KNOXVILLE, TN (Nov. 1, 2021) – The City of Knoxville is hosting a public ZOOM meeting with City officials and design team representatives to solicit input from East Knoxville residents and the community-at-large for input on the East Knoxville Greenway from downtown through areas of East Knoxville that will connect to the Knoxville Botanical Gardens. A hidden treasure bordered by Wimpole and Boyd’s Bridge Pike.
The greenway will give residents in the planned mixed-use Austin-Homes community, downtown, Old City, Morningside waterfront residents and the potential stadium community access to walking, biking and a nature trail that will skirt the Confederate Cemetery, Walter Hardy Park, and the Historic Black Odd Fellows Cemetery. Old to an East Knoxville hidden treasure, the Botanical Garden.
From the western end at Harriet Tubman Park in the Austin Homes mixed-use complex, to near Vine Magnet Middle School, crossing MLK Avenue and cutting through Dr. Walter Hardy Memorial Park and the heart of the Five Points community before crossing Williams Creek and connecting with the Botanical Garden trails to the east.
An open to the public, Zoom meeting will be 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9, – the first in a series of community meetings on the project and design work that is already underway. The $5 million East Knox Greenway of 2-miles, will connect Harriet Tubman Park with the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum.
This is an opportunity for the affected business, homeowners and the at-large community to contribute or offer adjustments to share your suggestions, ideas, questions and concerns to the plans well underway, on how to make the greenway more beneficial to the East Knoxville sector of the greenway.
For questions and concerns contact:
- Parks and Recreation Director Sheryl Ely by email at, sely@knoxvilletn.gov; call (865) 215-4311.
- 6th District City Councilperson, Gwen McKenzie; email at gmckenzie@knoxvilletn.gov; or phone 865-524-1458.
The ZOOM meeting will be hosted by City officials and representatives of Toole Design Group and Barge Design Solutions for feedback from the community. To join, click on this link: https://tooledesign.zoom.us/j/81094328335?pwd=alpMR3NURTQrL0RiYi9zWWJ2U2s0Zz09
Meeting ID: 810 9432 8335 Passcode: 662279
Or, call in: 1-651-372-8299
Note: Accessing the meeting via Zoom will give participants a view of the plans and graphics during the meeting; while phone access will provide only audio access.
If you can’t join the Nov. 9 public meeting? You can share your ideas by email to; thester@knoxvilletn.gov, City Greenways Coordinator Tim Hester.
Almost $4 million for the East Knox Greenway is being funded federally and administered through the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The City’s contribution will be 20 percent of the cost, or $988,054.
Input gathered at these public meetings will help determine the specific route of the new greenway. Once the design is in place, right-of-way acquisition will follow, and construction is expected to start in spring 2024.