The Knoxville Transportation Authority (KTA) will be taking up the issue of how Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) services should be prioritized, based upon a month of intensive public engagement and community responses.  The meeting will take place on Thursday, April 28, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. in the Essie Johnson Community Room at Knoxville Station, 301 E. Church Avenue.

Over the past several weeks, KAT, along with the Equitable Cities consultant team, asked the community to express preferences on two types of transit systems: one which has frequent service but operates in a smaller area, or one which has infrequent service but operates over a larger area.  The KTA will be deciding where along that spectrum of services KAT should fall.

“Knoxville needs good frequent transit service which can get people to more jobs in a smaller amount of time,” says Isaac Thorne, Director of Transit for the City of Knoxville. “But we also need to be sure we are reaching people where they live, work and play. We don’t have unlimited resources, so the question we’ve been asking the community is: how should our resources be distributed?”

This exercise is the first part of KAT Reimagined – a comprehensive analysis of the KAT system, looking at the current transit service and creating a plan which maximizes access to opportunities through transit.  Background information on current KAT services, market analysis, and general transit planning information can be found in the Choices and Concepts Report, found at katreimagined.com.

After the board decision on Thursday, transit consultants Jarrett Walker + Associates will use the board’s direction in crafting a draft service plan which will be presented in late summer, followed by another round of public engagement.