UT administrators celebrated with city of Knoxville officials Thursday at the opening of the newly restored Second Creek Greenway connecting World’s Fair Park to the Tennessee River. Interim Chancellor Jan Simek, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and other representatives including UT’s mascot Smokey welcomed bikers, joggers and pedestrian traffic to the 0.15 mile greenway running between Cumberland Avenue and Neyland Drive across from the Bridgeview Grill.
The city and UT worked together to create the trail which adds additional green space to campus. Simek views the greenway as an "expansion and enlargement" to the university’s Make Orange Green efforts to create and maintain a sustainable campus environment.
"Second Creek Greenway is a trail that will impact hundreds of thousands of people," said Haslam, "including runners and bikers, casual passers by, and Volunteer football fans." The trail extension joins almost 15 miles of previously connected greenway system.