A large and enthusiastic crowd showed up Monday, Oct. 17, to the public meeting for Phase 1 of a Fort Dickerson Park project that will include quarry lake access improvements.

The meeting was hosted by the City of Knoxville, Aslan Foundation, Sanders Pace Architecture with PORT Urbanism, and Legacy Parks Foundation. 

The Aslan Foundation and Sanders Pace Architecture with PORT Urbanism created a unique and interactive public meeting format in which participants followed the park’s layout in vinyl adhesive on the ground as they provided input for each geographic location surrounding the quarry lake.

Funding totaling $160,000 has been slated for Phase 1 of the project, which will primarily bring a public drive and parking lot to the quarry lake from the park’s Blount Avenue entrance. City officials needed public input on desired quarry lake recreation opportunities (which will come in Phase 2) in order to determine how to provide access to the quarry lake in Phase 1.

Suggested recreation options for the quarry lake mentioned at Monday’s meeting included swimming/floating, boat rentals, increased access points to the water, and areas for birdwatching, among others. Other suggestions from the public included restrooms, increased patrols, food vendors, and safety improvements.

The public meeting took place in the historic Kern’s Bakery Building on Chapman Highway, located less than a mile from Fort Dickerson Park. 

The City will continue to accept input for the quarry lake at Fort Dickerson Park until November 1, 2016. Suggestions may be submitted via e-mail at [email protected] or public input cards available at the South Knoxville Community Center, located at 522 Maryville Pike.

For more information, please call 311 or visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/recreation.