City Commission during a work session Wednesday. “Titanic is going to change the entire face of that complex. If we open without that traffic light, I think it’s going to be a huge mistake for the city.”

The issue of adding a light in the area was first brought up by Titanic owner Jon Joslyn, who did not attend Wednesday’s session. Fee said he could speak on Joslyn’s behalf and said the out-of-town developer understood city leaders to have promised the light when he first proposed his massive new facility.

“Jon is making a $27 million investment and he feels there was a promise it would be there for Titanic,” Fee said. “We’re asking that you make it a priority and make it happen. It’s ready for a light.”

Beyond Fee’s pleas and Joslyn’s beliefs of a city vow to put up a signal at the intersection, there are other factors working in favor of the request. For instance, both the Parkway and Music Road have multiple turn lanes, a design city leaders have said they believe indicates the intersection needs a light.

“I think it was built with the intention that there would be a signal there,” Mayor Keith Whaley said. “We’re all going to benefit from the development in that area and having a traffic light there.”

Additionally, a recent traffic study of the area shows there are enough vehicles moving through the intersection to warrant a traffic light under state guidelines, engineer Terry Grubb told the commissioners.

Given that information, city officials seem to be in agreement they’re ready to move forward at least with the permitting phase of the effort, in which an application will be submitted to the state asking permission for a light to installed there. Since the Parkway is a state route, officials in Nashville must approve any new signalization along its length.

“If people come to Pigeon Forge and they see they can’t get in a place, if it’s they’re first time they’re probably not going to come back,” Vice Mayor Kevin McClure said.

Pointing out the intersection may become dangerous with all those cars moving in and out of Music Road, Commissioner David Wear suggested the group put proceeding with the permitting phase on the agenda for its regular meeting Monday evening.

The next step in the process may be a bit of a stumbling block, though, with the project expected to cost as much as $200,000. City coffers have run fairly dry in the recession, but Joslyn has offered to foot the bill for the work.

Another request for a signal didn’t get the same nod, though.

During the commission’s last monthly meeting, two people who own businesses on the Parkway came before the board asking that it consider putting a traffic light up at the intersection of Appalachia and Plaza drives.

Those two secondary roads aren’t likely to ring many bells, given that neither is very long and they don’t serve heavily-developed areas. However, a light at that intersection could provide considerable benefits to businesses along the Parkway, which struggle with attracting customers who must fight their way through a nearly unbroken flow of traffic through the area to get into and out of their parking lots, the business owners said.

Additionally, those folks argued Country Tonite theater might be able to tie on to Plaza Drive, allowing its traffic to exit at the signal and relieving the need for the Police Department to station an officer to direct traffic out of the attraction and onto the Parkway on show nights.

While City Commission members agreed Wednesday the congestion in that area does make it difficult for motorists to access the businesses, it seems likely cost and the low volume of cars that use the two side streets will doom the project.

“There was a Canon & Canon study done there and they concluded there isn’t enough traffic to warrant a signal there,” Grubb told the group. “But that is a long distance without any signals to slow the traffic for the businesses in that area.”

There may be ways to convince the state to permit the light, though engineers believe there must be turn lanes constructed on each of the secondary roads to limit the amount of time the light is red on the Parkway, Grubb said. That work could easily cost $500,000 and that wouldn’t even include the traffic light.

“We feel strongly if these side streets get a signal, the turn lanes really need to go in before the lights or it’s going to have a drastic effect on the Parkway,” Grubb said.

Given those factors, the group opted not to move forward with discussions of that proposal.

dhodges@themountainpress.com