Friday, April 15, 2016

April 15th Update - Orange & White Game (April 16) & Selfie with Smokey!

CUMBERLAND AVENUE VOL SPIRIT: MERCHANTS OFFER
‘SELFIES WITH SMOKEY’ DURING ORANGE AND WHITE GAME

A Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association (CAMA) promotion is adding to the Vol spirit surrounding Saturday’s Orange and White Game – and the football faithful visiting the Strip before and after Saturday’s game will be eligible for random prize drawings.

CAMA is sponsoring the first-ever Selfie With Smokey promotion. Fans can shoot selfies of themselves with cutouts of UT’s Smokey and the logos of participating businesses to become eligible for the drawings (more than a dozen prizes are available), such as gift cards from the Hilton Garden Inn and Copper Cellar.

Just tag your social-media posts #SelfieWithSmokey. The promotion runs from 11 a.m. Saturday until 9 p.m. that night. For details, please visit www.cumberlandconnect.com.

Just as the University of Tennessee football team will divide into an “orange” squad and a “white” squad for Saturday’s scrimmage, so too will the merchants.

Participating merchants on the north side of Cumberland Avenue will be the “white” team. They include Mellow Mushroom, Starbucks, Copper Cellar, Cookout, Insomnia Cookies, University Liquors, Niro’s Gyros, Jimmy John’s, Walgreens and Chipolte Mexican Grill.

Participating merchants south of Cumberland, the “orange” team, include the Hilton Garden Inn, Firehouse Subs, McDonald’s, Moe’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Subway, Sunspot, Panera Bread and Jason’s Deli.

Which set of merchants will generate the most selfies – the orange businesses on the south or the white north-siders?

The UT game kicks off at 2:05 p.m. Gates open at 12:30 p.m.

Fan Day autograph-seekers can meet Head Coach Butch Jones and UT players on the field from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Those attending Fan Day must enter from Gate 7; the gate opens at 10:30 a.m. for Fan Day participants.


Meanwhile, please remember that the reconstruction of Cumberland Avenue is continuing between 17th and 22nd streets. The work is a $17 million City commitment to a vibrant Cumberland Avenue Corridor that will be safer, more attractive and pedestrian-friendly when the project is finished by late summer 2017.

On Saturday, anticipate game-day traffic and be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get to and from the game. Arrive early, and get a head start on shooting your selfies with Smokey!

Free parking is available at the University of Tennessee Agriculture Campus, with free shuttles running throughout the day. A few tips:

-  If parking at the Agriculture Campus, remember to use Neyland Drive and avoid driving on Cumberland Avenue.
-  Shuttles from parking areas start running at 11 a.m. from the Agriculture Campus, Stephenson Drive and the Kingston Pike building off of Concord Street.
-  Free parking is available everywhere on campus along with free admission to the game. A parking map is available at http://www.utsports.com/gameday/football/.

Generally, City traffic planners are recommending that commuters north of Cumberland use 17th Street to Clinch Avenue (or Grand to 17th Street when leaving Fort Sanders), while south-side motorists use Neyland Drive and Joe Johnson Drive.

With the Smoky Mountain Air Show happening at McGhee Tyson Airport this weekend, commuters are encouraged to avoid Alcoa Highway if possible.

Most importantly, officials are recommending that Orange and White Game fans arrive early and allow plenty of time to get parked and to access Neyland Stadium due to the Cumberland Avenue construction and possible congestion on Alcoa Highway.


Additional traffic tips and updates are available on www.CumberlandConnect.com, on the Cumberland Connect Facebook page, facebook.com/CumberlandConnect, and on the Cumberland Connect phone app. Or text VFL to 313131 to get text messages on the most current traffic updates.


Overnight Closures on Cumberland Avenue

There will be overnight closures of Cumberland between 19th Street and 17th Streets again on Monday, April 18, Tuesday, April 19, and Wednesday, April 20 from 10 PM to 6 AM to install south side water services to merchants. Overnight closures are weather permitting. Cumberland Avenue will NOT be closed during the day or early evening hours. 


Please see the detour map below.

The work scheduled for  Wednesday, April 13 through Saturday, April 16 on 18th Street south of Cumberland Avenue has been pushed out to a future date. For more information about the project be sure to check out the Two Week Look Ahead on www.cumberlandconnect.com.

As always, thanks for your interest in all things relating to Cumberland Avenue. Hope you have a safe and fun-filled weekend. Be sure to get out and support your Orange and White merchants and Go VOLS! 






Monday, April 11, 2016

April 11th Update - Overnight Closures on Cumberland

Overnight Closures on Cumberland Avenue

As noted in the Two Week Look Ahead on Cumberland Connect, there will be overnight closures of Cumberland between 19th Street and 17th Streets on Monday, April 11, Tuesday, April 12, and Wednesday, April 13 from 10 PM to 6 AM to install south side water services to merchants. Overnight closures are weather permitting. Cumberland Avenue will NOT be closed during the day or early evening hours. 


Please see the detour map below.

Additionally, beginning Wednesday, April 13, and continuing through Saturday, April 16, the northbound lane of South 18th will be closed to install a new 8” water line in South 18th from Cumberland Ave. to Lake Ave. This closure will be in effect day and night. During this time the entrance to McDonald’s will remain open and eastbound Cumberland traffic will be allowed to turn right from Cumberland and travel south down South 18th to access the McDonald’s entrance. This closure will only impact traffic from Lake Ave. traveling north towards Cumberland Ave.


More information is available at www.CumberlandConnect.com, on the Cumberland Connect Facebook page,facebook.com/CumberlandConnect, and on the Cumberland Connect phone app. Or text VFL to 313131 to get text messages on the most current traffic updates.

Community Events

Saturday, April 16th 
Orange and White Game

The Vols will hold their annual DISH Orange & White Game on April 16 with a 2 p.m., kickoff at Neyland Stadium.
Since Butch Jones' arrival, the Orange & White Games have featured three of the top four crowds in Vol history. In his first game in 2013, a crowd of 61,076 came out to Neyland Stadium. In 2014, 68,548 were in attendance, marking the second-largest crowd for a spring game in UT history. Last season in 2015, 63,016 came out for the third-largest crowd all-time. The record of 73,801 was set at the 1986 O&W Game following the Vols' Sugar Bowl win.
Spring practices for Team 120 will begin on March 7. Tennessee will have 15 practices culminating with the April 16 Orange & White Game.
Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association is planning a special event for the 2016 Orange and White Game - stay tuned for more information! Go Vols! 

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

April 6th Update

THURSDAY NIGHT CLOSURE OF 17th STREET REQUIRED
TO CONTINUE UPGRADES TO NATURAL GAS INFRASTRUCTURE

KUB and its contractor will be closing a section of 17th Street between Cumberland Avenue and White Avenue from 10 p.m. Thursday, April 7, until 6 a.m. Friday, April 8, as work continues on the natural gas system.

East-west Cumberland Avenue motorists will not be affected by the overnight closure on 17th Street.

To access westbound Cumberland Avenue, southbound 17th Street motorists should detour right onto Clinch Avenue, then turn left onto 22nd Street to connect with Cumberland. To access eastbound Cumberland, drivers on 17th Street should detour left onto White Avenue, then right onto 16th Street to connect with Cumberland.

The infrastructure upgrades are part of the City of Knoxville’s $17 million Cumberland Avenue reconstruction, to be completed by August 2017.

The reconstruction will change the existing four-lane Cumberland between 22nd and 17th streets to a three-lane cross section with a raised median and left-turn lanes at intersections. An earlier phase of work on the western end of Cumberland focused on improving traffic flow between the Alcoa Highway ramps and 22nd Street; that phase finished at the end of 2015, on time and under budget.

The City’s investment in infrastructure and streetscape upgrades will create a more attractive, safer, pedestrian-friendly Cumberland Avenue Corridor.

Meanwhile, work on an unrelated private development project will close a section of 18th Street between Cumberland and White avenues between Monday, April 11, and Thursday, April 14. The work also will reduce 17th Street to one lane in each direction.

More information is available at www.CumberlandConnect.com, on the Cumberland Connect Facebook page, facebook.com/CumberlandConnect, and on the Cumberland Connect phone app. Or text VFL to 313131 to get text messages on the most current traffic updates.


Cumberland Avenue Merchants Association (CAMA) - Monthly Meeting - TODAY
Date: Wednesday, April 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.