Friday, December 11, 2009

December 11th Update

City staff is continuing to meet with institutions, property owners, and business owners along the corridor to review the draft form code and to share the concept designs for the streetscape project. If you would like to meet with staff to discuss these items, please contact Anne Wallace, awallace@cityofknoxville.org. We would be happy to meet with you. We will continue to reach out to various stakeholders in this area while we are awaiting the approval of the Categorical Exclusion request for the streetscape project and the consultant's review of the form based code.

Additionally, KUB held a public meeting on Thursday, December 10 at Knoxville Redeemer Church for a proposed Electric Substation. Concept designs were available for viewing and the public had an opportunity to comment and ask questions of several KUB employees. KUB representatives mentioned that additional information may be available on their website for anyone unable to attend last night's meeting.

PUBLIC NOTICE:
Neyland Drive Lane Closures – KUB crews will temporarily close the inside east- and westbound lanes on a section of Neyland Drive between Lake Loudoun Boulevard and Leinard Lane daily from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., starting on Monday, December 14, and lasting through, Friday, December 18, as temporary paving is installed in the median in advance of work on the wastewater collection system. One east- and one westbound lane of Neyland Drive will remain open during this period. All lanes on this section of Neyland Drive will be reopened during overnight hours.

Monday, December 7, 2009

December 7th Update

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Ft. Sanders Long Range Planning Meeting last Thursday. We are editing the Recommendations and Implementation Strategies to reflect the comments from the full committee. The recommendations should be available to post soon.

Up coming meetings of interest for the Ft. Sanders Community:

* CITY TO PROVIDE OVERVIEW OF HENLEY STREET BRIDGE PROJECT
Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6:00PM
Graystone Presbyterian Church
139 Woodlawn Pike, in South Knoxville.

John Hunter, chief traffic engineer for the City of Knoxville, will provide an overview of the project. Officials of the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will be on hand to answer questions.

The five-lane bridge, built in 1930, is due for extensive repairs. The entire deck has to be replaced, along with the supports leading from the arches to the deck. No date has been established for the work.

* PROPOSED UT SUBSTATION PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday, December 10, 6-7 p.m.
Knoxville Redeemer Church (Chapel/Multipurpose Room)
1642 Highland Avenue

The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss the proposed construction of an electric substation at the corner of Dale Avenue and N. Seventeenth Street.

Please contact KUB at 594-7531 if you have questions about the meeting.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

November 20th Update

The draft of the Cumberland Avenue Corridor Form District code is now available online at the City's website: www.cityofknoxville.org/cumberland or through MPC's website: http://www.knoxmpc.org/.



Please review this document carefully and feel free to contact me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org if you have any questions or comments. We are planning a minimum of a two month comment period for the draft code. Additionally, the City's Law Department and an independent consultant will also be providing a thorough review of the document.



Additionally, the notes from the November 5th Ft. Sanders Long Range Planning Subcommittee meetings have been compiled and are available in the Links section of this page. Thanks and have a great weekend - go Vols!

Friday, November 13, 2009

November 13th Update

Thanks to everyone who attended meetings this week on the Cumberland Ave. Corridor Project and last week's Fort Sanders Long Range Planning Subcommitee meetings. It has been a busy month!

Minutes from the November 5th Fort Sanders LRP Subcommittee meetings are being compiled and should be posted next week. The focus of the the Quality of Life Subcommittee was to work on compiling recommendations for the full committee and the Long Range Physical Planning group discussed in detail recommendations for improvements to traffic circulation within the neighborhood for all modes of traffic. The final meeting for this process will be Thursday, December 3rd.

The Cumberland Ave. Advisory Board met on Wednesday, November 11th and discussed the status of the Streetscape Project and Urban Design Plan; a copy of the agenda packet will be available in the Links section. TDOT has indicated that their review of the Environmental Clearance request is close to complete; the next step is to submit the document to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for final review. City staff provided an summary of the Traffic Memos provided by our consultants, Gresham Smith & Partners and a summary of the Form Based Code for Cumberland.

A public meeting was held on Thursday, November 12th to present the draft Form Based Code for review. A copy of this presentation will be available in the Links section and on the Cumberland Ave. Corridor Project webpage (www.cityofknoxville.org/cumberland). A draft of the code will also be published to the City's website in the next few days. Please send any comments or questions regarding the draft code to me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org.
Thank you!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

KUB Traffic Advisory for PACE 10 Project

TRAFFIC ADVISORY: November 3, 2009
From: KUB Community Relations (Contact No. 594-7988)
Re: Traffic Advisory – Lane Closure for Utility Work (weather permitting) Cumberland Avenue Lane Closure – KUB crews will close one westbound lane of traffic on a section of Cumberland Avenue between 19th Street and 21st Street from 9 a.m. - noon, Wednesday, November 4, for sewer system inspection work. One westbound lane and both eastbound lanes of Cumberland Avenue will remain open during this period.

Appropriate traffic control measures will be in place to assist motorists traveling in this area. Due to the presence of workers and equipment, motorists are advised to use caution when traveling through this work zone.

PACE 10: A 10-year program to improve Knoxville's waterways through major investments in wastewater system improvements and cooperative efforts with customers and the community to address related environmental issues.

Friday, October 30, 2009

October 30th Update

PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

City staff invites the public to a meeting on the Cumberland Avenue Corridor Project. The meeting will be held on Thursday, November 12th at 6:00pm in the UT Visitors' Center, 2704 Kingston Pike. The meeting will provide an update on the streetscape project and focus on the draft Form Based Code for Cumberland Avenue. Staff will outline the next steps in adopting the draft code and highlight the opportunities for public comment and input.


Fort Sanders Long Range Planning Subcommitee Meetings

The next meetings for the subcommittees will take place on November 5th at 3:30pm (please note the different time) in the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy. Parking is available on street within the neighborhood or at the University's Public Parking Garage on Phillip Fulmer Way.

Quality of Life Subcommittee will meet in Rooms 207/208 and discuss final recommendations for the larger committee.

Long Range Physical Planning Subcommittee will meet in the 3rd Floor Board Room and discuss traffic information and final recommendations for the larger committee.


All of these meetings are open to the public and anyone is welcome to attend. If you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org

Friday, October 16, 2009

October 16th Update

The notes from the October 1st Ft. Sanders Long Range Planning Committee meeting are posted in the Links section of this page. In follow up to the discussion at this meeting, City Staff, UT Representatives and Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) met to discuss concerns regarding the signal at Metron Center Way. A brief summary of that meeting is available in the notes. Additionally, the notes from the September 3rd Quality of Life Subcommittee meeting are also posted and were handed out at the last full commitee meeting.

City staff attended the Transportation Planning Organizations Technical Committee meeting on Tuesday, October 13th. A couple of items of interest were presented at that meeting: 1) The Federal Government's recission of funds for the Federal Highway Administration on October 1st will have a local impact because of the reduction in TDOT and TPO funding. A specific impact to Ft. Sanders is that the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding that was requested for sidewalks and bus shelters in the neighborhood will not be available this fiscal year. 2) Some reduction to the Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds will occur, but project funding is decided at the local level. If you have any questions regarding this information feel free to contact me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org.

Finally, a City Council Workshop was held last night to discuss the Downtown Wayfinding Project. This project is anticipated to be the starting point for future wayfinding efforts in Knoxville's core neighborhoods. The consultants, Merje Design, out of Philadelphia have started design development based on several stakeholder meetings and two public meetings. This information was presented to Council and the public last night. The consensus from the workshop was that the general design concepts were reflective of downtown Knoxville and that a few relatively minor tweaks would have the design in great shape. If you'd like more information on this project please visit: www.cityofknoxville.org/wayfinding.


Friday, October 2, 2009

October 2nd Update


Thanks to the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) for hosting our Ft. Sanders Long Range Planning meeting on Thursday, October 1st!

It was a great opportunity to learn about the master planning process that the museum recently underwent with Sasaki Associates out of Boston. The image to the right is a concept plan that shows connectivity to the neighborhood and World's Fair Park, as well as, some inventive ideas for reusing parking lots and providing additional landscape in the area. Please note that plan shows some land outside KMA's ownership and that the designs for these areas are just to show potential possibilites.

Image Courtesy: Sasaki Assoc.

If you would like more information about the plan, please visit:
http://www.sasaki.com/what/portfolio.cgi?fid=497&project_type=4&page=1

If you would like more information about KMA, please visit:
http://www.knoxart.org/

Thanks also to all of the stakeholders who participated in this meeting. I am compiling the notes from the meeting and hope to post them next week. Have a great weekend and go Vols!

Friday, September 18, 2009

September 18th Update

Good afternoon. This has been a busy week behind the scenes. The city has been working with our consultants to meet additional requests from TDOT for our Environmental Clearance document. We have also been working on the proposed Cumberland Ave. Form Code and have a meeting with various deparments next week to review the proposed code and plan the public review process.

Also the link on the right hand side provides the minutes from the September 3 Physical Land Use Subcommittee from the Ft. Sanders Long Range Planning process. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org. The next full committee meeting is scheduled for 3:00pm at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Please note the location change.

Thanks and have a great weekend. Go Vols!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Project Updates

The City is continuing to work with our consultants on the Streetscape Project. Our Environmental Clearance Request document has been sent to TDOT and reviewed. The City, Vaughn & Melton and S&ME are currently working to provide TDOT with additional information that has been requested for this process.

Also the City is continuing to review the Technical Memos, "Traffic, Pedestrian, Bicycle and Transit Operations Study" that have been provided by our consultants Gresham, Smith and Partners. These documents will help provide the basis for the design work, when the City is approved to move into that phase of the project.

More information will be posted on the Ft. Sanders Long Range Planning Process as the subcommittee meeting notes are compiled. Thanks!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Fort Sanders Subcommittee meetings yesterday! They were very productive and we look forward to providing updates to you on those meetings over the next few weeks. A spreedsheet detailing the Implementation Strategies from the previous planing efforts, what has been accomplished and opportunities for the future, is located in a link on the right. This will help to guide the committees as they formulate recommendations by the end of the calendar year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend and is able to enjoy the University's first home game and the city's Boomsday Festival. For more information on Boomsday events please visit: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/Press_Releases/Content/2009/0901c.asp

Friday, August 28, 2009

Ft. Sanders Subcommittee Meetings

Fort Sanders Long Range Planning Subcommittees will meet on Thursday, September 3rd at 3:00 pm in the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy, located on the University of Tennessee campus at 1640 Cumberland Avenue.

Quality of Life Subcommittee: Rooms 207 & 208

Land Planning Subcommittee: 3rd Floor Executive Board Room

These are public meetings and anyone is welcome to attend. Staff members from the City of Knoxville and from the Metropolitan Planning Commission will moderate the meetings. The focus of these meetings will be to create goals and action items to improve the area.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Multiple Updates

Fort Sanders Long Range Plan Update:
The full stakeholder committee met on Thursday, August 6th at the Baker Center to continue the discussion. The major focus for this meeting was threefold: 1) Update the full committee regarding the Physical Land Use and Quality of Life subcommittee meetings held July 2nd; 2) Discuss interim steps and actions (applications for funding and google site); and 3) Review the 2000 Implementaion Strategies and prioritize for the future.

Notes from the meeting will be available on the blog in the next few days. Please see the link to the Knoxville News Sentinel Article on this event:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/aug/16/panel-to-focus-on-fort-sanders-future/

Traffic Circulation Study Update:
Part of the Cumberland Avenue Streetscape Plan calls for a traffic circulation study to be completed by the city's consultants Gresham Smith and Partners to understand the impacts of the proposed changes and to mitigate any negative factors. The third phase of this study is currently under staff review and we hope to share it with the public soon.

Stakeholder Updates:
1) Knox Heritage hosts: Art & Architecture Tour of Historic Fort Sanders
Led by Jack Neely and Randall De Ford on Friday, September 4 - 6 p.m.
Begins with reception at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
Tickets are $60.
Visit http://www.knoxheritage.org/specialevents
Or call 523-8008.

2) Rohm and Haas Seek proposals for $30,000 Grant
Awarded to a non-profit or community organization to make land improvements.
Deadline is 5 pm, Friday, September 18th.
For more information contact Ms. Kara Cleveland, at the Shelton Group
934-1774

If you have items of interest for the areas connected to Cumberland Ave., please send them to me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org and I will be happy to consider them for this blog.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Streetscape Update


The Cumberland Avenue Corridor Plan is composed of two major parts: 1) The Streetscape Plan, and 2) The Urban Design Plan. The city has been awarded a contract from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to implement the Streetscape Plan which proposes improvements to facilities for all modes of transportation. The general concept of the plan is to change Cumberland Ave. from a 4 lane cross section with two eastbound and two westbound lanes to a 3 lane cross section with one eastbound, one westbound, and a center two-way left turn lane. This concept will provide wider sidewalks, shared travel lanes for bikes and vehicles, as well as defined space for transit stops. As a part of this project the overhead utility lines will be moved to provide a cleaner, more aesthetically appealing environment with street trees and other amenities. For more information on the plan, please see the link on the right.

Update: The city’s consultants Vaughn & Melton and S&ME have submitted the required “Historical Resources Survey Report” for the projected impacts of the Streetscape Project to TDOT. This information is part of the requirements for the project to receive its Environmental Clearance from TDOT to be able to proceed with detailed design work. The document submitted on July 24th, was revised by S&ME to meet requests for additional information from TDOT. We don’t know the timeline for review of this document, status of review will be updated on this blog.

Additionally, two requests have been made requesting funding for projects that will support the Streetscape Project. The first was submitted to the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) requesting Congestion Mitigation and Air Quailty (CMAQ) funds to improve sidewalk connections within the Fort Sanders neighborhood and also to provide bus shelters within the area to support the existing transit lines (KAT buses, trolleys, T Link, etc). That application was submitted on July 10th. The second request was made on July 17th for TDOT fiscal year 2009 Safety Funds which would be used to improve the intersections of 17th Street and Clinch Ave. and 17th and White Ave. These requests are currently being reviewed by the appropriate agencies. Status of review will be updated on this blog.

Image Credit: Bruce Mccamish,
www.amazingaerialphotography.com

Friday, July 24, 2009

Ft. Sanders Planning Update

In March 2009, the City and MPC staff organized a stakeholder meeting for the Fort Sanders area in response to a request for long rang planning. The meetings have been held monthly on the first Thursday of the month at the Baker Center. The boundaries for this area are generally World's Fair Park to the east, the intersection of Kingston Pike and Neyland Dr. to the west, Grand Ave. and industrial properties to the north, and the Tennessee River to the south.

At the inital and subsequent meetings of stakeholders, the group identified several opportunities and constraints within the neighborhood including land use issues and quality of life issues. It was determined that the committee should be divided into to two subcommittees on: 1) Physical Land Use, and 2) Quality of Life. These subcommittees are meeting on the alternate month from the full committee.

Both of these subcommittees met on July 2 and notes from those meetings are available in the Links section on this page. The next full stakeholder committee meeting will be on August 6 at the Baker Center

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Welcome!

The function of The Cumberland Connection Blog is to keep all of our partners informed about changes and issues that are impacting the areas connected to Cumberland Avenue.

This includes information regarding the Fort Sanders Long Range Planning effort, information from our partners (UT, the hospitals, etc.), and provides updates on the city's urban design and streetscape projects for Cumberland Ave.

Additionally, it provides a tool for the merchants and neighborhood residents to stay connected to the city.

This blog will be updated most Fridays with information covering the up coming week. Additional post may be made for time sensitive matters. Thanks!