Fully shutting down Riverfront Parkway to traffic appears off the table as planners envision ways to re-energize the waterfront district in downtown Chattanooga, officials said Tuesday.
But planners said they are looking at ways to cluster more businesses and spur street activity near the Tennessee River. Also, they want to make Ross’s Landing Park more inviting by adding seating, shade trees and programming, and they see Broad Street becoming an improved corridor in the district.
Andrew Overbeck of the consulting firm MKSK, giving an update to the ONE Riverfront planning effort for the district, said at a virtual meeting that recommendations are expected in late spring or early summer.
Overbeck said he doesn’t know of any plans to fully close Riverfront Parkway as it runs between the Tennessee Aquarium and the river. But, he said, consultants are looking at a suggestion to close the busy road more often on a temporary basis for events and other purposes to help people better connect to the park and water.
Jim Williamson of the nonprofit downtown redevelopment group River City Co., which commissioned the study in late 2019, said that fully closing Riverfront Parkway is “not impossible, but it would be very difficult.”