City Councilman Denzel Grant, who represents downtown Knoxville, met recently with Mayor Indya Kincannon and Chief Operating Officer Grant Rosenberg to discuss the possible transition of one block of Union Avenue from two-way traffic to one-way east toward Market Square.
Grant said in an interview with me that Kincannon decided to halt any transition of street directions until the nearby hotel under construction is completed in summer or fall of 2027.
A meeting of residents and property owners was held Aug. 10 in the Pembroke Lobby. More than 40 people were present, including retired University of Tennessee vice chancellor and former city councilmember Theotis Robinson Jr. Robinson was the first African American to be elected to the the Knoxville
City Council in over 70 years.
Ellie Moore, the new downtown coordinator who replaced the popular and veteran city employee Rick Emmett, attended the meeting. Unfortunately she did not have some information attendees wanted, such as the timeline for decisions being made about whether to convert Union Avenue from two-way to one-way on that block. She also was unable to identify who in city government would make the final decision.
The matter appears to be shelved until the hotel is completed. It will be an AC Marriott. The block includes Union Ave Books, the Pembroke and Daylight buildings, Pete's Restaurant and JC Holdway. Most of the residents of the two apartment buildings were initially unaware of the plans because they did not receive formal notice.
The city had sent the notice to the landlord of the two buildings with the request it be shared with all tenants. That did not happen. Chesapeake's downtown is directly affected because it owns a parking lot on that block used for its customers.
The owners of Pete's and Chesapeake's are opposed to making the block one way. City councilmembers may be asked to voice their views.
The recent county election Aug. 6 produced some interesting results with the most striking one being Democrat Beau Hawk coming within 2.5 points of reaching a majority over Republican Betsy Henderson for county mayor. Sequoyah Hills, which was once a GOP precinct, is no more a Republican stronghold. Hawk defeated Henderson 812 to 509 there. Henderson did not have the support of Larsen Jay or Kim Frazier in the general election.
In Sequoyah, Democrat Stephen Hood beat Nick McBride for trustee 716 to 569. Sessions Judge Andrea Kline, who lives in Sequoyah, tied Democrat Ben Houston 641 to 641.
Brent Jones beat Elaine Davis in the GOP primary 334 to 278 in Sequoyah while her opponent in the general election, Democrat Bryan Goldberg, won 530 votes. But a few short miles away at Deane Hill Recreation Center, Henderson beat Hawk 738 to 604 and Kline beat Houston 846 to 483. The top vote-getter in Sequoyah was Democrat Katherine Bike at 838 votes over Republican Ashley Sartelle at 475.
The future of Knoxville city police chief Paul Noel is far from clear. After being suspended without pay for a month after sending inappropriate text messages to a subordinate, his self-inflicted actions raise the valid question of how he can restore his credibility once he is back on duty. Deputy Chief David Powell is now interim chief. Powell is able, honest and effective.
If Noel departed, Powell would be an easy immediate appointment to serve until the next mayor takes office the third Saturday in December 2027. He can handle the job.
The department also faces a serious shortage in African American officers with only 18 out of 398, or 4.5% of the force. Half of the 18 could retire now if they wished, meaning the problem could get worse before it gets better.
Birthdays
Sept. 5: Walter Brott is 93. Ellen Adcock is 75. UT professor Greg Kaplan is 60. Brent Jones is 45. Chris Foell is 70.
Sept. 6: Tyler Roy is 41. Brandalyn Breeden is 40. Mary Pom Claiborne is 64. Christopher R. Kelton is 40.
Sept 7: Retired UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek is 80. Landscape architect Steve Hackney is 64. Isaac Thorne is 46. Frank Venable III is 63. Courtney Bergmeier is 40. Kyle Ward is 41. Attorney Bruce Anderson is 76. Louis Moran III is 62.
Sept. 8: Cary Slatery is 74. Edward G. Rottmann is 44. Roddy Rodgers is 81. Dr. Marek Pienkowski is 81. Judge Emily Abbott is 46. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is 85.
Sept. 9: Pete DeBusk is 84. Kathy Hawes is 52. Bridgett McMahan is 46. Jennifer Mirtes is 54. Retired Judge and state Senator Ben Hooper is 87.
Sept. 10: Annie Jones is 82. Artist Sarah Pollock is 47. Chester Maze is 67. Sabra Tatum is 76. John Hamilton III is 63. Hadley Gamble is 45. Janet Wright is 74. Jeff Talman is 69. Judge Bill Ailor is 70.
Sept. 11: Elba Marshall is 52. Ramsey Cohen is 39. Artist Jim Gray is 78. Bill Street is 56. Brent Ball is 47. David Haynes is 32. Paul Hotsinpiller is 63. Dr. Michael Antiporda is 41.
Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News.
Knox News and Shopper News promptly correct all errors. If you think we have published incorrect information, please email accuracy@knoxnews.com. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Union Avenue traffic change postponed until new hotel ready | Opinion
