4.4 miles of road or 1,000 miles of greenways? Up to us.

Another greenway that's feasible for completion seems to be the Knoxville - Townsend Greenway via Maryville.

Local News | The Daily Times - Great Smoky Mountains Regional Greenway Council shaping trail extension to Townsend:

In 2009, Barge Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon Inc. (BWSC) created a draft Greenway Master Plan for a trail system running from Knoxville to Townsend. Community and landowner opposition led to one alternative route, a proposed stretch along the Little River to Heritage High School, to be struck from the plan.The current plan being developed is a partnership of the Knoxville Regional TPO, the Great Smoky Mountains Regional Greenway Council, local governments, Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks and Recreation, the Blount Partnership and Tennessee Department of Transportation.

From the comments section of the news article, there seems to be a lot of opposition to the regional greenway in that the project will require investment of public monies.

I find that odd, as greenways are actually less expensive than some of the major road construction projects proposed for the same area, such as the Pellissippi Parkway extension: http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/pellissippi/, which would cost nearly $100 million to construct.

That's 100 Million for 4.4 miles of proposed extension to U.S. 321.

A greenway of the same length would cost less than $500,000 at $100,000 per mile of greenway.

100 million would equal 1,000 miles of greenway.  What would you rather have: 4.4 miles of new controlled access freeway, or 1,000 miles of greenway?

The question here is the return on the investment.  Greenways offer an inexpensive transportation alternative, along with recreation and water quality enhancement opportunities.

Transportation investment impacts quality of life as well.  If we choose to build communities centered on Freeways, traffic problems will worsen.  Southern California has no shortage of freeways but is notorious for traffic congestion.  Turning to new roads or widening roads doesn't solve the underlying problem of connecting people with the resources needed for everyday living. And, it sets us up for long-term economic problems when fuel costs add to the cost of a simple trip for basic needs like schools, work, and groceries.

More on the impacts our transportation planning now will have on our community futures: http://www.planeasttn.org/GrowStronger/GrowthConcepts.aspx