Toll road in Knoxville

Jerold Nicley was in Knoxville today to talk about the wondrous toll road possibilities for Knoxville. If I were to guess I would say 100 to 150 people were on hand to voice their opinion. Most of the people were strongly in opposition to the tough of them. In attendance was Rep. Bill Dunn, Sen. Tim Burchett, Myself, several county commissioners and candidate Ryan Haynes who has also voiced opposition to toll roads. The KNS has the story. and the kicker lines of the night.....

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely drew a round of applause Thursday when he promised that the proposed Knoxville Parkway won't be a toll road if the public is opposed to the idea.

It was the only applause he drew during the 90-minute meeting at Bearden High School...........

..............Nicely and other officials, including TDOT Chief of Environment and Planning Ed Cole, explained that the Legislature has authorized TDOT to look at possibly building toll roads, but included the caveat that "strong public support" is a prerequisite for moving forward.

During a following question-and-answer session, Knoxville resident David Cochran asked Nicely to define "strong public support" for the audience, most of whom clearly were opposed to tolls.

"That's one of the things we're doing here tonight," Nicely said. "I don't think I can define 'strong public support' tonight."