With a new apartment complex going up nearby, residents of the Woodlands of Knoxville are concerned about traffic in their area.

The Woodlands is a luxury student apartment complex located off Cherokee Trail near the UT Medical Center. The first phase of the complex was completed in August 2006 with 143 units.  Another 161 units were added in phase two in August 2007.

Cherokee Trail is a small, two-lane road, and traffic from students traveling to and from campus combined with traffic from the medical center can cause congestion in the area.

The traffic has increased largely due to phase two of the Woodlands being completed. When they complete the new complex, I can only imagine how much the traffic will increase. Heather Burchfield, Woodlands resident

"Traffic is great here at the Woodlands, until you get by the hospital where you run into large traffic problems with people entering and exiting the facility," said Robert McCormick, a Woodlands resident.

"The biggest problem is down by the hospital," said Heather Burchfield, another resident. "At hospital shift changes and class times the line to get out can back all the way to Cherokee Bluffs."

Now, an Ohio-based company called Edwards Communities has begun building Quarry Trail apartments, a 235-unit apartment complex on Edington Road, just down the street from the Woodlands. This new complex could have a significant effect on traffic in the area.

"The traffic has increased largely due to phase two of the Woodlands being completed. When they complete the new complex, I can only imagine how much the traffic will increase," Burchfield said.

The Dovetail Companies of Athens, Ga., who brought the Woodlands to Knoxville, widened the road and added turn lanes to the portion of Cherokee Trail near their complex, but so far there are no changes to the roads near Quarry Trail apartments.

"I'm not really sure what could be done. It is not possible to widen the road due to the mountainous terrain. I suppose they just need to stop building complexes on the small road until it can support more traffic," Burchfield said.