Nourishing the Neighborhoods
Plans for District Eight

Overview

District Eight includes the heart of Chattanooga's Central Business District.  The Aquarium and associated riverfront developments south of the Tennessee River, public buildings such as City Hall, Hamilton County Courthouse, Federal offices and other important buildings are all located within this district.  The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is here as well as Memorial Auditorium, the Tivoli Theater, the Hunter and Houston museums, the Bluff View Arts District and the Chattanooga Convention Center. Principal employers such as UnumProvident, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and
numerous corporate and law offices call this district home. The councilman for District Eight often has said that this part of his district "belongs to everyone" and it is difficult to argue otherwise.

The district also incorporates Avondale, Eastside, Clifton Hills and parts of East Chattanooga.  In addition to the commercial and industrial properties in the downtown area and scattered throughout the district, a number of older residential areas continue to be found throughout the district.

In terms of land use, District Eight is probably the most diverse =
political subdivision in the geography of Chattanooga's city government.

Greatest Challenge:

The closing and repair of the Market Street Bridge and the reconfiguration and rebuilding of US Highway 27 will be the greatest challenge facing District Eight for the next few years.  Both of these projects will be disruptive to traffic and will no doubt affect the business climate to some degree.

Greatest Opportunity:

The vacant and developable sites - made prime by massive improvements in the downtown and the riverfront area - offer obvious, tremendous opportunities. However, the recently announced plan by Blue Cross/Blue Shield to build a new corporate campus on Cameron Hill will present the greatest opportunity. Clearance of the site and construction of the numerous new structures on the property will be a major project.  But the reuse of the older buildings vacated in the process will provide an equally attractive opportunity to breath new life into downtown retail and residential land uses.

My Plan and My Pledge

I will finish what we've started downtown. The ribbon cutting for all the new parks and special features is just the beginning =96 now we must recruit private developers to fill in the vacant parcels.

I will improve the city's interstate gateways at Rossville Boulevard and South Market Street. I will repave Rossville Boulevard - adding streetscaping where appropriate.

I will rehabilitate and restore Montague Park as a first class softball facility

I will keep the plans of the Tennessee Department of Transportation to rebuild and improve US Highway 27 through downtown on track.

I will see to it that we effectively manage the transition of Blue =
Cross/Blue Shield as they move into their new complex on Cameron Hill.

 I will repair and extend sidewalks. Add trails and pedestrian facilities.

I will provide a proper gateway between Tennessee and Georgia.

I will restore brownfield industrial sites to a useful purpose.

I will build more sidewalks and work to implement remaining applicable portions of the adopted neighborhood plans

I will push for more aggressive code enforcement throughout the residential neighborhoods to reduce the number of abandoned vehicles and to further minimize trash-strewn and blighted properties.

I will insist on active enforcement of the noise ordinance to eliminate the late night disturbances of booming car stereos.

I will implement "traffic calming" to slow traffic and discourage short cuts by motorists through residential areas. Thus, we will provide a quieter and safer environment for children and adults.

I will take a comprehensive approach to storm water problems.

Finally, pursuant to specific requests and comments by neighborhood residents, I promise to do a better job of maintaining the streets and roads, and I will undertake new measures to make sure that everyone has a better understanding about the scheduling and collection of trash and brush.