Mayor Madeline Rogero, City Councilman Nick Pavlis, City officials and the Aslan Foundation will hold a public meeting to discuss the recent road realignment of Fort Dickerson Park’s entrance and future improvements to the park. The meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at Flenniken Landing, 115 Flenniken Ave.

Last year, the City completed the $1.4 million Fort Dickerson Roadway Realignment Project that included the addition of a much-needed traffic signal for the park’s main entrance off of Chapman Highway. Fort Dickerson Road was realigned with Woodlawn Pike and now includes approximately 475 feet of a new two-lane road complete with sidewalk access. 

City officials are now preparing to move forward with construction of the park’s entrance improvements, which include landscaping, signage, a new transit stop and a decorative veneer for the 30-foot-high retaining wall. Carol R. Johnson Associates Inc. is the project’s design contractor.

In 2015, the Aslan Foundation acquired and then donated the former G & R Automotive property to the City, and City Council approved the contract with Bell & Associates to demolish the building on the property. The donated property is located  adjacent to Fort Dickerson Park’s Chapman Highway entrance and is part of the landscaping improvement project.

Additionally, City Parks and Recreation has $275,000 in funding to improve access to the quarry lake and the overlook. City officials will be seeking input on the entrance and park improvements and provide an update on management of the quarry lake this spring.

Fort Dickerson Park includes 85 acres of green space and hiking and mountain biking trails, the quarry lake and a historic Civil War fort. For more information on Fort Dickerson Park, please visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/parks.