Park, Recreation, and Greenways Plan Amended

MPC staff recently updated the Knoxville-Knox County Park, Recreation, and Greenways Planto accommodate policies in other adopted local plans. The November 2011 amendment to the Park Plan was required by the adoption of the Inskip Small Area Plan in April and the South City Sector Plan in November, both of which included park, recreation, and greenway recommendations.

Elements of the Park Plan are tied to several locally adopted sector plans, small area plans, and the 30-year general plan ? when a change or update is approved for one, the Park Plan must be amended. The interconnectedness of plan policies was put in place by design. As related to sector planning, for example, the Park Plan is laid out in sections for each of the county's 12 planning sectors, with the expectation that sections will be regularly revised to reflect new proposals derived from citizen input during the sector planning process.

Driving the most recent amendment to the Park Plan, the South City Sector Planincludes updated maps of the 20-mile trail system initiative of the Legacy Park Foundation. The sector plan also supports parks and trails comprising a greenbelt proposed for the South Waterfront.

The Inskip Small Area Plancalls for expansion of the Inskip-Norwood Recreation Center and Inskip Ballfields to include nature observation and walking paths. The plan also recommends new sidewalk and greenway connections between the recreation center, Inskip Elementary School, and other area park space, including Inskip Pool and Park.

Up next, MPC staff will be updating the North Countyand South CountySector Plans, with community engagement efforts fully underway in 2012. Residents will have several opportunities to share their ideas for community improvement, including park and greenway elements, which, in turn, will comprise future revisions to the Park Plan.

Posted 12-14-2011, written by Mike Carberry