Just a few weeks before he was sworn in for his first term in 2018, Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay drove down Northshore Drive and spotted a family attempting to cross the hectic street to continue along the Concord Greenway near Concord Park.

He saw how the cars speeding by made it dangerous for people attempting to reach the other side.

He presented a $1.94 million plan to better connect 11,000 nearby residents to one of the county's most popular parks. That plan has hit a major milestone.

"The sole purpose of the project is pedestrian safety, reducing the amount of traffic to get to park access, and building an infrastructure that, maybe one day down the road, we can do additional greenways," Jay said. "I don't want to ever see a kid, or family, or a runner, or biker, or pedestrian, or scooter having to worry about dying on Northshore Drive just to get to their park."

It could also encourage more people to walk to nearby destinations.

Knox County Department of Engineering and Public works senior director Jim Snowden said approximately 17,000 cars travel along Northshore Drive daily. The improved greenway could lead to more people walking in the area, only taking a few hundred cars off the road. It's better than nothing, he said.

Greenway improvements were split into four phases

The project is now in the final of four phases.

Phase 1: Improved Callaway Ridge Trailhead parking lot and the road leading to it off the Concord roundabout.

• $15,000 project opened in May 2021

Phase 2: Improved the Concord Greenway. A new greenway was installed from the new Tennessee Department of Transportation bridge at Concord Road to western end of Concord Park. All streets were repaved, the western entrance was closed, guardrails were installed and landscaping was improved.

• $287,260 project opened in December 2021

Phase 3: The Concord Park boardwalk was built, which connects the Concord Park Greenway and travels under the new bridge and the old fishing bridge on Northshore Drive. It eliminates need to cross Northshore, which improves safety for pedestrians.

• $828,769 project opened in March 2023

Phase 4: A new greenway will be installed from Cove Park to the Choto Road roundabout. It completes the greenway that stretches from the new boardwalk to the Choto roundabout, which effectively connects the Choto to Turkey Creek.

• Has a preliminary estimate of $811,000 and construction will run from March 2023 to March 2024

Does Knox County need more greenways?

Knox County is home to over 6,442 acres of park space and 207 miles of greenways and trails.

Zoe Scott, the advocacy coordinator for Bike Walk Knoxville, a nonprofit that works to improve walkability and bike-ability in Knox County, said the county has a lot of great trails, but there's room for improvement.

"A lot of the trails and greenways tend to be focused on recreation, which is obviously important and we want to support that," Scott said. "But ideally, a greenway network would allow people to get to destinations."

Connecting people to places, like work, school or restaurants, is something Carol Evans, executive director of Legacy Parks, said the county is prioritizing as it looks to build more greenways.

"The Concord connection is exactly what you want to be doing," Evans said. "Looking for segments that both connect people to people, and people to places."

Snowden said the county has a few other greenway projects on the horizon, including one that runs through Clayton Park in Halls, connecting the elementary, middle and high schools. The state is building a greenway along Alcoa Highway.

Greenways improve the health and wellbeing of community

Evans said that while officials were unveiling the boardwalk on March 1, many pedestrians and cyclists were already using it and had to swerve around the podium. It's a sign that this was an amenity people need.

"There's large number of people living in an area where there are parks, but there's a disconnect," Evans said. "It's difficult to go back and make greenways. So the fact that that's happening is a big accomplishment, but it's important when you think about how many people are living in that corridor."

A 5% increase in the number of Blount County residents who are physically active would save about $13 million in health care costs, according to the Maryville to Townsend Greenway Study, which looked at the impact of a proposed 15-mile trail connecting the two towns.

There are plans to eventually connect the Blount County greenway to downtown Knoxville.

Greenways can also help reduce burning of fossil fuels, and its plants and trees filter out pollutants from the air, according to Greenways.com.

About two thirds of all trips made by car are five miles or less, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

How greenways can benefit the economy

Scott said greenways can also benefit the local economy by connecting people to commercial areas.

The Concord Greenway will allow residents access to the Markets at Choto and restaurants.

"(It's) a great way for people to have really convenient opportunities to go spend money and support those small local businesses," Scott said. "Something that I'm fond of saying, even though I'm for sure not the first person to have said it, is cars don't spend money. People do."

In Blount County, the Maryville to Townsend Greenway is expected to see $2.67 in economic benefit for every $1 spent on construction. Over 20 years, the study estimated the fiscal benefit for Blount County to be $108 million.

The National Association of Realtors found that greenways can raise property values by 3% to 5%, on average.

Silas Sloan covers growth and development in East Tennessee for Knox News. He can be reached at silas.sloan@knoxnews.com. You can follow his work on Twitter @silasloan, or on Instagram @knox.growth. and sign up for the free, weekly Urban Knoxville newsletter. Unlock premium perks and support strong local journalism at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County's Concord Greenway will connect Turkey Creek to Choto