The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Displaying items by tag: knoxville area transit

Pryor Brown 1 McClung 1024x730The Pryor Brown Transfer Company and garage is shown in 1936 on West Church Avenue in downtown Knoxville. Established in 1929, it is reputedly the first full-service parking garage in the U.S., and now faces demolition after years of neglect and disuse.  Thompson Photograph Collection, McClung Historical Collection

Wasted space or community asset? As urban space dwindles, debate gears up over utility of parking garages

This story was originally published by The ConversationKevin J. Krizek is professor of environmental design at University of Colorado Boulder. John Hersey is a teaching assistant professor of environmental design at University of Colorado Boulder.

For the past century, the public and private sectors appear to have agreed on one thing: the more parking, the better.

As a result, cities were built up in ways that devoted valuable space to storing cars, did little to accommodate people who don’t own cars and forced developers to build expensive parking structures that increased the cost of living.

Two assumptions undergird urban parking policy: Without convenient parking, car owners would be reluctant to patronize businesses; and absent a dedicated parking spot for their vehicle, they’d be less likely to rent and buy homes. Because parcels of urban land are usually small and pricey, developers will build multistory garages. And so today, a glut of these bulky concrete boxes clutter America’s densely populated cities.

We have been studying urban development and parking for decades. The car’s grip over city planning has been difficult to dislodge, despite a host of costs to the environment and to the quality of life for many city dwellers.

Published in News

270741409 285060456987101 7670318144827675720 nWith their zero-emission drive, these quiet buses operate with 100% electric propulsion. Each electric bus helps prevent nearly 300,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions in our community annually. That’s like planting 2,283 trees.  by sa Knoxville Area Transit

Shut up and get on the bus

KNOXVILLE — Everyone needs to be everywhere at once: School, work, the grocery story, the mall and back home.

Locked into a society run by time, we tend to prefer methods of transportation that make for the quickest journey from place to place.

The modern car, usually powered by gasoline, provides individuals with quick transportation, which saves time. Private transportation embodies convenience.

Published in News
Friday, 17 September 2021 09:54

J.J. takes a bus down Electric Avenue

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Hard Knox Wire: City takes media and politicos on a spin aboard KAT’s newest electric bus

The city demonstrated and offered rides aboard the Knoxville Area Transit’s new electric buses at Caswell Park on Thursday. The city and Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) plan to acquire a total of 18 electric buses as part of a plan to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 80 percent over the next thirty years. Five of the buses, built by Canada-based manufacturer New Flyer, have arrived.

“In the United States, transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and consequently climate change. Transit has the power to change that,” city transit director Isaac Thorne told Hard Knox Wire.

“By drawing new people to consider transit, reducing reliance on cars, opening up opportunities, and providing sustainable mobility choices, transit can make cities more livable, make the air cleaner, and help meet our challenging but achievable climate goals,” he said.

The city plans to have 18 electric buses representing 26 percent of KAT’s fleet in regular operation by the end of next year. Another 41 percent of the existing fleet are hybrids, according to KAT.

The Knoxville Utilities Board is installing multiple chargers to service the electricity needs of the new fleet.

The new buses will undergo multiple trial runs before they hit the road with public passengers in January, probably along the Sutherland and Magnolia routes.

“KAT’s fleet of 71 buses carry around 3 million passengers each year on its 23 bus routes and three downtown trolley routes. There are 1,150 bus stops scattered throughout the city, and bus routes come within a half-mile of 80 percent of the population,” Hard Knox Wire reported.

“Today marks a dramatic milestone for Knoxville — this is a major step on our path toward a more clean and resilient future for our children and grandchildren,” Mayor Indya Kincannon said in a news release from KAT.

“These high-efficiency electric buses are an investment in clean air, in healthy neighborhoods, and mobility for our residents.”

Published in Event Archive