Topic: Madison Street

A Lon-n-ng night filled with confusion and a $32m development proposal!

By Turner McCullough Jr. | November 7, 2008 |

The November 6 City Council meeting proved to be an endurance marathon for council members and the attending public. Motions were offered, then amended, only to be immediately reconsidered and called back. Unfamiliarity and uncertainty over parliamentary procedure weighed down the proceeding, dragging the meeting into one of longest sessions in council’s history.

Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper (file photo by Bill Larson)

There are no pictures to illustrate the drama that was the city council’s meeting last night. Those who attended (expecting a fairly normal session) and stayed the long course, including the council members themselves, were exhausted at the end of this marathon session. It felt as if we all had been in the Boston marathon, our energies totally drained. The meeting finally adjourned at close to 11 p.m., with a surprise proposal that upped the price of the marina and related redevelopment plans to $32 million dollars.

In chronological order, this is how the evening played out: «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business, Issues, News, Politics | 1 Comment »

Madison Street accident shears pole, halts traffic

June 4, 2008 |

At approximately 6:20 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, a small truck ran into a telephone pole at the Kroger parking lot on Madison Street, breaking the base of the pole and almost knocking it onto the busy street. Rescue and repair crews arrived within minutes of the crash. Photo by Debbie Boen.

Sections: News | No Comments

Development on steroids: Rethinking urban planning for a city on the grow

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 7, 2008 |

It is with a walloping dose of dismay, a meager bit of optimism and sometimes amusement that I follow stories of the city’s intent to address planning and development issues, including signage, as Clarksville braces for the transition of Gateway Medical Center from Madison Street to the St. Bethlehem area, and push forward development issues that affect the entire city. But let’s start with signage.

Signage. No kidding. Someone wants to talk about signs? It’s about time, though it is only a starting point. When the city refers to “blighted” areas, it refers to areas not meeting a maximized tax potential. Your property is worth much less in tax revenue as your home, and so much more (to the city and developers) as a revenue-generating business-zoned cadre of condo’s, apartments, another mini strip mall or as part of the growing Austin Peay State University campus.

In recent months we’ve heard talk of redevelopment, urban blight, and all manner of things relating to zoning and design. The fact is, when I consider what constitutes blight in Clarksville, it’s not just Emerald Hill or Red River or Brandon Hills or any of a half-dozens areas that may or may not be blighted in the usual sense of the word but which trigger dollar signs in the eyes of developers. To see blight, all I have to do is drive down Fort Campbell Boulevard or Wilma Rudolph Boulevard and look out the car window. Blight. One big wall of urban blight in the guise of revenue-producing business districts. The heck with aesthetics.

Face the fact: the view is UGLY. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Opinion | 1 Comment »

The Ribb Doctor moves to Madison Street, expands menu

By David W. Shelton | July 28, 2007 |

The Ribb Doctor, a popular award-winning local barbecue restaurant, has moved from their longstanding home on Tiny Town Road across from the Great Escape theater to 1923 Madison Street, in the Tradewinds South shopping center. The Ribb Doctor took over the slot once occupied by Mancino’s Pizza & Grinders. The shopping center is located opposite Barksdale Elementary School in the same shopping center that houses Carmike 8 Cinemas.

The restaurant’s manager, Debbie Mercado, had hoped to reopen the store at the end of June, but was delayed almost two weeks due to utility and other quirks that had to be ironed out. She has already seen several of her regular customers from the Tiny Town Road location who were glad to find their new home for what Mercado calls “the best food in town.” «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business | No Comments