May 28th Update

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

What: Fort Sanders Stakeholders Meeting

When: 3 p.m., Thursday, June 3

Where: Ballroom B, University of Tennessee Visitor Center, 2704 Kingston Pike

Who: Anyone with an interest in the long range planning of Fort Sanders Neighborhood and surrounding areas.

City of Knoxville and MPC staff will conduct the meeting which will include updates on the Cumberland Avenue Corridor Plan and the draft long range planning document for Fort Sanders, developed through a series of public meetings last year. The draft plan updates the 2000 Fort Sanders Neighborhood Forum Plan.

Thursday’s meeting is the second in a series of quarterly meetings aimed at continuing communication between the stakeholders in the Fort Sanders Neighborhood including small businesses, residents, the City of Knoxville and organizations like Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and the University of Tennessee.

Hope to see you on Thursday; have a great and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

For anyone interested in a local observance of Memorial Day a Ceremony to "Honor the Fallen" will be held at East TN Veterans Memorial in World's Fair Park from 10 am to 11 am on Monday May 31st. To Remember, Honor, Educate and Inspire…Please join East Tennessee in honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. For more information visit: www.etvma.org

May 20th Update

KUB extends Cumberland Avenue lane closures through the weekend.

Cumberland Avenue Lane Closures Extended – The lane reductions on Cumberland Avenue between 16th Street and James Agee Street have been extended to run through this weekend, May 21-23,. This work and lane closures were originally scheduled to end at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 20, and go into effect again at 7 a.m., Monday, May 24; however, work this weekend is necessary to facilitate timely completion of sewer system upgrades in this area.

One eastbound lane and one westbound lane on Cumberland Avenue will remain open to traffic between 16th Street and James Agee Street. All construction activities and lane closures are scheduled for completion in this area by Thursday, June 17 (weather permitting). The lane closures in this area will be in effect 24 hours a day. After this weekend, a four-days-a-week lane closure - starting at 7 a.m. on Mondays and lasting around the clock through 7 p.m. Thursdays - is expected to resume for the duration of this project.

Customers with questions can call (865) 558-2330. Thanks.

May 17th Update

We are pleased to announce that the city of Knoxville administration staff has decided on a course of action regarding the detail design of the Cumberland Ave Corridor Project. We will be pursuing the 3 lane cross section with the two way left turn lane and wider sidewalks, also known as Option 1B in the presentation materials. A veiw of this cross section, provided by Carol R. Johnson & Assoc., is below.

This design direction will provide the starting point for our consultants, Vaughn & Melton and will be developed over the next 12 months. A press release has been sent to City Council and local media outlets and is included under the links section on the right side of this page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org. Thanks and have a great week!

May 14th Update

This Traffic Advisory was just posted by KUB, it has impacts to Neyland Dr. and Cumberland Ave. east of 17th St., please see below for more information. Thanks and have a great weekend.

Traffic Advisory
May 14, 2010
From: KUB Community Relations (Contact No. 594-7988)
Re: Traffic Advisory – Lane closures for utility construction (weather permitting)

Neyland Drive Lane Closures – KUB’s contractor will reduce a section of Neyland Drive to one eastbound lane and one westbound lane between Lake Loudoun Boulevard and Leinard Lane daily from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., starting on Monday, May 17, and lasting through, Friday, May 21, as roadway preparations are made in advance of utility work. 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.

Cumberland Avenue Lane Closures – KUB’s contractor will reduce a section of Cumberland Avenue to one eastbound lane and one westbound lane between 16th Street and James Agee Street starting on Monday, May 17, and lasting through Thursday, June 17, as sewer system upgrades are completed. The lane closures in this area will be in effect 24 hours a day, four days a week, starting at 7 a.m. on Mondays and lasting through 7 p.m. Thursdays during this four-week period.

Contact KUB at 594-7531 if you have questions about this or any other KUB construction activities.

April 30th Update

Thanks to everyone who has submitted comments regarding the 3 proposed options for Cumberland Avenue streetscape design. We have received a lot of great comments and suggestions! City staff will be reviewing this information over the next few weeks. We look forward to working with you as we move through the detailed design process.

As always, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

April 23rd Update

First and foremost, thanks to everyone who attended the Streetscape Public Meeting on Monday at the UT Visitors' Center! The meeting was well attended and a good discussion followed the presentation. For anyone who was unable to attend the meeting, a copy of the presentation is available at: www.cityofknoxville.org/cumberland

Also the City will be taking additional comments until Thursday, April 29th (10 days after the meeting). Please find the comment card on the same page as the presentation (www.cityofknoxville.org/cumberland); it is an editable PDF file and once filled in please save and send it as an attachement to me at awallace@cityofknoxville.org. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to submit comments.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend! Don't forget some of the great events happening in the area: Dogwood Arts Parade (tonight on Gay St.), Pork Knox Q-Fest (tonight at World's Fair Park), Rossini Festival(tomorrow, 12-9 pm at Market Sq.), and Bikes & Blooms (tomorrow, 9:00 am, Sequoyah Hills Trail).

April 16th Update

PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCMENT

Monday, April 19, 2010
6:00 pm
University Visitors Center
(former Faculty Club)
2704 Kingston Pike

The purpose of this meeting will be to inform the public of the Cumberland Avenue Corridor Project status, present the concept designs for the streetscape and to receive comments and suggestions. The City has received a notice to proceed with detail design from TDOT and therefore has met the requirements for Environmental Clearance for the Streetscape Project. There will be an overview presentation about the project history and updates on the urban design plan for the corridor.

Please plan to attend.

The Press Release for this meeting is available at:

http://www.cityofknoxville.org/Press_Releases/Content/2010/0413a.asp

Also there are stories about the project from the local media in the Links sections to the right of this page.

As always thanks for your interest, have a great weekend and hope to see you on Monday!