Knoxville Hosts Fall TAPA Conference

The Knoxville section of TAPA along with TSITE (Tennessee Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers) hosted the annual statewide Fall TAPA conference September 29-October 1.

Held at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Knoxville, the conference's theme was Greenways and Highways...Paths Leading to Connected Communities. It focused on public corridors and how thoughtful construction and design can link people, fostering the development of common interests and goals.

The keynote speaker at Thursday's luncheon was Chuck Fink, the founder and owner of Greenways Incorporated, an environmental planning and landscape architecture company. He is widely regarded as one of the nation's leading greenway planners, having completed comprehensive greenway, trail and open space plans for more than 200 communities in 35 states.

Several MPC and TPO staff presented during the conference. Mike Carberry, along with city and county officials, discussed the park and greenway planning process and the development of the Knoxville-Knox County Park, Recreation and Greenways Plan. Jeff Archer discussed sustainable development in relation to infill housing, for which MPC and its partners received a TAPA 2009 Award for Outstanding Planning for Green Development. TPO's Kelley Segars participated in a discussion on examples of bicycle infrastructure. Ellen Zavisca, TPO, explored the concept of complete streets using the Knoxville Regional Complete Streets Study as a backdrop. Buz Johnson helped behind the scenes to organize the awards luncheon.

During Friday's Awards Luncheon, MPC's Mike Carberry was named the 2010 Planner of the Year.

Carberry, Comprehensive Planning Manager, has been involved in a variety of planning and design projects that have had a positive impact on Knoxville and Knox County. He worked on several projects for Knoxville's Empowerment Zone including the Magnolia Avenue Corridor Plan and managed the development of a county-wide Hillside and Ridgetop Protection Plan in collaboration with the task force. He also supervised the completion of the first ever, consolidated Knoxville/Knox County Park, Recreation and Greenways Plan and served as a contributor to an urban planning teaching manual for use in Knox County Middle Schools.

Posted 07-21-2011