Friday, May 29, 2015

May 29th Update - Cumberland is Open for Business and Brooks!

That's right, Cumberland Avenue is open for business and welcomes Garth Brooks fans and concert goers to visit to Cumberland!

Cumberland Merchants have coordinated a special scavenger hunt via social media.
Clues will be posted on Twitter, Facebook and on www.CumberlandConnect.com.

The clues will help you find where to locate a photo of Garth (hint: somewhere on Cumberland Avenue).

When you find Garth, take a selfie with Garth and post to Twitter @VisitCumberland or on Facebook.com/cumberlandconnect

On Monday, all of the tweets and posts of Selfies With Garth  will be pooled and three winners will be drawn.

Winners will receive an item or items donated by Cumberland Avenue Merchants.

So, have fun, visit Cumberland and take your Selfie With Garth!

#selfiewithgarth
#OpenForBusinessandBrooks

Check out WBIR's coverage of the event here.


Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association (CAMA) Update

Date: Wednesday, June 3
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm 

Location: Copper Cellar, 1807 Cumberland Avenue


What: The merchants and other interested stakeholders meet to discuss items of interest or concern and get updates on the City's Cumberland Avenue Corridor Project. 

Parking: Available parking is located at Copper Cellar, 1807 Cumberland Avenue. Bring a neighbor or a fellow co-worker.


KAT offers Fare-Free Rides! 

KAT to Offer Fare-Free Boardings along Cumberland Avenue

“Cumberland Avenue is open for business, and KAT is the best way to get to it and through it.”  This is the message that the City of Knoxville and KAT want to send with the new Cumberland Connect Free Fare Zone program, to begin June 1.

Anyone catching a bus along Cumberland – From Gay Street to West Volunteer – can board fare-free starting June 1st.  All stops in the zone are designated with a bright round sign, indicating a fare-free boarding location.
“This is great for the many people who work in the UT and downtown areas,” says Dawn Distler, Director of Transit. “Instead of worrying about any construction-related congestion, they can just relax, check e-mails or plan the day, and enjoy the ride on the way to work, then get a free ride home.  It’s also great for anyone coming to businesses along Cumberland.  KAT can get you there and back easily and inexpensively.”

The promotion is intended to attract more people to transit, and thus relieve congestion through Cumberland, as well as provide easy access to businesses along the corridor during the City's ongoing construction and redesign project.

"The Free Fare Zone will help people get to and from Cumberland Avenue during the construction, it will support the merchants there, and it will help reduce traffic," Mayor Madeline Rogero said. "It's also a reminder that public transit is a great resource for our city."

The Cumberland Free Fare Zone will be in effect during the length of the construction project. For more information, visit www.cumberlandconnect.com


For more information on this news release, contact Belinda Brill at (865) 215-7828.

As always, thanks for your interest in Cumberland Avenue and have a safe and fun filled weekend! 

Friday, May 22, 2015

May 22nd Update - Cumberland Avenue Closure Reminder

REMINDER - Cumberland Ave. Closed this Weekend at 22nd Street
As part of ongoing construction on the City's Cumberland Avenue Corridor Project, all lanes of Cumberland Avenue will be closed to traffic this weekend at its intersection with 22nd Street.

In order to allow the installation of a water line from north to south across Cumberland, the 22nd Street intersection will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday, May 22, until 6 a.m. Monday, May 25.

Both eastbound and westbound traffic should detour along West Volunteer Boulevard and Lake Avenue. The detour will be clearly marked with road signs.

Businesses along Cumberland Avenue will remain accessible either from Cumberland or from side streets. Remember, there is free public parking on weekends and after 6 p.m. weekdays in the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center lot at 19th Street and White Avenue, and in the UT Federal Credit Union lot at 22nd Street and White Avenue.

The Cumberland Avenue Corridor Project is a City of Knoxville initiative to redesign Cumberland Avenue from Alcoa Highway east to 17th Street, changing the existing four-lane street to a three-lane cross section with a raised median and left-turn lanes at intersections. Sidewalks will be widened and landscaped, and utility lines relocated, to create a more attractive, pedestrian-friendly corridor.

Construction will proceed in two phases, with Phase I (from Alcoa Highway to 22nd Street) to be completed by the end of 2015, and Phase II (from 22nd Street to just east of 17th Street) scheduled for completion in August 2017.

For more information, regular updates and special offers from area merchants, see www.cumberlandconnect.com.

As always, thanks for your interest in everything to do with Cumberland Avenue.

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Thanks to all the service men and women past, present and future who have or will serve our country. Thanks also to their families. 
The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. 

Monday, May 4, 2015

May 4th Update

KUB Update

Cumberland Avenue Rolling Lane Closure [May 5]

KUB crews will implement a rolling lane closure on Cumberland Avenue between S. Twenty First Street and Eighteenth Street from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5, as prep work is performed as part of the Cumberland Avenue Streetscapes Project. Crews will be working in the curbside, westbound lane. The inside westbound lane and both eastbound lanes in this area will not be impacted.

Some listed closures may extend beyond the scheduled times depending on the conditions encountered during excavation and construction. Appropriate traffic control measures, including flagmen, will be in place at this location to assist motorists traveling in the area. Due to the ongoing presence of workers and equipment, motorists are advised to use extreme caution and expect temporary delays in this area.


Public Meeting on Proposed Updates to the City's Form Based Code
What: Public meeting on proposed updates to the City’s Form-Based Code

When: 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7

Where: Small Assembly Room, City County Building, 400 Main Street

Who: Office of Plans Review and Inspections and Office of Redevelopment staff
The public is invited to a May 7 public meeting to discuss updates to the general provisions of the Form-Based Code (Article 4, Section 4.0 of the City of Knoxville’s Zoning Ordinance).
The existing code – which shapes urban forms of development on the South Knoxville Waterfront and in the Cumberland Avenue Corridor – addresses new construction. The proposed changes will provide a clear pathway for property owners to modify, renovate or add onto their existing structures.
Property owners within the South Waterfront and Cumberland Avenue Form-Based Development Code Districts are encouraged to attend.
A copy of the code with proposed changes in italics is available for review here.Anyone attending the May 7 meeting and needing a disability accommodation should contact the City's ADA Coordinator, Stephanie Cook, at scook@cityofknoxville.org or 865-215-2034 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. 

Friday, May 1, 2015

May1st Update

KUB Traffic Advisory

Cumberland Avenue Rolling Lane Closure Monday, May 4

KUB crews will implement a rolling lane closure on Cumberland Avenue between S. Twenty First Street and Eighteenth Street from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Monday, May 4, as prep work is performed as part of the Cumberland Avenue Streetscapes Project. Crews will be working in the curbside, westbound lane. The inside westbound lane and both eastbound lanes in this area will not be impacted.

Some listed closures may extend beyond the scheduled times depending on the conditions encountered during excavation and construction. Appropriate traffic control measures, including flagmen, will be in place at this location to assist motorists traveling in the area. Due to the ongoing presence of workers and equipment, motorists are advised to use extreme caution and expect temporary delays in this area. 


Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association (CAMA) 

Date: Wednesday, May 6
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm 

Location: Copper Cellar, 1807 Cumberland Avenue


What: The merchants and other interested stakeholders meet to discuss items of interest or concern and get updates on the City's Cumberland Avenue Corridor Project. 

Parking: Available parking is located at Copper Cellar, 1807 Cumberland Avenue.


Public Meeting on Proposed Updates to the City's Form Based Code
What: Public meeting on proposed updates to the City’s Form-Based Code

When: 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7

Where: Small Assembly Room, City County Building, 400 Main Street

Who: Office of Plans Review and Inspections and Office of Redevelopment staff

The public is invited to a May 7 public meeting to discuss updates to the general provisions of the Form-Based Code (Article 4, Section 4.0 of the City of Knoxville’s Zoning Ordinance).

The existing code – which shapes urban forms of development on the South Knoxville Waterfront and in the Cumberland Avenue Corridor – addresses new construction. The proposed changes will provide a clear pathway for property owners to modify, renovate or add onto their existing structures.

Property owners within the South Waterfront and Cumberland Avenue Form-Based Development Code Districts are encouraged to attend.

A copy of the code with proposed changes in italics is available for review here.
Anyone attending the May 7 meeting and needing a disability accommodation should contact the City's ADA Coordinator, Stephanie Cook, at scook@cityofknoxville.org or 865-215-2034 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. 

Launch of the Cumberland Connect App

A new website, www.cumberlandconnect.com has been launched by the City's construction engineering inspections contractor, Vaughn & Melton. Additionally, a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/CumberlandConnect, highlights the businesses on the Cumberland Avenue Corridor and offers coupons and promotions, as well as project details and traffic updates. 

Also available is a downloadable App for Android and Apple devices - that will send push alerts with promotions if requested to people's smartphones. Download the app and use the coupons to save at various businesses along Cumberland Avenue! 

Cumberland Avenue Construction Update

The utility work on Cumberland Avenue has been underway since April 6. The contractor, Southern Constructors Inc., is making good progress and is working to complete this phase of work by June 6 so that the Streetscape Phase I work can start on June 8.

In order to accomplish this goal and to make the appropriate connections (water and sewer) north and south of 22nd Street the contractor will need to close north bound 22nd Street between Cumberland and the driveway access points for the Cook Out and Exxon properties. This work is scheduled to take place starting Monday, May 11th (post end of UT’s semester and graduation) and the road closure is expected to last approximately 4 weeks.

For more information and traffic updates, please visit www.cumberlandconnect.com