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Mary Vestal Greenway extension opens in South Knoxville

A ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday celebrated the opening of the greenway extension, which will connect two parks, a pool and a community center.

Community members and city officials on Monday celebrated the ribbon-cutting of a 0.3-mile extension of the Mary Vestal Greenway in South Knoxville.

The now 0.7 mile greenway starts in the recently created Vestal Gateway Park. From there, it runs all the way to Mary Vestal Park, with the new extension linking facilities like the South Knoxville Community Center and the indoor Elmer Brine Pool.

"To connect a greenway and a park, and to connect it to a different park really gives us that little bit of... it furthers that healthy activity that they want to have out in Vestal," Director of Parks and Recreation Sheryl Ely said. "The seniors and children who attend programming in our community center can now get there independently, without the need of a car, thanks to the Public Service crew’s work.”

The addition of the greenway extension came shortly after the creation of the Vestal Gateway Park, which features a pavilion, benches, a wildflower field and a trailhead arch.

It also came as part of a larger push to make greenways more accessible.

That push is being bolstered by the Greenways Services Crew, a five-person team dedicated to trail maintenance and construction. The creation of the Greenways Services Crew was originally announced by Mayor Madeline Rogero in 2016.

In addition to maintaining the city’s current 112-mile greenway and trail system, the goal is for the crew to create two new miles of trails each year.

“With this new crew, our goal is to help the city be more proactive with greenway connections,” Public Service Director Chad Weth said.

The Greenways Services Crew has built more than two miles of new trails to date.

For more information on Mary Vestal Greenway, Vestal Gateway Park, or the City’s parks and greenways system, visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/recreation.

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