Regional Cooperation in Greenway Planning National Walking Summit, October 29-30, 2015

 Two keys to our work:  Working together as a region  Showing the fiscal benefits

 Studies are a partnership of the Great Smoky Mountains Regional Greenway Council and the Knoxville Regional TPO MAYNARDVILLE

 More than 100 miles of paved greenway in the Knoxville Region 50 miles in Knoxville; east-west spine is 17 miles 16 miles in Maryville/ Alcoa; almost all is connected 9 miles in Townsend 9 miles in Oak Ridge

 2013 study looked at Maryville to Townsend  2014 study was West Knox to Oak Ridge Focus on fiscal benefits

 Plan is part of a larger vision of connecting Knoxville to the Great Smoky Mountains via greenway trail

CONSPIRA CY

Suburban Cross-Section

Rural/Steep Cross-Section

Rendering of Rural Section

Cost Estimates 1.4 miles $665, miles $2.5 million 6.7 miles $21.4 million Total cost: $24.5 million $475,000/mile $446,000/mile $3.2 million/mile

Elements of Fiscal Analysis $2.45M per year in construction spending $3.6M in annual output from construction 33 jobs created per year Maintenance spending adds another $87K in annual output and 1 job per year

Elements of Fiscal Analysis $2.8M in annual output from tourism Greenway is expected to attract: 109,500 annual users 65,700 local users 43,800 non- local users Estimated spending: $43.22 per day 34 jobs created per year Final element of fiscal impact: $170K in state and local taxes

Findings of Fiscal Analysis $2.66 in economic benefits for every $1 in construction spending

Where we stand now Portion of trail outside of urbanized area will require private funding

West Knox to Oak Ridge Study Goals  Demonstrate fiscal benefits of increasing access to trails  Making connections between trails and other destinations

More Connections

Preferred and Alternate Alignments

Benefits of the Greenway  Positive impact on residential property values  An amenity for office parks and workers  Increased sales for retailers  Shops near the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, SC, saw a 30-50% increase in sales

Another local example: Urban Wilderness  42-mile recreational trail network linking 5 parks and 3 Civil War forts  UTK researcher estimates annual economic impact between $15M and $25M per year  Trail advocate has tracked at least $8M in residential real estate investments PR Web photo

Lessons learned  Working together as a region — sharing the costs, sharing the work  Using the fiscal arguments to engage skeptical audiences — reach them where they are

More resources  For more on our regional partnership: ways.org/aboutus.htm ways.org/aboutus.htm  For more on the economic benefits of similar projects: FHWA’s 2015 White Paper ̶ Evaluating the Economic Benefits of Nonmotorized Transportation (FHWA-HEP )  To contact me: