Rumors can spread quickly, cause damage, and ultimately insight fear and anger. Misinformation can spread unintentionally, while disinformation or malinformation are designed to mislead and do harm.
Here at the City of Knoxville we are committed to providing fair, accurate, and timely information.
| This page is used to help separate FACT from FICTION, and provide you with the correct information about what is happening in your city. |
RUMOR: There is no free parking in downtown Knoxville.
There are hundreds of parking spaces that are free at all times – plus, there are more than 60 free 15-minute Stop-and-Go spaces, conveniently located throughout Downtown and in the Cumberland District for shoppers and errand-runners.
Parking in all City-owned garages is free on weeknights after 6 p.m. Garage parking is also free on Saturdays and Sundays, with the exception of Market Square Garage, which charges a $3 flat rate on Saturdays.
On-street parking is free, 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and free all day on Sundays.
Go HERE to learn more.
RUMOR: The City shut down the Gay Street Bridge to reduce driving downtown.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation ordered the Gay Street Bridge closed after a failed inspection in June 2024 – the first of three detailed inspections that pinpointed defects in the 127-year-old bridge.
After multiple modelings, data analyses and consultations, teams of engineers agreed that the bridge could not reopen to vehicular traffic.
The City chose to reimagine how the bridge could be reused, stabilized it, and reopened it to pedestrians and bikes in December 2025.
More details HERE.
RUMOR: The City doesn’t spend any money or resources to help the homeless.
This year, the City committed $6 million to support a broad coalition of partners that is focused on caregiving – and also on creating pathways to permanent housing solutions and stability.
That included $2.5 million for supportive housing and $1.4 million for rapid rehousing.
Plus, more than $1 million went directly to service providers like the Salvation Army, Volunteer Ministry Center and Catholic Charities and to expand the number of emergency shelter beds and support winter warming centers.
With Knox County, the City funds the Joint Office of Housing Stability – details
HERE. City funding directly supports more than 16 facilities and programs.
Click HERE for more info.
RUMOR: Covenant Health Park has no socio or economic benefit for the surrounding community.
The City and County agreed to build the publicly-owned stadium, first and foremost, to create jobs and stimulate economic development in East Knoxville.
An independent analysis calculated the total economic impact of the stadium and surrounding private development to be nearly $480 million over 30 years.
Already, in just the stadium's first year, the amount of private investment in what had for decades been a blighted area has already exceeded the public investment in building the stadium.
HERE are some predictions for how successful Covenant Health Park will be in terms of stimulating new investment and creating new economic opportunity.
But apart from creating jobs and building wealth in East Knoxville, consider that Covenant Health Park is drawing large crowds for soccer, baseball, concerts and special events. So the stadium is also enhancing the quality of life for families citywide.
RUMOR: The City doesn’t invest in East Knoxville.
Did you know that, just in recent years, the City, non-profit partners and private redevelopers have invested more than $130 million in East Knoxville?
Click HERE for a partial list of some of the major public-facing projects, like the expansion of Morningside Park, a new Burlington fire station and streetscape project, and upgrades to ballfields, community/recreation centers, greenways, streets and playgrounds.
More info HERE and HERE.
RUMOR: The City is spending $60 million in federal, state and local funds on a pedestrian bridge that could be used for other more pressing needs.
The City has been awarded $24.7 million in BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments for Leveraging Development, previously called RAISE/TIGER) grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The federal grant is supported with state and local funds.
The BUILD grant process requires that all funding sources identified in the
grant application be used toward the project description for which funds were awarded.
Because those grant funds are specifically dedicated to design and construction of a South Waterfront Bike and Pedestrian Bridge, they cannot be used for any other purpose.
The pedestrian bridge was born out of community input and the South Waterfront Vision Plan more than 15 years ago. It will provide connectivity to housing and greater access to parks, greenways, the Urban Wilderness and the UT campus.
More information can be found HERE and HERE.
RUMOR: Knoxville has a high crime rate – it's not safe.
The crime rate is Knoxville is low – and, following a consistent trend, it keeps dropping.
The Knoxville Police Department's preliminary 2025 priority crime report is highlighted by double-digit reductions in murders, non-fatal shootings and other crime categories.
Murders decreased 26 percent, dropping from 23 in 2024 to 17 in 2025. The 17 murders represent the lowest total in Knoxville since 2016.
Non-fatal shootings dropped 27 percent in 2025, which follows a 45 percent reduction in non-fatal shootings in 2024.
Knoxville also saw a 27 percent reduction in reported robberies and a 22 percent reduction in motor vehicle thefts.
Find the complete report HERE.
RUMOR: The City of Knoxville does not maintain roads in all districts the same. Some parts of town never see repaving.
For each of the past 37 years, the City resurfaced roughly an equal number of miles in each of the six City Council districts. From 1988 through the end of 2025, about 258 miles have been paved in each of the six Council districts.
But starting in 2026, the City tweaked its resurfacing policy to make it even more fair and equitable. Rather than pave the exact same miles in each district, the formula for miles paved now factors in the geographical size of Council districts and the number of miles of streets in each district.
As examples, 19 percent of the city’s streets are in District 6, but only 12.6 percent of the city's streets are in District 1. The new formula divides the road repaving pie equitably and proportionally throughout the city.
The adjustment is important, because it also helps keep the maintenance rotation uniform and equitable citywide. The City aims to repave larger arterial streets every 10 years, and small local streets every 20 years.
Click HERE for more.