Advisory Committee

 

Knoxville Cumberland Avenue Charrette
Table Session Input
December 5, 2006

Table 1. Make way for Transit!
Table 1 participants were skeptical about change because some of them had a long history as property owners in the area, but they were supportive of the three lane proposal and had ideas about transit in the area.

    • Minimize trolleys and buses on Cumberland
    • Have a trolley that connects the whole area
    • Create a bypass if necessary
    • Don’t send trolleys downtown
    • Remove utilities on street
    • Improve utilities in the alley
    • Leave cars parked and use the transit system
    • Alleys improved to accommodate deliveries

They drew

  • A trolley route through the district
  • Bus pull offs
  • Trees on Cumberland Ave.

 

Table 2. In the Mix
Table 2 participants wanted to answer every question and like the vision statement and the three lane option.

    • Art supplies and books
    • A mix that caters to students, staff, and residents 24/7
    • Make mixes vertical and make the university part of it
    • Should be welcoming to entire city
    • How do you handle Lake Avenue, connection between Cumberland and University
    • Wider sidewalks a necessity

They drew:

  • Don’t change College Inn, between 18 th and 20 th on north side, the character of Cumberland through the university
  • Maintain access to medical facilities on north south streets
  • Address potential development at Mountcastle Park
  • Moved or underground utilities
  • Street tree with street furnishings
  • Changes radii on side streets to allow service vehicles to operate off of Cumberland
  • Striped bike lanes
  • Undeveloped spaces for bus pull offs
  • Gateway improvements on 17th

 

Table 3. Parking – R – Us
Table 3 Participants were very detailed in their recommendations, particular about parking, service and delivery and they wanted to keep the Ft. Sanders neighborhood character preserved.

    • No parking on Cumberland
    • Could UT/hospitals and merchants share parking as in White Ave garage?
    • What kinds of services to hospitals want for their staff?
    • How much can strip business be regulated…such as removing Panera out front parking?
    • How does the 3 lane option work with so many crosswalks?
    • Vision statement should be more pedestrian friendly
    • On street parking may make its own problems
    • Alley might be a better face for businesses with back porch seating and pedestrian traffic
    • Cars and deliveries have to go somewhere
    • Alleys will have to be widened
    • Best solution for vehicles may be border parking like UT
    • Underground parking may not be healthy because of fumes
    • Can delivery times be regulated to stop night deliveries?
    • Campus Pointe and new development could add grocery stores
    • Some deliveries need to be made very close to businesses, cases of beer
    • Keep Karnes Drugs, OCI, trees on White
    • White Ave. parking garage and some lots on west end of Fort for border lots
    • Reduce surface lots and build structure garages but must be safe
    • Safe access to Tyson Park via bikes and pedestrian
    • Divert some traffic from Cumberland to other streets? Side streets not built for speed.
    • Another northwest exit from neighborhood near Rohm and Haas
    • Reconfigure one way streets, 19th and 20th work well
    • Maximize Cumberland for pedestrian potential
    • One way streets are confusing
    • Parking off Concord

They drew

  • Taking Terrace and Lake Ave. to two way
  • OCI with storefront retail with parking above and behind
  • Parking garages at Cumberland and 22nd, White and 22nd.
  • Shared parking at 20th and White
  • Keep glorious trees and old homes on White
  • Alley with sidewalks and cafes between 18th and 19th, Cumberland and White
  • Railroad barrier to Tyson Park

 

Table 4: I see the light!
Table 4 participants validated the vision statement and thought three lanes was a bad idea. They had lots to say about lighting, alleys, connections, parking and visual clutter.

    • Consistent lighting style…like World’s Fair Park
    • Ground lighting
    • Garage pick up time limited-no late night
    • Bike lane
    • Smaller less cluttered signs
    • Standards – enforced
    • Street parking on one side, bike lane on other
    • No street parking
    • Fewer bus stops
    • Underground utilities
    • Pros are density with income, proximity to downtown, multi-venue destination
    • Traffic lights/lighting not pedestrian friendly
    • Clean up filthy dirty alley between Lake and Cumberland
    • Eliminate ugly storefronts
    • Develop design standards for businesses
    • Restrict use of alley between Lake and Cumberland
    • Add no loitering signs behind restaurants
    • Sidewalk from Cumberland down Mountcastle to connect with Lake Ave. sidewalk
    • Lower price for parking at Lake Ave and 18th St. so more students use

They drew:

  • Street trees and low street lights along Cumberland
  • Shared parking garages at 18th and White and at the UT garage on Lake.
  • Noted a dangerous condition on Cumberland between Alcoa and 22nd.
  • A greenway connection to Cumberland from Tyson Park
  • Crossed through on-street parking and drew bike lanes on the proposed section

 

Table 5. Green Bike Team|
Table 5 participants had lots of ideas about how to redevelop the district in a more ecologically friendly way and they all wanted it to be more bike friendly.

    • Bike lanes/public transportation
    • Close several blocks to create a plaza like Market Square
    • Route through traffic Neyland
    • Shared parking in back
    • Bikeable neighborhoods
    • Create a plaza with a community garden
    • Small amphitheater, place for summer concerts/food/café
    • Beautiful parks
    • Ecologically and environmentally responsible construction
    • Where are materials coming from?
    • Community gardens
    • Locally owned businesses
    • Community led action, involvement and decision making on all levels
    • Less driving/drive-thrus
    • Solar panels on roofs
    • Green roofs
    • Bike lanes, bike lanes, bike lanes
    • Uses: grocery store, hardware store, park and plaza event space
    • Construction will impact businesses
    • Bury utilities
    • Design guidelines: no signs above buildings, third story development, give design boards more teeth
    • Blend university standards with corridor
    • Eliminate on-street parking
    • Use bays for transit (bus pull offs)
    • Less transit stops
    • Don’t kill off existing businesses

They drew:

  • Shared parking at White and 21st…city to buy lot
  • Green space 19th block of Cumberland
  • Potential development at White and 18th
  • Crossed through front of store parking

 

Table 6 The Big Vision
Table 6 participants talked a lot about big ideas and long term prospects for the district. They wanted to make the most of Mountcastle park as well.

    • High density parking behind, less surface lots fronting Cumberland Ave.
    • Utility lines need to be underground/pedestrian scale
    • Limit types of bars, restaurants and such, more neighborhood uses
    • Use UT and existing parks as greenspace
    • Work with UT for parking and housing on back side of Cumberland
    • Sign ordinance
    • Lighting changes to be more pedestrian friendly
    • Create bicycle stands
    • Signal timing
    • Change one ways to two ways
    • Safe and secure street
    • Three lane to Tyson Park
    • Create overlay association
    • Limit delivery trucks to the rear
    • Make it a destination location
    • Decrease bars and create more unique retail/eateries with patios
    • Create safe connection to proposed sorority housing
    • High density public parking for business on strip
    • More bridges across Cumberland
    • Allow for second story pedestrian traffic
    • Use traffic calming method, landscaping, bumpouts on Cumberland
    • Internet accessible street
    • Neyland Drive- how can it take all the overflow without making it more disconnected, how to tie into waterfront development
    • Eliminate non-commercial on street parking
    • Use vertical space while maintaining pedestrian scale with buildings
    • Bike lanes essential
    • Area as residential would be for young professionals/doctors/students
    • More vegetation
    • Improve existing parks by making safer
    • Eliminate some side street parking to connect back to campus and strip
    • More high density parking and multi-story buildings
    • One ways are annoying and confusing
    • No on street parking, especially not parallel because they will cause traffic back up
    • Market Square is precedent for non-on street deliveries
    • Cumberland Avenue equals pedestrian priorities with three traffic lanes
    • Any green space needs to stay at street level, not roofs
    • Existing and or new development of commercial/residential and potentially rear/air access to buildings
    • Appropriate/compatible design transition between Cumberland and Ft. Sanders

They drew:

  • Large anchor for Main Street at 22nd and Cumberland
  • North side of Cumberland multi use to the street edge all along
  • Back side is high density parking on White
  • South side of Cumberland, mix of uses and some purely retail with UTK parking decks lined with housing
  • Improved Mountcastle Park
  • Revamp existing UTK parking garage next to Mountcastle

 

Table 8 Less is more
Table 8 participants noted a number of things they wanted less of or removed altogether. They liked both on street parking and the three lane proposal.

    • Less predatory parking lots
    • Less curb cuts
    • Less fast food and gas stations
    • Go high vertical on Cumberland, step down on Lake and White
    • Alleys for service vehicles
    • Three lanes yes
    • On street parking yes
    • Integrate development from front to back with alley access
    • Hawkeye’s parking for parking structure
    • Green connection from Cumberland to Mountcastle Park
    • Route traffic to Neyland as possible
    • How many surface parking spaces exist now in Ft. Sanders?
    • Less duplication of services
    • Signalize cross walks and enforce jaywalking
    • Shared parking
    • Five to six stories or more on Cumberland (mixed use)

They drew:

  • Parking garage on Terrace next to UT parking garage
  • Trees all down Cumberland from 22nd to 16th
  • Preserve existing houses on Lake and White
  • Redeveloped Walgreens lot
  • A build to line on Cumberland
  • Shared parking on parking lots used by Ft. Sanders Hospital
  • Preserve the Longbranch
  • Preserve retail edge along Cumberland between 18th and 19th

 

Table 10 Making the Connection
Table 10 participants wanted to strengthen internal and external connections. They had a lot to say about the types of appropriate development and the need for an effective mix of uses throughout.

    • Strengthen the connections to downtown
    • Concern about bike lanes
    • Concern about connecting bike lanes, sidewalks and lighting
    • Concern about activating parks
    • Panhandling
    • Concern about development on three lanes….mixed use maybe incompatible uses
    • Residential focus on north side
    • Beware of treading on right of way…want to be able to build to right of way
    • Need more green space
    • Vision statement….should add mixed use
    • On street parking...strategic and ideally
    • Improve alley access
    • Clarify intent of development in vision statement

They drew:

  • More commercial on Cumberland and White, 19th to 22nd
  • Cumberland and 17th a possible center
  • Designated bus stops, example at Cumberland and 18th
  • Residential between Cumberland and Clinch and 19th and 17th
  • Keep Mountcastle Park
  • Keep Longbranch
  • Keep residential edge at Lake between Volunteer Blvd and Mountcastle
  • Scale of large student housing on White out of scale for neighborhood