A Parkway For the People

Mayor Andy Berke often says, “I love our city and one of the things that makes it great is that there are places where we all come together and celebrate, or argue, or convene, or just to eat.”

We are fortunate to have many great streets across Chattanooga that allow us to do all of these things, from the vibrant storefronts of M L King Boulevard to the block parties happening on residential streets in almost every neighborhood.

As part of the City of Chattanooga’s ongoing efforts to transform our streets into great public places, CDOT is reimagining and recreating Patten Parkway. Building on its past as a market square, Patten Parkway will be remade with brick pavers, parking, trees, seating, lighting and public art. The new Patten Parkway will be an ideal place for public gathering — well suited for festivals, concerts and other events — as well as vital connective corridor within our downtown.

The new vision for Patten Parkway balances the street’s history with the need for long-term resilience and flexibility. Its redesigned configuration is inspired by the layout of a historic market house: trees mirror the colonnade and clear span of a market house, with a center aisle for circulation and spaces on either side that can be used for parking, kiosks, or other uses. The center will accommodate car traffic and parking but the larger pedestrian spaces on both sides of the parkway can merge with the center to create a one great place for people that stretches the entire length of the block.

During the next twelve months, Patten Parkway will be under construction. One side of the street will stay open for driving and parking, and access to all storefronts will be maintained throughout construction. The memorials currently in the middle of Patten Parkway will be carefully catalogued, removed, and placed in storage as the City and Veterans Memorial Committee finalize a new, more prominent location for them.

Patten Parkway is already one of Chattanooga’s most distinctive and beloved spaces. Upon the completion of this construction project, it will build on the momentum of the new Miller Park and recently redesigned M L King Boulevard, connecting, inspiring, and convening new generations of Chattanoogans. For more information on the project and for updates throughout construction, please visit this website.

Project partners include Chattanooga Department of Transportation, Public Art Chattanooga, Department of Public Works, Chattanooga Design Studio, River City Company, Veterans Memorial Committee, ASA Engineering, and WMWA Landscape Architects.