In advance of St. Patrick’s Day, several Irish-themed events will be held on Market Square and downtown streets March 13, 14 and 15, impacting on-street parking and traffic patterns. More than 5,000 free parking spaces are available in city-owned lots and garages after 6 p.m. weekdays and daily on weekends. City-owned garages include those on State Street, Dwight Kessel, E. Hill Avenue (City County Building), Main Street and Locust Street.
Some road closures listed below may cause some minor detours of KAT buses and trolleys, however public transit is an ideal way to reach downtown events without having to worry about driving or parking. Info here.
Knox Shamrock Fest, benefiting the East Tennessee Kidney Foundation, Friday and Saturday, March 13-14. Temporary no-parking zones will start at 8 a.m. Friday, March 13. These roads will be closed Friday, March 13, 3-10 p.m. and Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.: Union Avenue between Walnut and Gay streets, and Market Street between Union and Clinch avenues.
Cel-O’bragh-tion. Saturday, March 14. Temporary no-parking zones go into effect at 5 a.m. These roads will be closed Saturday, March 14, 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. Clinch Avenue between Walnut and Gay streets, and Market Street between Clinch and Church avenues.
Lucky Kidney Run, benefiting the East Tennessee Kidney Foundation, Saturday March 14. Wall Avenue between Gay and Walnut streets will be closed to traffic and on-street parking 9:45 a.m. – 11 a.m. Street parking will be removed on Gay Street between Wall and Magnolia avenues starting at 8 a.m. Drivers can reach the Market Square Garage via Summit Hill and Walnut. The run begins at Market Square at 10 a.m. with Knoxville Police officers maintaining rolling road blocks along the route as follows: Wall Street to Gay, Gay Street to Emory Place, Emory Place to 4th, 4th to Luttrell, Luttrell to Glenwood, U-turn on Glenwood, back to Luttrell to 4th to Emory, to Gay and back to Wall Avenue.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade: Saturday, March 14. Temporary no-parking zones along the route go into effect at 11 a.m. Eastbound lanes of Howard Baker Jr. Blvd between Hall of Fame and Hill Avenue will be closed to non-parade traffic from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The following blocks on the parade route will be closed 12:45 – 2:30 p.m.: E. Church Avenue to Gay Street; Gay Street between Church and Magnolia Avenues.
Barley’s St. Patrick’s Day 5K: Sunday, March 15, 2 p.m., 200 E. Jackson Ave. Drivers should expect rolling closures along the route beginning at 2 p.m. with temporary traffic stops at cross streets. Runners start at Barley’s and go east on Jackson Avenue, continue on McCalla, right onto Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, right on Harriet Tubman, left on McCalla Avenue, left onto Willow Ave, right onto Central, right onto Jackson and end at Barley’s.
Paige Travis is a public information specialist for the city of Knoxville. Reach her at ptravis@knoxvilletn.gov.