Over the past two years, the Tennessee RiverLine has conducted the Community Planning Initiative (CPI) in select communities enrolled in its Tennessee RiverTowns Program and will be hosting an open house in Calvert City on September 29 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Calvert City Memorial Park to showcase the proposed conceptual design of Haddox Ferry.
The Tennessee RiverLine gathered feedback from community members through surveys and in-person discovery sessions regarding how they currently access and enjoy the Tennessee River and captured their visions for enhanced river use in June 2022. Tennessee RiverLine’s Planning and Design team, in collaboration with the Local Leadership Teams in each community, used the information to develop conceptual ideas for riverfront infrastructure that would provide better access to the river and create new and improved experiences both on and by the river. The upcoming series of open house events provides communities the opportunity to see the conceptual designs through renderings and research outcomes and provide input to further refine the ideas put forth by the Tennessee RiverLine.
Haddox Ferry was selected as Calvert City’s proposed site for conceptual design. Haddox Ferry was the start of Calvert City. Although it no longer serves its original purpose as a ferry site, it continues to be used daily by fishermen, industry, boating, kayakers, and daily picnics.
At the conclusion of the two-phase Community Planning Initiative, participating communities will understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and aspirations for riverfront access and infrastructure. As communities enrolled in the Tennessee RiverTowns Program, they will have access to resources necessary to make progress toward implementing their local vision for the Tennessee RiverLine, North America’s next great regional trail system. The open house events will showcase new amenity proposals that are directly informed by input shared by area residents and community leaders during the first phase of CPI.
“These open houses are a culmination of an extensive and collaborative effort between the Tennessee RiverLine, enrolled Tennessee RiverTowns communities, and our partners at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 3M, USDA, and TVA,” says Patrick Osborne, Senior Planning and Design Manager. “Community engagement and conceptual design through CPI marks an important first step toward achieving the vision of the Tennessee RiverLine and its River as Park concept. We are incredibly excited to share the outcomes of this collaboration with the public through these interactive events.”
CPI is made possible by funding through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge, as well as through the generous support of 3M Decatur with funds from the 3M Foundation and the Tennessee RiverLine’s principal partners, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The Tennessee RiverLine is an initiative of the UT Institute of Agriculture with principal partners UT Knoxville and Tennessee Valley Authority and aims to create a continuous system of paddling, hiking, and biking experiences along the Tennessee River’s 652-mile reach. Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching, and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions.
The open house event is free to attend and will provide an opportunity for the public to continue to shape the local vision for Haddox Ferry. Join us in Calvert City Memorial Park on September 29 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. during Food Truck Friday and finish the evening with a Moonlight Movie Night showing the original Ghostbusters.
For more information about the Tennessee RiverLine, visit tnriverline.org or call Calvert City Hall at (270) 395-7138.
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About the Tennessee RiverLine
The Tennessee RiverLine is North America’s next great regional trail system, a historic multi-generational initiative that offers economic development, public health, resource stewardship and equitable access benefits to 2.4 million people in diverse Tennessee River communities in four states. The Tennessee RiverLine is an initiative of the UT Institute of Agriculture and principal partners, UT Knoxville and TVA, in collaboration with the Tennessee RiverLine Partnership, a diverse consortium of organizations committed to realizing the vision for the Tennessee RiverLine. For more information, visit tnriverline.org.
About the USDA Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge
The Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge is a cooperative agreement for eligible entities to help provide planning support, technical assistance and training to foster placemaking activities in rural communities. Cooperative agreement resources may be used to help rural communities create plans to enhance capacity for broadband access; preserve cultural and historic structures; and support the development of transportation, housing and recreational spaces.
