A new plan for Knox County's growth is almost complete, and you've got one final opportunity to give your opinion on this massive new plan for the future of the county.

The Advance Knox initiative will create a long-term plan that determines everything from types of homes that are built to where infrastructure investments are made. Public participation is key in making sure the right plan gets adopted.

Over the next few weeks, the Advance Knox team will host in-person and virtual 90-minute workshops to get resident input on the portion of the plan that deals with transportation improvement projects, such as road widenings, greenways and sidewalk improvements.

At the workshops, attendees will be presented with maps that show the locations and details of proposed transportation improvement projects. The public can give input on which improvements should be prioritized.

The transportation plan is part of the larger land use plan, which will guide county development decisions, including where commercial buildings and residential units can be built and what they will look like.

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Advance Knox also will present the results of its last round of public input, which was focused on "scenario planning." Participants were shown different development scenarios and asked to rate and evaluate them.

Cathy Olsen, Knox County department of engineering and public works director of environmental planning, said the Advance Knox committee is working to translate the scenario planning into a land use map.

Attendees at these events will be shown a draft land use map overlaid with planned transportation improvements to show how future developments and infrastructure would overlap, according to Olsen.

What will the final Advance Knox plan look like?

While the final land use and development plan, also known as the preferred plan, won't be shown at the work sessions, the Knoxville City Council got a preview of the preliminary land use plan in January.

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The plan was created based on input from almost 4,000 community members. The January version of the draft emphasizes clustered developments and town centers. It also prioritized building commercial centers along roads and corridors that already have the needed infrastructure.

The final scenario will have to be approved this spring by the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission and Knox County Commission.

When and where are Advance Knox public input meetings?

There will be a mix of in-person and virtual work sessions. If you're planning on attending a virtual session, you will need to register.

March 27:

• Noon: In-person at the Cansler Family YMCA

• 5:30 p.m.: In-person at Gibbs Middle School

March 28:

• 5:30 p.m.: In-person at Brickey McCloud Elementary School

March 29:

• Noon: Virtual session

• 5:30 p.m.: In-person at Northshore Elementary School

March 30:

• 5:30 p.m.: In-person at Bonny Kate Elementary School

April 6:

• Noon: Virtual session

There are two months left in the Advance Knox process. A final plan is expected in May.

The initiative, which is funded in part by county taxpayers, is led by design consultant firms Kimley-Horn in North Carolina and Ohio-based Planning NEXT. Of the $1.2 million cost, about $500,000 is funded by a Tennessee Department of Transportation grant.

The Advance Knox team includes consultants, county planning staff, committees, and elected officials.

For more information on Advance Knox, visit advanceknox.org.

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 seeking input on road improvements for Advance Knox