Hi Lori,
The Abbey Fields urban farmer Brenna Wright appears highly interested in having a greenway.
Brenna's latest sketch depicting the "future" of the farm seems to suggest a greenway path along the portion of her business bordering Mitchell Street.
If the city were to support the business venture's vision for a walking path parallel to Mitchell Street from Washington Ave. to Woodbine, it seems to me there'd be no need to commit city funds to replacing the sidewalk (basically non-existent at this point, due to deterioration and abuse over many years).
While this connection is not my ideal path for a "greenway," it seems like low-hanging fruit for public-private partnership. It would also minimize the overall amount of concrete hardscaping if a treelawn is placed between the greenway path and the Mitchell street curb, as the attached drawing shows.
There is already a sidewalk without a treelawn on the South side of Mitchell street. While any walking path is preferable to the existing, badly deteriorated concrete sidewalks, a sidewalk repair project on the North side would increase stormwater runoff and thermal pollution of First Creek.
Therefore, I favor a walking path separated from the road by a treelawn similar to what was done at Sutherland Avenue near West High School. A bonus would be if the path were constructed of a permeable surface.
Can you advise if there anything I can do personally to help facilitate this partnership between the city and a private landowner?
From your perspective, do you feel there is anything the Greenways Commission can do as a citizen's advisory board to facilitate this connection, which is consistently ranked as a top priority by both greenway users and official planning organizations?
The original image is found at http://insideofknoxville.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Abbey-Fields-Knoxville-March-2015-1.jpg on the article "Abbey Fields: Bringing the Farm to the City."
Thanks,
Tanner
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