Roadside R.I.P.

As safety measure, TDOT proposes memorial gardens

By Richard Locker, Commercial Appeal
March 15, 2006

Michelle Dunn drives by the cross almost every day, on her way to nursing school. She tied balloons on it recently for her late husband's birthday. Last month, she put Valentine's balloons on it. She changes the wreath with the seasons.

The cross, near the intersection of U.S. 70 and Brunswick Road east of Bartlett, is a memorial to Shelby County Sheriff's Deputy Timothy H. Dunn, her husband and a Metro Gang Unit officer killed in a traffic accident there in 2004.

The memorial is on private property near the intersection, but similar roadside memorials "are appearing with increasing frequency along Tennessee highways," according to a new report by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

TDOT says the rising number poses a potential hazard both to other motorists and to the family members and friends who stop and maintain the memorials.

The agency has recommended to the legislature that Tennessee create memorial gardens, possibly at rest areas or other places, where loved ones can place engraved bricks or plant trees or some other memorial in honor of accident victims.

"It started out small," said Dunn, of Arlington. "The day my husband was killed, my sister, her husband and their children put a couple of little American flags at the spot. Then some of the guys in the Gang Unit made the cross and put a plaque on it. And I put the wreath on it."

TDOT spokeswoman Kim Keelor said the agency wants to incorporate roadside memorials into its "Tennessee Roadscapes" initiative, which provides for a variety of environmental stewardship and beautification projects along the interstates and other highways. TDOT will announce its proposals for the memorials by late summer, then hold public hearings to gather ideas from citizens, and unveil its final plans by the end of the year.

The report includes an opinion by the state attorney general that TDOT has full legal authority to remove any memorials that are on the public right-of-way.

TDOT said no legislation is needed for the department to move ahead with its plans.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Mark Norris, R-Collierville, and House Transportation Committee Chairman Phillip Pinion, D-Union City, said they back the agency's plans for memorial gardens.

"It is a significant safety issue and there are related maintenance and upkeep issues. But it's safety first, and to have the bereaved standing along the interstate is too dangerous," Norris said.

Pinion agreed. "We've got to keep our highways safe. It's a difficult situation because we certainly don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.."

The report says potential hazards associated with the markers include "non-crashworthy supports, physical components that can become projectiles when struck by a vehicle, restricted or blocked sight lines," and the dangers caused by vehicles parked adjacent to the road and to the people exiting them.

"The goal is to make it safe, to keep people from stopping along the side of the roadway and maybe becoming a statistic themselves," said TDOT's Keelor, who said she could not cite a specific accident attributed to a roadside memorial.

Michelle Dunn, 33, said she thinks TDOT's proposal "is a nice idea, but for a spouse, there's something significant about the site of the accident. That's where he took his last breath. It's very sentimental and very emotional to me."