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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
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Atlanta BeltLine: Connecting People Through Walkways and Trails

Rob Brawner, Executive Director of the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, spoke several times in Knoxville on June 6 and 7.

The events and meetings attracted around 100 participants, including elected officials, planning commissioners, developers, designers, and members of the general public.

His presentations focused on the lessons that other communities can learn from the BeltLine, a partially completed project that will eventually encircle the heart of Atlanta with a network of trails and transit. Thus far, 8.7 miles of trails have been completed as part of the BeltLine and it has spurred $3.7 billion in economic development.

You can see Brawner’s presentation here.

Brawner was the sixth speaker to visit Knoxville as part of the ongoing Walkability Speaker Series, which is sponsored by the TPO in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health, East Tennessee Quality Growth, the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, the Knoxville Chamber, and the Knoxville Chapter of the American Planning Association.

The Walkability Speaker Series will take a break over the peak vacation months of summer, but will return in late August or September. To get on the email list for this speaker series, contact ellen.zavisca@knoxplanning.org.

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Mixed-Use Neighborhoods

Emiko Atherton spoke in Knoxville on May 9 and 10 about the many benefits of walkable, smart development.

Atherton is the director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, which is part of Smart Growth America.

Three events with Atherton attracted a total of more than 100 participants, including elected officials, planning commissioners, developers, designers, and members of the general public. During these presentations she shared stories of communities that have attracted residents and businesses, and have saved money, by focusing on quality development and walkable places. More information on these types of places can be found in Smart Growth America’s report Amazing Place.

Atherton was the fifth speaker to visit Knoxville as part of the ongoing Walkability Speaker Series sponsored by the TPO in partnership with East Tennessee Quality Growth, the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, the Knoxville Chamber, and the Knoxville Chapter of the American Planning Association.

The next speaker in the series will be Rob Brawner from the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership on June 6 and 7. To get on the email list for this speaker series, contact ellen.zavisca@knoxplanning.org.

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The City of Alcoa Plans for Revitalization from a New Downtown

The City of Alcoa broke ground on a new downtown in April, marking the start of a project expected to have an impact not just on the City of Alcoa, but the entire Knoxville region.

Nearly twenty years of planning have gone into this project, including a 2015 workshop that was made possible through a Smart Growth America technical assistance grant. That workshop gave residents and planners tools and techniques to implement new development standards to create more compact, walkable places to boost the local economy and reduce public spending on infrastructure.

As the project continues to unfold, the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization is working with Alcoa City Planner Jeremy Pearson to develop a master plan. The goal is to create a place that helps increase the value, identity, health, and happiness of the entire city. It will also respect the new downtown’s relationship with the high school, neighborhoods, airport, and the proposed new street.

For this to be achieved, the guiding principles for the plan include:

  • Creating a strong identity;
  • Attracting people and investment;
  • Connecting the site with its surroundings;
  • Providing attractive locations for socializing; and
  • Encouraging economic growth.

The site will consist of 350 acres at Alcoa Highway and Hall Road. The proposal includes commercial, retail, office, and residential uses where an aluminum fabrication mill once stood. Work has already begun on the property with road construction, utility infrastructure installation, and site grading. Construction of a boulevard to connect the Hunt Road interchange with Hall Road and Associates Boulevard and grading of nearly 100 acres are expected next. Once the road construction is well underway, property will be available for development.

More information on this project can be found in this Daily Times article.