The past year was marked by marvels and milestones.
Unique-to-Knoxville public spaces were created or recreated.
Covenant Health Park opened in April 2025 and hosted professional baseball, championship soccer, concerts, festivals and a holiday light display.
Augusta Quarry reopened last summer as a more accessible, family-friendly get-away to nature – complete with new swim platforms, bathrooms, an improved and expanded overlook, and a smooth wide walkway to the water’s edge.
In December 2025 – after 18 months, a state-ordered closure and a $2.7 million City investment to stabilize the Gay Street Bridge – the 127-year-old bridge reopened to pedestrians and bicyclists on Dec. 16.
The 2025-26 City budget continues an unprecedented and historic investment in affordable housing, with increased support for services aimed at easing homelessness.
Public safety is job No. 1, and more than $101 million in the current budget is directed to support the life-saving work of police officers and firefighters.
At the same time, the City’s property tax remains unchanged – the lowest tax rate since 1974.
Here is a department-by-department breakdown of some of the City’s 2025 highlights and projects. |
| KNOXVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
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Do firefighters earn their reputation for hustling and saving lives and property?
Yes, they do!
KFD responded to almost 25,000 calls for service in 2025, with medical response calls accounting for roughly 80 percent.
Accomplishments and Milestones
Congratulations to the Knoxville Fire Department – for a series of accomplishments and milestones in 2025:
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The EMS Education Program was honored as the EMT Program of the Year by the Tennessee EMS Educators Association.
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KFD received the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy's highest contact hours for fire training again this year.
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KFD graduated an EMS Advanced class this week, bringing its numbers to 77 EMTs, 197 AEMTs, 32 Paramedics and 32 Critical Care. Its recruit class has 19 future firefighters in training.
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KFD continues public fire education services, with an emphasis on lithium battery fires and kitchen fires.
| KNOXVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT |
Public safety is Job #1!
In 2025, KPD and its partners continued to drive a significant reduction in violent crime.
The number of murders in 2025 decreased 26 percent, dropping from 23 in 2024 to 17 in 2025. That was the lowest in Knoxville since 2016.
Non-fatal shootings also dropped 27 percent in 2025, which followed a 45 percent reduction in 2024.
Reported robberies and motor vehicle thefts were also down – by 27 percent and by 22 percent, respectively.
Another measurement of public safety: 2025 marked the fewest traffic-related deaths on roads within the city limits since 2020.
Another 2025 highlight: KPD trained and hired more than 100 police recruits.
For the first time in years, the Police Department is on track to be at full staffing levels by early 2026.
| HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT |
In 2025, Housing and Neighborhood Development made progress on its goals to keep Knoxville residents housed and increase the supply of safe, accessible and attainable housing.
In the fall, HND staff and partner organizations gathered three times within 30 days to celebrate the completion of major projects with City investments.
The openings of First Creek at Austin, Grosvenor Square and Callahan Flats mean new housing for 433 families, with an ultimate total of 558 new units by year’s end. New housing includes permanent supportive units for formerly homeless individuals and seniors.
A major highlight of the year was celebrating Rosa getting the keys to her new rebuilt home.
Additional Housing and Neighborhood Development accomplishments in 2025
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Added 10 new contractors to its stable of local small businesses that can do work on City and CAC programs that provide minor home repairs to qualified applicants.
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Broke ground on Phase II of Transforming Western, with Phase I opening with a celebration in early 2026.
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Launched Lumen Flats, the very first supportive housing development for youth aging out of foster care.
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Published the 2025-2029 consolidated plan and 2025-2026 One Year Plan, establishing the roadmap and priorities for spending federal funds on local housing and community development projects and activities.
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Began community discussions about the future of Serene Manor.
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Celebrated the results of $240,000 Historic Preservation Fund grants at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens’ Howell House visitors center.
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Continued to support homeownership through down payment assistance and owner-occupied home rehabilitation programs.
| PUBLIC SERVICE DEPARTMENT |
As we look back on 2025… our hard-working Public Service professionals put up some impressive numbers!
Did you know, for example, that brush crews collected close to 18,000 tons of grass cuttings and vegetation debris through the City’s curbside brush collection program?
They take a break in the winter to focus on leaf collection, but will be ready to dive back into brush come March!
More by-the-numbers
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City crews patched 4,730 potholes on City-owned streets. Help us stay on top of this nuisance by calling 311 when you see one!
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Ever wonder who does all the work behind the scenes that make festivals so much fun to attend? Public Service in 2025 supported 350 special events, located in downtown gathering spaces, parks, and other spaces across the City.
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Last spring, Horticulture professionals put 15,414 plants in the ground, and 11,114 more in the fall. That’s more than 26,000 flowers – a mix of annuals for seasonal color and interest, and perennials that come back year after year.
These plantings enhanced new streetscapes and freshened up landscape beds throughout downtown, at entrances or areas of interest, and in the parks.
If you’ve walked around Market Square, you’ve noticed some beautiful hanging baskets and planters. The downtown Horticulture crew plants and maintains 126 hanging baskets and 118 planters that overflow with color as they mature.
Horticulture and Urban Forestry
How about a shoutout to Horticulture and Urban Forestry?
Crews worked to remove invasive species to beautify green spaces, allowing for the establishment of more ecologically interesting species. They conducted invasive species eradication and control projects at four different community parks in 2025, improving more than 10 acres.
The Urban Forestry team is responsible for public trees in City parks, in streetscapes, and in other public green spaces. Newly-planted trees are watered for the first two years to help establish roots.
This year, our Urban Forestry green-thumb professionals planted and watered 1,359 public trees, using internal resources and fostering partnerships with Trees Knoxville.
Knoxville Compost Project
Did you know? The Knoxville Compost Project has composted 30 tons of food scraps since the program began three years ago.
And the popularity is growing. In 2025, we're on track to divert more food scraps from the landfill than in any other year!
So far, families have composted 17,931 pounds of food scraps this year, directly supporting our three partner farms in their work to provide nutrient-rich produce to the community.
| FLEET SERVICES DEPARTMENT |
Question: Who was exceptionally busy in 2025?
Answer: The Fleet Services technicians, who maintain 1,700 fleet assets and performed 10,600 repairs or servicings in 2025.
Did you know that Fleet Services technicians completed more than 80 percent of their repairs within 48 hours? Or that City vehicles boasted a daily availability rate of 99.01 percent throughout the year?
The City also put into service 40 green vehicles, including 21 alt fuel mowers and pickups, 8 fully electric vehicles, and 11 hybrid units.
For six consecutive years, Fleet Services has been honored as one of the “100 Best Fleets” by NAFA Fleet Management Association.
The American Public Works Association (APWA) recognized the City of Knoxville as a Leading Fleet in 2024 and 2025.
In each of these awards, Knoxville placed highest in Tennessee!
Transit is rolling with some impressive highlights at the end of 2025!
Ride for free on Route 1: The Downtown Connector. This route connects key destinations throughout downtown Knoxville, including the Old City and Covenant Health Park, Market Square, Gay Street, Main Street and Depot Avenue.
The Downtown Connector route utilizes 15-minute service, creating consistent, convenient service throughout the city center.
Systemwide, KAT ridership is up.
As of Dec. 1, KAT has provided 2,684,031 rides and completed 275,283 service hours!
City stormwater engineers work hard to manage runoff water, prevent flooding and protect aquatic life in streams and creeks.
Proactivity pays off!
In 2025, roughly 20,000 pieces of the stormwater infrastructure – catch basins, pipes, culverts – were inventoried and evaluated as part of the City’s Asset Management Project. Repairing or replacing weak links in the system proactively is less expensive and less disruptive than reacting once a pipe breaks and causes a lot of damage – and the inventory is critically important in heading off problems.
This year, stormwater crews walked 9.3 miles of creeks to evaluate their health, up close and personal. In conjunction with the creek assessments, water quality monitoring samples were collected at 89 locations.
Civil Engineering, by the numbers in 2025
• $57,629,093 – Dollars invested in the construction of capital projects
• 21 – Capital budget construction projects administered
• 17 – Projects designed in-house
• 51.59 – Miles of streets resurfaced
• 11,187 – Linear feet of sidewalk replaced or built
• 191 – Curb cuts constructed
Leading Pedestrian IntervaL (LPI)
Unless you’re a transportation engineer, you might not have ever heard of a Leading Pedestrian Interval, or LPI.
But LPIs save lives, and City Transportation Engineering – as part of the City’s Vision Zero initiative – installed four new LPIs in 2025, at these intersections:
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Sutherland Avenue at Hollywood Road
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Middlebrook Pike at Vanosdale Road
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Kingston Pike at Papermill Drive
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Sutherland Avenue at Tobler Lane
A Leading Pedestrian Interval allows pedestrians to enter a crosswalk 3 to 7 seconds before turning vehicles are given a green light. This increases the visibility of crossing pedestrians and reduces conflicts between crossing pedestrians and turning vehicles.
Data shows this improvement to reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes by 13 percent.
Transportation Engineering
Transportation Engineering takes its Vision Zero mission seriously.
In 2025, 17.2 miles of center and edge line rumble stripes were installed. Rumble stripes are a proven countermeasure to reduce roadway departure or head-on crashes, consistent with the City’s Vision Zero Action Plan.
With the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment, Engineering installed 109 new traffic-calming devices.
The extremely popular Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program greatly improves safety and livability on neighborhood streets across the city. Lowering speeds makes crashes more avoidable and less severe, a key component of Vision Zero.
In addition, Transportation Engineering added retroreflective backplates to traffic signals on the Magnolia and Western Avenue corridors.
Illuminating Below-Deck Pillars of Henley Bridge
Looking back on 2025 highlights – how about a shoutout to Transportation Engineering for adding powerful new lighting last September that can illuminate the below-deck pillars of the Henley Bridge?
The City has been adding an exclamation mark to the celebration of public festivals and Big Orange big games since August 2024 by tailoring the colors of 180 bright LED lights that line the top deck of the 1/3-mile-long bridge.
But last fall, coloring the lighting of the entirety of the bridge – the deck and the pillars below – became a reality.
Most of the painstaking labor was done manually by the City Signal and Lighting Team from the water up, with a Stansell Electric crew finishing by using a special truck with a bucket that could safely swing an electrician over and below the bridge deck.
Here’s what the bridge looked like for a home UT football game last fall! Go Vols!
Sign and Marking Crews
Sign and Marking crews from the Transportation Engineering Division installed nearly 3,000 linear feet of new bike lanes on Winona Street and East Fifth Avenue.
Additionally, 1,600 linear feet of existing bike lanes on East Jackson and McCalla avenues were converted to protected bike lanes.
More Highlights
The Engineering Department’s professionals are constantly delivering.
Some additional 2025 highlights – by the numbers:
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47,000 plus – Number of private development projects reviewed and inspected, with development documents scanned and digitized
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700 – Reviews of requested roadway safety changes and improvements
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175 plus – Traffic control setups and staffing for special events
| PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT |
Thank you to the thousands of Knoxville residents who shared their ideas, values and priorities with the Parks and Recreation Department as part of the Play Knoxville initiative.
Parks and Rec is developing a master plan that will guide future investments in City parks, greenways and community centers. And the key to a great master plan is hearing great feedback and ideas – from everyone.
In 2025, there was extensive community engagement – 80 meetings and events last spring, more than 2,500 statistically valid surveys, community surveys, and online submissions using an interactive map.
Keep an eye out in the first quarter of 2026 for the updated Parks & Rec Master Plan!
A few more Parks and Rec accomplishments in 2025:
Cecil Webb Community Center Renovation
This year, crews completed a $1.1 million renovation on the 40-plus-year-old facility. Upgrades included improvements for ADA accessibility, a reconfiguration of space to accommodate current programs, and upgrades to the center’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.
Summer Camp
A total of 811 children registered in Parks and Rec’s 7-week summer camp offered at 10 community centers.
After-School Program
Currently, 421 children are registered for the 2025-26 school year.
| SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT |
For the City’s Office of Sustainability, looking back = looking forward!
Sustainability, in partnership with TPO, launched Breathe: A Climate Action Plan for the Knoxville Region. That highlight for 2025 is actually a look ahead to future generations.
Funded entirely by a grant from the EPA, the plan is the culmination of two years of collaboration between more than 50 organizations across nine counties. The plan sets greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of 40 percent by 2035, and 75 percent by 2050 (relative to 2022 emissions), to improve air quality, health, and quality of life.
The plan outlines a collection of strategies to meet those goals, such as increasing energy efficiency and weatherization of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings; transitioning to electric and alternative fuel vehicles in public fleets; and accelerating the deployment of clean and distributed energy.
Those strategies are organized by the following sectors: buildings, transportation, energy, waste, natural and working lands, and agriculture.
Meanwhile, Knoxville became the first Tennessee city to earn the Charging Smart designation from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) with technical assistance from Drive Electric TN.
The Charging Smart program helps the City support the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), which promote cleaner air and the economic development of Tennessee’s EV supply chain industry.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS &
311 CENTER FOR SERVICE INNOVATION |
City Information Systems technicians stay busy!
They keep City service providers connected and cyber secure, while the 311 Center for Service Innovation continues to help hundreds of residents and business owners every day.
Did you know that City Information Systems professionals resolved 4,238 IT incidents and completed 1,884 new requests for service in 2025?
Meanwhile, the dedicated customer service representatives at 311 helped 112,539 people, and 211 handled 17,102 calls.
Rocky Bot, the City’s friendly chatbot, also engaged with 9,058 people this year.
| OFFICE OF NEIGHBORHOOD EMPOWERMENT |
Throughout 2025, the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment worked with 79 different neighborhood groups.
Projects included Neighborhood Traffic Safety, Neighborhood Small Grants, Healthy Knoxville, and Certified Wildlife Habitats. Neighborhood advocates provided insights through the Neighborhood Advisory Council, and they attended the office’s many events.
These events ranged from the Neighborhood Awards Dinner, the Neighborhood Resource Fair, the Neighborhood Exchanges, the Wiffleball Tournament, and numerous workshops.
In October, the City collaborated with multiple neighborhood groups - Burlington Residents Association, Cold Springs Neighborhood Watch, Michael Meadowview Neighborhood Watch, Parkridge Community Organization and Town Hall East - on a National Night Out Kick-Off Celebration at Tank Strickland Park. More than 200 people attended!
| COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT |
This year, City Communications launched Kickin’ It with Kincannon, a new podcast hosted by Mayor Indya Kincannon that highlights the people and projects shaping Knoxville.
Through candid conversations, the podcast offers residents a closer look at the work happening across our city.