Cookeville has "model downtown" (townhouse, zoning, self-storage)

[thebruiser500]

Originally Posted by justindb29

So are you living here or just visiting? I mean, if you don't like the way town is set up, that's your opinion. But if you are visiting with the intent to move here and don't like the way town is set up, this may not be the place for you.

Thanks Justin for your post and feedback. Not sure if this thread is mainly intended for pro-Cookeville touting posts. There are a lot of cool parts to Cookeville and the people are super friendly. One side that hasn't been discussed so much, an absence particularly striking in a thread called "Cookeville's model downtown," is the fact that the downtown actually is more a model for cars than people and is not nice to walk around in. Is that okay to talk about?

[qizilbash]

It should be okay, ya know, since those are legitimate gripes. I don't even think the people here are all that friendly when you put them behind the wheel of a hulking piece of heavy machinery with four wheels and the blessing of America. That's the case everywhere, really, I suppose.

[thebruiser500]

Originally Posted by qizilbash

It should be okay, ya know, since those are legitimate gripes. I don't even think the people here are all that friendly when you put them behind the wheel of a hulking piece of heavy machinery with four wheels and the blessing of America. That's the case everywhere, really, I suppose.

This is part of the reason why stop lights are so bad. People just assume since our engineering experts put them in they have to be there. But it's really a value judgment that citizens should make.

It turns people driving cars into adversaries. Everyone is trying to beat the red light. It encourages speeding to beat the other cars and people waiting to go. As opposed to stop signs which is like a communal friendly activity. There is no way to speed and beat a stop sign. You look the other drivers or pedestrians in the eye and people are generally gracious and wave the other person forward.

I honestly don't remember a single stop sign in downtown Cookeville now that I think about it. Just stop lights. I must be mistaken on that but maybe I'll go through there again tomorrow and look at that.

[qizilbash]

Aside from the square, there are only a few traffic lights downtown. Some make absolutely no practical and financial sense (1st and Dixie; like, why? Does Dixie traffic through traffic really need to be prioritized that badly?). But there are a handful of 4-way-stop intersections with stop signs.

It would be pretty awesome if they restricted Broad Street between Walnut and Cedar to pedestrian access only.

[justindb29]

Originally Posted by thebruiser500

Thanks Justin for your post and feedback. Not sure if this thread is mainly intended for pro-Cookeville touting posts. There are a lot of cool parts to Cookeville and the people are super friendly. One side that hasn't been discussed so much, an absence particularly striking in a thread called "Cookeville's model downtown," is the fact that the downtown actually is more a model for cars than people and is not nice to walk around in. Is that okay to talk about?

By all means talk about it. But you are coming across as just bashing the city more often than not. Is it perfect? No. Is there a lot of room for improvement? Certainly. The majority of citizens love our town though.

[justindb29]

Originally Posted by qizilbash

Aside from the square, there are only a few traffic lights downtown. Some make absolutely no practical and financial sense (1st and Dixie; like, why? Does Dixie traffic through traffic really need to be prioritized that badly?). But there are a handful of 4-way-stop intersections with stop signs.

It would be pretty awesome if they restricted Broad Street between Walnut and Cedar to pedestrian access only.

Pedestrian-only on this part of the West Side has been talked about but no current plans to do so. My guess is because of the lack of parking downtown. I think it would be neat to see this happen because I don't like driving through there, but who knows. They passed a city ordinance to stripe the parking spots to prevent longer vehicles from parking through there but I haven't heard of anybody actually getting a ticket. I still see lots of longer vehicles parked in there, which is unfortunate.

[Wileykid]

Originally Posted by thebruiser500

(Incidentally, the country roads out of towns are 2 lanes and narrow and seem slightly scary and dangerous to me. Are accidents rare on these roads? At night?)

Although this is about downtown, I live just outside of town and drive (and live) on those narrow roads. The accident rate is no better, or worse than the normal rate. The narrow roads do keep the speeds down for the most part, and yes, it does get interesting at times with large vehicles on the road (I drive a full size pickup and a number of times a year pull my large toy hauler). You do stay on your toes. Like anything, you need to drive them enough to get comfortable on them.

[justindb29]

Originally Posted by Wileykid

Although this is about downtown, I live just outside of town and drive (and live) on those narrow roads. The accident rate is no better, or worse than the normal rate. The narrow roads do keep the speeds down for the most part, and yes, it does get interesting at times with large vehicles on the road (I drive a full size pickup and a number of times a year pull my large toy hauler). You do stay on your toes. Like anything, you need to drive them enough to get comfortable on them.

I second this. I grew up on narrow country roads in East Tennessee and drive on some around here fairly often. You learn to slow down and be courteous. Of course, there is always some idiot that drives too fast but everybody is used to it.

[JMT]

The biggest void in downtown Cookeville the last year is about to get filled. Crawdaddy's has announced it's reopening tomorrow (December 28) after being destroyed by a fire a year ago. There's a cool video on their Facebook page announcing their reopening. I'm sure the crowds will be heavy so I think I'll wait a few days. But this should be very exciting news not just for the Cookeville restaurant scene but also for the entire WestSide area of downtown. I have friends who live as far away as Nashville who would drive all the way to Cookeville to have a night out on the WestSide, anchored around dinner at Crawdaddy's.

https://www.facebook.com/crawdaddys.cookeville

[JMT]

Another coffee shop is coming to downtown, The Exceptional Bean. Lest anyone think that the downtown coffee shop scene is getting too crowded, Soul Craft and Broast are both helping with this venture. The Exceptional Bean will be a coffee shop that employs only those with disabilities and special needs. The owners, Cigi and Michael England, work with area agencies, specifically Rising Above Ministries and Ainsley's Angels, that help the disabled and saw a need for this kind of business. They also say they are "Cookeville's biggest cheerleaders" and are eager to do something to help the whole community. Michael is originally from Crossville, and Cigi spent 8 years working in the fashion industry in Atlanta before returning to run her very successful clothing boutique just off the courthouse square in downtown Cookeville.

One Hour Martinizing is consolidating its two locations into the one behind Kroger, so The Exceptional Bean will take over One Hour's former location at the corner of 1st and Walnut which means it will be the only coffee shop on the West Side with a drive-thru window. They're shooting for a spring opening. This location will also be just outside of Dogwood Park and a few feet away from the downtown farmers market.

In this radio interview with Tiffany Anton, Cigi and Michael describe their journey to opening The Exceptional Bean and mention many members of the community who are donating time, labor, money, and material for the cause.