With downtown’s continuing growth and development, Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) will be examining the downtown trolley service to determine if it is still meeting the needs as effectively as possible.  As such, KAT has created some unique ways for the public to provide input into the system.

“Trolleys on Tap” is the title of the listening sessions KAT staff will be holding at a variety of venues downtown to get public input on the city’s downtown trolley system.  The sessions will be held throughout September and part of October at several businesses and will feature a large downtown map where participants can design their own trolley routes and comment on things like when and how the system should run.

Trolleys on Tap are scheduled as follows:

• Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. at Flow, 603 West Main Street

• Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015 – 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Suttree’s, 409 S. Gay Street

• Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015 – 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. at OliBea, 119 S. Central Street

• Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015 – 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. at Café 4, Market Square

• Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015 – 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Flow, 603 West Main Street

• Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015 – 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Old City Java, 109 S. Central Street

In addition, an online survey will be available for those who may not be able to attend Trolleys on Tap.  That short survey is found at www.surveymonkey.com/r/KAT-Trolley. 

KAT will be updating interested parties through a trolley blog, providing a summary of input from each Trolleys on Tap event, and any eventual proposed changes.  That site is found at www.knoxvilletn.gov/katblog. 

Detailed information on the trolley study, Trolleys on Tap and links to the online survey are found on the blog listed above, KAT’s website, KAT’s Facebook page, and on rack card information distributed to businesses throughout downtown.  

“The trolleys are such an important part of our downtown, so we really want to hear from the public about what’s working, what’s not, and what they’d like to see,” says Dawn Distler, Director of Transit for the City of Knoxville. “We have designed this input process to be fun and engaging and also accessible to anyone who wants to comment.”