Our Mission

Bike Walk Knoxville works to make the Knoxville region a better place to bike and walk for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.

Our Goals

1. Serve as the active transportation subject matter expert to the Knoxville region. Whenever there is a question about a policy or funding that impacts biking and walking at the local, state, or federal level, Bike Walk Knoxville is here to answer it. Bike Walk Knoxville seeks to provide the community with resources to advocate for biking and walking at all levels of government. Bike Walk Knoxville also engages directly with the local, state, and federal governments, helping to advise about best practices for biking and walking and serving on relevant boards, commissions, and committees.
2. Engage in outreach and educational opportunities. From biking and walking tours with local elected officials to bike and walk programming for young people, Bike Walk Knoxville reaches out to community members in the Knoxville area to engage and educate about how policy, funding, and infrastructure impacts biking and walking and how we can improve our community.
3. Support Complete Streets. Complete Streets are streets that work for everybody. People of all ages and abilities should be able to safely move along and across streets in a community, regardless of how they are traveling. Complete Streets provide connectivity for biking and walking, which can help make our community healthier and economically more prosperous. Bike Walk Knoxville commends the City of Knoxville for passing a Complete Streets policy in 2014 (Section 23-19), and will continue to work to advance the goals of Complete Streets.
4. Plan and host events that engage the Knoxville community with biking and walking in public spaces and roadways. These events allow diverse populations across Knoxville communities to come together to celebrate and experience active transportation. We hope to inspire our communities to be walkable, bikeable, and less dependent on automobile transportation.

Our Objectives

1. 1. Serve as the active transportation subject matter expert to the Knoxville region.
      • Bike Walk Knoxville is proud to be represented at many committees, boards, and commissions doing important work in our community, including the Knox County Safe Routes to School Partnership, Community Health Council, Knoxville Climate Council Transportation Working Group, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office Pedestrian Task Force, Active Knox, and the Knoxville Greenways Commission. 
      • Empower our community to engage with local elected officials by providing advocacy resources and opportunities through our tours with elected officials.
   2. Engage in outreach and educational opportunities.
      • Tours with Elected Officials:
        • Bike Walk Knoxville will host at least one walk and one ride each year.
      • Engage diverse community partners. 
      • Safe Routes to School:
        • Bike Walk Knoxville will partner with the Knox County Safe Routes to School Partnership to encourage students across our community to walk and bike to school safely.
        • Bike Walk Knoxville will engage with schools on Safe Routes to School programming as possible to provide opportunities for diverse communities to walk and bike to school safely.
        • Bike Walk Knoxville will engage with planners, engineers, and policy makers at the local level to encourage safe biking and walking infrastructure around Knox County Schools. 
      • Kids Love Bikes:
        • Bike Walk Knoxville will work with community partners across Knoxville to provide education to young people on bike handling, maintenance, and safety.
      • Bike/pedestrian Friendly Driver Program:
        • • Bike Walk Knoxville to teach the bike/pedestrian friendly driver curriculum to community members across Knoxville to share the roadways and make our streets safer for all users.
   3. Support Complete Streets.
      
      • Use tours with elected officials to highlight the diverse communities in Knoxville and show both the good and bad of biking and walking infrastructure in our area
      • Encourage the Knoxville City Council and Mayor’s administration to create and enact thoughtful, consistent policies for building and maintaining complete streets across Knoxville. 
   4. Plan and host events that engage the Knoxville community with biking and walking in public spaces and roadways.
      
      • Bike Walk Knoxville will host one Open Streets Knoxville event each year.
      • Bike Walk Knoxville will partner with Visit Knoxville to host Tour de Lights each year.