where to bridge?

It looks like Knoxville is getting a pedestrian bridge. For a river city, we have amazingly few ways to cross it. It seems that generations of Knoxvillians were content to stay on the north side of the river. That's changing with the South Waterfront Plan, which will essentially create a southern half to downtown. Part of that plan is a pedestrian bridge, a la the Walnut Street Bridge in Chattanooga.

I'm all for it. I think if the city does it right, a beautiful new bridge could become as iconic to the city as the Sunsphere is. So the concept is sound, but where to put it? Mr. Flory has (rightfully) questioned the usefulness of the proposed site by UT campus. Given our river bluff topography and a plethora of obstacles (City/County Building, Baptist Hospital, UT Stadium/Arena), placing a bridge that works with downtown is a difficult task. But let's try it!


Blue shows our existing bridges, orange shows the "passes" that allow approaches through the South Knoxville hills, and red (labeled 1) is the proposed site. There are advantages and disadvantages to T-B Arena site, which I encourage you to discuss in the comments. However I would like to focus on a few alternatives here.

#2 Make the downtown pedestrian bridge connect to, you know, downtown. We could put it in between our two major bridges. All we'd have to do is tear down the City/County Building and the Baptist Hospital Complex. Yeah! As awesome as that would be, it's pretty improbable. Moving on...

#3 The bluff to the east of First Creek offers an interesting possibility. The north approach would be by the touristy part of town with James White Fort and the Hall of Fame. On the south side it would more intimately interact with the South Waterfront (something you can't say about the Scottish Pike neighborhood), terminating either at the unoccupied mound that Sevier Ave splits around (which would make a nice park) or centrally where Davenport Road comes over the ridge. There'd be some tricky threading by Ruth's Chris and those condos, but I think that'll be true of the T-B arena site also.

#4 Maplehurst to Blount Ave. There's an old railroad bridge there currently, but in the South Waterfront meetings it was confirmed that only ONE train a day uses it. This is the same track that awkwardly bisects Worlds Fair Park. The approaches on both sides are worked out- so we could either rehab the old bridge (like Chattanooga's Walnut Street and much cheaper) or dismantle the bridge and build the new one in its place. We might even be able to reuse the concrete piers (keeping cost down), something like this:


It would connect to a vibrant downtown neighborhood, the railroad right of way would easily connect its path to Worlds Fair Park and the Greenway system, and its southern approach would be much more central to the South Waterfront.

You can probably tell where I'm leaning. What do you think? Where would our pedestrian bridge be best placed?


Update:

OK, one more map. But first, a caveat: This bridge will be wonderful and scenic no matter where it's placed. What it's like over the water doesn't bother me, it's what happens at the ends that needs more thought.

The issue is our unusual topography. We're a river bluff city, with the occasional creek gorge separating elements (most significantly campus and downtown). What if the northern approach of was extended and more integral?


The bridge could come in at bluff level (with a side connection to Maplehurst) and "T" into ANOTHER bridge that bridges the Second Creek gap between the Hill and Downtown! This second bridge would tie into the 11th Street Garage bridge on its western end and into the Convention Center on the other.

At a convention? Want to see the river? Just walk down the elegant bridge between the old bluff neighborhood and the stately University. Suddenly the bluff drops away and the hills across the river reflect in its glassy surface. I can see it in my mind's eye...