The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Displaying items by tag: knoxville regional transportation planning organization

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KNOXVILLE — Transportation planners and officials want to hear from you as they continue to update the region’s long-range transportation plan.

The Knoxville Regional Transportation Organization’s Mobility Plan 2050 survey will close soon. Those who live in and visit the area are asked to share input by Nov. 12.

The purpose of the project is to examine all modes of transportation in the Knoxville region and to recommend a strategic regional transportation investment strategy over the next 25 years. Planners and engineers are looking for strategies to continually grow and efficiently move around the city and region.

The regional transportation system involves roads, buses/transit, sidewalks, accommodations for bicycles and pedestrians, and freight movement (rail, waterway, or air). All forms of travel are included as part of this long-range planning update.

The Metropolitan Transportation Plan update will be developed in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization, Knox County and portions of Anderson, Blount, Loudon, Roane and Sevier counties.

Published in News

KNOXVILLE — The Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization seeks the public’s feedback on greenhouse gas emissions in East Tennessee. Take this brief survey and make your voice heard:

  • The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and covers topics like climate change, energy efficiency and transportation to shape ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region. The survey is open through Sept. 30 at www.knoxbreathesurvey.com
  • Residents of all nine counties within the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) ­— Knox, Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Grainger, Loudon, Morgan, Roane and Union — are encouraged to take the survey and make their voices heard. 
  • The Knoxville MSA was one of 82 metropolitan areas in the U.S. selected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to receive a planning grant to create a regional emission reduction plan as part of the agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program. “BREATHE” is the name for the Knoxville region’s CPRG initiative. 
  • More information on “BREATHE” can be found at knoxbreathe.org
Published in Feedbag

Compass: TPO mapping will hasten safety fixes

A map compiled by the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization denotes the most dangerous intersections, streets and roads in the Knoxville region.

Transportation planner Ellen Zavisca crunched crash and related injury data to highlight the most dangerous roadway stretches in the region over 3.5 years, according to Compass.

The database will be updated with real-time data, and will allow a quantified approach to prioritizing safety improvements in the planning region. 

“One of the things that stands out is the major arterial roads tend to see more of these (serious accidents) even than the interstates,” Zavisca said, referring to commercial corridors like Chapman Highway, Clinton Highway and Kingston Pike," Compass reported.

“Because those are the roads that have this, unfortunately, really unsafe combination of high speeds, high volumes, and just a lot of access points,” Compass reported.

“(The) ... map shows the location of 2,326 traffic crashes in the Knoxville region that resulted in a fatality or serious injury between January 2016 and June 2019,” according to the TPO website. 

“There were 321 crashes involving a fatality, and 2,005 serious-injury crashes.

“Every 13 hours in our region, someone experiences a fatal or life-altering traffic crash,” according to TPO.

Published in Feedbag