Posted on

Transportation Planner Joins TPO

Transportation Planner Craig Luebke joined the Transportation Planning Organization in early April.

Craig comes to the TPO from Evansville, IN where he worked as a transportation planner for the Evansville Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Originally from New Harmony, a small town outside of Evansville, he lived in the state his entire life before his recent move to Knoxville. He attended college at Indiana University where he majored in speech and hearing science. After he received his degree, he took an opportunity to work with the addressing department at the Posey County Area Plan Commission. From there he was hired to work for the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Area Plan Commission and later moved to the Evansville Metropolitan Planning Organization (EMPO).

At his time at EMPO, Craig was primarily responsible for their Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). This role gave him great experience for his responsibilities with the TPO – working on our TIP! Craig is looking forward to getting settled into his new role and his new home. He looks forward to working with FHWA and FTA and partnering with other agencies in the region to ensure that our work supports strategies and projects that will bring greater prosperity to East Tennessee for future generations.

When he isn’t at work, you will probably find Craig running. It all started about a decade ago when he picked it up for his general health. Now an avid runner, he has completed several marathons, half-marathons and all kinds of other races. He has a few more races on his calendar for this year, including the Mount Hood Marathon in Oregon and a half-marathon in his home town, New Harmony. He’s looking forward to taking advantage of Knoxville’s greenway and trail systems as he familiarizes himself with the city!

Posted on

What Makes a Community Livable?

Jana Lynott shared her message about community livability at three events in Knoxville on April 24 and 25, 2018, as part of the Active Knox speaker series.

These events were co-hosted by AARP Tennessee, with additional sponsorship by the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors.

Jana discussed AARP’s interest in making sure that communities design their streets and neighborhoods so that seniors can enjoy transportation choices and age in place if they choose.

More than 90 people attended a public event with Jana on April 24, and she also addressed the TPO’s Executive Board at their meeting on April 25. Her visit to Knoxville wrapped up with a presentation before about 40 elected and appointed officials at the Knoxville Chamber on April 25.

Jana is a senior strategic policy advisor for the Livable Communities Team in AARP’s Public Policy Institute. Her research and videography focus on a broad array of planning and policy issues including complete streets, public transportation and travel patterns. Most recently, Jana was responsible for bringing AARP’s groundbreaking Livability Index to fruition.

In her Knoxville events, Jana discussed how Knoxville and Knox County stack up in the Livability Index, and also Knoxville’s new membership in AARP’s network of Age-Friendly Communities.

Jana was the eighth speaker in the Active Knox series, which includes funding from the Tennessee Department of Health.

The next events will be in June, with the speaker and dates to be announced shortly. If you’d like to receive emails about the events, contact ellen.zavisca@knoxplanning.org.

Posted on

Outreach Plan Available for Comment

The TPO prioritizes working with the public to develop transportation plans and programs. Significant public outreach results in greater community support for plans that help achieve the region’s goals for the future. The TPO's Outreach Plan serves as a working tool for TPO staff to refer to with each new plan to ensure that adequate public notice is given and the community is engaged throughout the project. A draft of this plan is now available for a 45 day comment period.

How can I comment on the Outreach Plan?

  • Contact Ally Ketron at 865-215-3234 or ally.ketron@knoxplanning.org.
  • Attend the Technical Committee Meeting at 9 a.m. on April 10, 2018 in the Small Assembly Room of the City County Building (400 Main St., Knoxville, TN).
  • Attend the Executive Board Meeting at 9 a.m. on April 25, 2018 in the Small Assembly Room of the City County Building (400 Main St., Knoxville, TN).

TPO Outreach Plan Draft Appendices

Posted on

What Makes a Community Livable?

You’re invited to a public presentation given by livable communities expert Jana Lynott at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at Bridgewater Place. Jana is senior strategic policy advisor for the Livable Communities Team at AARP. Her topic is “What Makes a Community Livable?” and her engaging presentation will focus on the role that community design and transportation play in the health and quality of life of people of all ages, abilities and incomes.

Light refreshments will be provided, and you’re welcome to stay afterward for a reception sponsored by AARP and the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors. Event details and registration are here.

Posted on

Master Plan for Alcoa’s New Downtown Now Available

Nearly one year ago, the City of Alcoa broke ground on a new downtown.

That site, once occupied by the ALCOA Inc. West Plant, is a 265-acre parcel where Hall Road meets Alcoa Highway. Alcoa Commissioners and the Alcoa Municipal/Regional Planning Commission endorsed the plan unanimously last November, and property is now available for development.

The goal for the project is to create a strong sense of place by increasing the value, identity, health and happiness of the city by connecting it with its surroundings. To do this, the plan prioritizes providing attractive locations for socializing, attracting people and investment, and encouraging economic growth.

The master plan, which received funding from the TPO and was completed by Kiser + Vogrin Design and Volkert Inc., includes:

  • 111 Single-family homes,
  • 110 townhomes,
  • 980 multifamily units,
  • 200 senior living units,
  • 530 hotel rooms,
  • 200,000 square feet of office space, and
  • 522,000 square feet of retail space.

Mixed-use development has been prioritized and will be seen throughout the new downtown. 135,000 square feet of the retail space mentioned above will have street level store fronts with multifamily units above. 

In addition to the land use recommendations, the plan includes a multimodal connectivity plan for the site. There will be a sidewalk along Tesla Boulevard, the main road through the development, which will double as part of the city’s greenway system. The sidewalk will create a loop around the development that will connect to the existing greenway in Springbrook Park and along Pistol Creek.

The town center will also have 10-foot traffic lanes to allow for automobiles and bicycles. These lanes will be marked with sharrows to signal that bicycles will be sharing lanes with automobiles. These types of plans will be appropriate through the town center because of low speed limits and limited traffic. There are also plans for future bike share locations and trolley stops. While there are no current plans for mass transit, the proximity to McGhee Tyson Airport and to current and planned major corridors could allow the area to become a regional transportation hub in the future.

The Land Use Plan for this parcel is available and shows how the site will be used. You can also visit the City of Alcoa’s website to see the full plan, a road improvements map, and information on the Smart Growth America study that gave residents and planners tools and techniques to implement new development standards that helped bring this plan to life.

Posted on

Knox County Pedestrian Improvements

At the TPO’s March Technical Committee meeting, attendees heard about investments that Knox County has made in pedestrian safety around three schools.

Cedar Bluff Elementary and Middle Schools

West Valley Middle School

Bluegrass Elementary School

The projects include pedestrian crossings with medians and flashing lights and improvements to pedestrian signals at signalized intersections. The safety improvements are near Cedar Bluff Elementary and Middle Schools, Blue Grass Elementary, and West Valley Middle. Projects were identified following this analysis of walkability at Knox County Schools and this follow-up study. The cost for the improvements was just over $600,000.

Cedar Bluff caption: This pedestrian crossing improvement links Cedar Bluff Elementary and Middle Schools with the apartments on the other side of Cedar Bluff Road.

Blue Grass caption: This crossing of Ebenezer Road is about a half-mile from Blue Grass Elementary, within the pedestrian responsibility zone for the school.

West Valley caption: All of the new crossings feature rapid rectangular flashing beacons, which are activated by push-button and alert drivers to a person crossing the street. This crossing is in front of West Valley Middle and connects to the town homes along George Williams Road.