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Updates To TPO Traffic Counts

The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) has embarked upon another annual traffic count update for the Knoxville region.

This area encompasses 11 counties: Anderson, Blount, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Roane, Sevier, and Union. The TPO compiles annual traffic counts from Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and a private contractor. While TDOT records counts from all 11 counties, the private contractor only counts in Blount, Knox, and Loudon counties.

This year there are some notable updates. TDOT added several new traffic count stations, and many are very close to count stations operated by the private contractor. This will free up resources for the contractor to place stations in new and previously discontinued locations. Many of the discontinued locations were abandoned in 2009 when the City of Knoxville decided to terminate its traffic count program.

With this change, TPO came up with a system to display the replaced and discontinued traffic count stations on TPO's traffic count page and KGIS Maps. There are now semi-transparent red X’s to show where the stations once were. Just like the active count stations, you can click on a discontinued station to view a chart of historical traffic count data. Files of all the count stations within the 11 county region are available for download.

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Alcoa Highway Improvements

Governor Haslam made an announcement at a press conference on August 1 at Sevier Heights Baptist Church that two projects on Alcoa Highway would be expedited. He noted that the IMPROVE Act, which was signed into law in April, will allow the timelines for these projects to be cut in half.

The two projects combined will cost $75 million. One is located in Blount County and the other is in Knox County.

View the map (WBIR)

Blount County project: the half-mile stretch from Hall Road to a new Hunt Road interchange

Knox County project: the 2.5-mile stretch of Alcoa Highway from north of Topside Road to north of Maloney Road

 

For more information, check out the following articles:

 

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Americorps Program A Success With TPO

This is the first year the TPO had an Americorps member and it was a great success!

Jon Sharp came to Knoxville after working for the City of Pittsburgh Department of Planning and teaching English in Madrid, Spain. His background in planning and passion for active transportation made him a perfect fit as the Community Outreach Assistant for the Knoxville Regional Bicycle Program.

During the past year, Jon managed the Bicycling Ambassadors programs, served as Volunteer Coordinator for two Open Streets Knoxville events, conducted and reported on bicycle and pedestrian counts, and participated in outreach events for Mobility 2040. During his year at the TPO, Jon:

  • Presented to 240 drivers education students at local high schools about how to share the road with bicyclists and pedestrians,
  • Collected more than 150 safe biking pledges,
  • Created and handed out flyers in Spanish to the Latino Task Force and local Hispanic grocery stores,
  • Created a survey that helped determine changes needed for the Knoxville bicycling map,
  • Helped create Walking and Bicycling Safety Curriculum to be taught in local schools from K-8, and
  • Helped write a grant application to teach kid from the Boys and Girls Club how to bike safely. 

In addition to these projects, he logged 116 hours of bicycle and pedestrian counts. During the counts he collected data on the number of bicyclists who wore helmets, the number of those who used the streets versus sidewalks, and gender. He found that UT’s campus had the lowest helmet usage and the most instances of bicyclists riding on sidewalks. He also found that on average, 80% of people bicycling in the Knoxville area are men and 20% are women, though women represent 30% of weekend bicyclists.

He was instrumental in coordinating multiple events throughout the year. He acted as the volunteer coordinator for Open Streets in the fall of 2016 and spring of 2017, recruiting 100 volunteers, assisting with marketing and social media, and all day-of activities. In December, he collected donations and prizes for the 10th annual Tour de Lights, which brought out more than 1,000 participants for the third straight year. He also organized discounts and donations for Bike Month in May 2017.

Americorps members are known for their work ethic, and Jon proved that to be true. We’re so appreciative of all his hard work and contributions during his time here!

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Draft FY 2018-2019 Transportation Planning Work Program

TPO staff have developed the Draft FY 2018-2019 Transportation Planning Work Program, a two-year program which outlines the proposed activities to be undertaken by the TPO. 

The Work Program is developed in conjunction with our local partners, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration. Staff will be taking the Draft Work Program before the Technical Committee for their consideration and then to the Executive Board for approval of a Resolution to formally adopt it. 

Get the skinny on the Work Program

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Smart Trips Wins 2017 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award

Smart Trips was recently awarded one of eleven 2017 Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards after a panel of 22 professionals representing conservation fields and academia judged more than 89 nominations.

The awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding achievements for successful environmental projects and conservation measures. They recognize voluntary actions that improve or protect Tennessee's environment and natural resources with projects or initiatives and are the most prestigious conservation awards in the state.

More about this awesome award

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Try Transit Week 2017

June 19-25 is Knoxville Area Transit’s Try Transit Week.

With free Wi-Fi now on all Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) buses, a brand new website, and a new text messaging feature for passenger information, there’s never been a better time to use transit in Knoxville. Try Transit Week provides a great opportunity to do just that by providing opportunities to learn about it, try it with friends and neighbors, and ride for free. Participate in any or all of these events and learn about the benefits of riding transit!

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TPO Releases Reports Analyzing Pedestrian And Bicycle Crash Data

TPO staff has compiled data on crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists throughout the region. Below is a link to a map of the crashes, followed by reports including a regional summary of crashes, as well as reports for multiple jurisdictions analyzing patterns in crash locations and circumstances. The reports are followed by infographics with some select data in a more digestible format. View the Map See More Crash Facts