Background Report

Community Facilities and Utilities
Map 6: Community Facilities

Residents of the North City Sector are served by a wide range of public facilities, including parks, recreation centers, schools, and libraries.

Parks, Recreational and Greenway Facilities
There are approximately 212 acres of park land within the North City Sector, about 2 percent of the total land area. These parks include neighborhood, community, and district/regional parks. Neighborhood parks are 2 percent (approximately 5 acres) of the park land and are composed entirely of elementary school playgrounds. There are several community parks in this sector, comprising 43 percent or 91 acres of park land. Most of these parks are traditional community parks, a couple are middle or high school parks, and one is a sports complex. The largest part of the total park lands in this sector, at 55 percent or 116 acres, is Beverly Park, a district park with walking trails and golf.

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has published recommended standards for different types of parks and facilities. According to the NRPA, most communities should provide between 6.25 and 10.5 acres of close-to-home parks (neighborhood or community parks) per 1,000 people in order to adequately serve the public’s recreational needs. Using the NRPA guideline (6.25 ac./1,000 pop.) and the estimated 2006 population (26,744) for the North City sector there is a 71-acre deficiency of close-to-home parks. If population trends were to continue growing without the addition of more park space, by 2020 (29,320 population) close-to-home parks would be deficient by more than 87 acres. There are several areas within the sector that would benefit from a neighborhood park, including:

• South of Tazewell Pike and north of Sharp’s Ridge – New Harvest Park being built on Washington Pike will help alleviate some of the need in this area.
• Between Cedar Lane and Highland Drive between Broadway and Central Avenue Pike
• South of Dante Road and north of Cedar Lane between Haynes-Sterchi Road and I-75

Looking at a broader area, there is also a need for district and regional parks. The next closest district/regional park will be Tommy Schumpert Park located on Rifle Range Road, once construction of the park is completed. It is also important to note that while Beverly Park is classified as a district park, it lacks many of the amenities that are commonly associated with district parks such as playground, active recreation areas (sports fields and courts for practice and games), and passive recreation areas (picnic shelters and benches). The need for more possible activities and amenities limits Beverly Park from being used as a close-to-home park for residents who live nearby.

Greenways:
There are four greenway trails in this sector, which provide approximately 4 miles for walking, jogging, or biking. Three of these greenways, Fountain City, Beverly, and Sue Clancy, are completely contained within parks as loop trails. The Sterchi Greenway is a linear trail that runs between subdivisions and provides connections to neighborhoods, parks, and residences.

Recreation Centers:
There are two City-owned recreation centers in the North City Sector: Fountain City and Oakland Recreation Centers. Fountain City has a gym, indoor basketball, playground, tennis court, softball field, and meeting room, and is overall in good condition and adjacent to Fountain City Ballfields. A challenge with this facility is that it is not centrally located in the community and it is difficult to find, being tucked into a neighborhood. The Oakland Recreation Center is a former African-American school, built by the Works Progress Administration in 1936. It includes a playground, softball field, meeting room, kitchen, and a gym for martial arts classes. The martial arts classes are the primary use for this facility and it does not maintain other service hours. This recreation center also suffers from a lack of community visibility.

General Park Survey Requests
(from Zip Codes 37912 and 37918):
In the fall of 2006, the City and County Parks and Recreation Departments along with MPC conducted a Park, Recreation, Greenway and Open Space Survey to ascertain the public’s opinion of the park systems. The most requested items were greenways and skate parks. The request for greenways included such comments as walking, jogging, fitness, bike trails, and pedestrian connections/amenities, including shaded walkways, mile markers, connecting sidewalks, and bike lanes. Additionally, skate parks were mentioned as frequently as greenways and pedestrian connections. Many requests recognized that if a space were provided for skateboarders it would be safer and provide healthy recreation for teenagers.

Other frequently requested facilities include more swimming pools, indoor swimming pools (for year-round use), equestrian and horse riding facilities, soccer fields (especially lighted, adult fields and tournament locations), disc golf courses, mountain biking trails, natural areas (large, open, green spaces), baseball facilities, tennis courts, and splash pads. Some unique ideas included rugby fields (especially for youths), a whitewater park, nature programs within the parks, boating areas, fishing areas, ice skating rink, dog parks, archery course, and a boxing ring.

Specific Park Recommendations from the Public Meetings:

• Provide greenway to get foot traffic off of Cedar Lane
• More playground equipment at Adair Park
• Skate park for the community
• Improve tennis courts at Gresham Middle School
• Sterchi Greenway connection to Gresham Middle
• Improvements to Adair Park’s pond and restrooms

Schools
Public education is provided by the Knox County Board of Education. The school zone boundaries correspond fairly well with the sector boundaries so most children live and go to school within the sector.

Libraries
The Fountain City Branch Library is located in a new building on Stanton Road. The Norwood and the North Knoxville branches are located fairly close to the sector and may be more convenient for some residents.

Public Safety
Police protection is provided by the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Sheriff’s Department. Fire protection is offered by Knoxville Fire Department and Rural Metro. Fire stations 14 and 15 are located within the sector.

Utilities
The Knoxville Utilities Board coordinates distribution of most utilities, including electricity, natural gas, water and sewer services.