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KINGSPORT – Looking for after school activities for your children?? We can help! Join us at the Kingsport Public Library on February 5th from 3:00-5:00 pm for our Kingsport Kids Out and About activity fair! Local extracurricular activity providers will‚ have tables throughout the library, stop by each to discuss their offerings, receive flyers and brochures.
KINGSPORT ‚¬ City leaders indicate that more than 1,200 parking spaces are available in the downtown area; with more properties available should parking pressures develop in the future.
Planning leaders meet quarterly with the Positive Parking Committee of downtown business owners and others to discuss current problems and potential fixes.
Its this group that has developed overnight parking passes for downtown residents and revised customers parking passes for downtown merchants that allow customers to exceed the standard two hour limit.
I have worked with several communities in the Southeast, both rural and metro, and having a downtown urban core with a perceived parking problem is a great indicator of thriving activity, Development Services Director Lynn Tully said Tuesday. In reality, we have plenty of parking available.
Questions over parking availability recently returned to the forefront with the successful recruitment of IntelliHARTX to a building on the corner of Center and Commerce streets. The company, a patient contact firm, expects to open with about 100 employees, but this could grow to as many as 500 jobs over the next four years.
At the same time, the downtown area continues to draw new residents, with more than 100 loft apartments and condos now in use.
Our understanding is that employees at the IntelliHARTX facility will be working in shifts, so that should lessen the impact, Tully said. And with our lofts, many of our downtown residents now tend to park overnight in the garage or in lots. We are seeing very few parking on the street anymore.
Currently, there are 11 free public parking areas within a walking distance of three to seven minutes. The largest, by far, is the Shelby Street Parking Garage with 363 parking spaces on three levels. At peak times, the facility still has 45 to 50 percent of capacity.
The key crunch area at the moment tends to center on the 90 space lot at the corner of Commerce and Market streets.‚ This lot serves a restaurant and other personal service businesses nearby, as well as WKPT TV-19 employees.
But a block away is another 145 space lot on Cherokee Street. This lot is only a five minute walk to the corner of Center and Broad streets.
There are a number of options we could consider if parking gets too tight, Tully said. The City holds several parcels that could be converted to parking if needed.
This inventory includes the former Wards Feed Store, the former Traffic Division building next to the Cherokee Street lot, and the gravel area near Sleepy Owl Brewery, among other possibilities.
Another option might be to consider adding on-street parking, as many of the public side streets downtown feature especially wide public right-of-ways.
Based on my experience, our current parking availability is good, with a very reasonable distribution of parking areas, Tully said. All of them are convenient, safe and accessible. But we stay in touch with our downtown customers to see how we can continue to improve.
Please note: Below you will find a map of downtown parking lots and a second map denoting how much of this parking is within the bartprint of a typical Walmart.
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Kingsport Police Department
200 Shelby Street • Kingsport, TN 37660 ThomasMPatton • 423-229-9433 (Desk) • 423-224-2786 (FAX) |
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NEWS RELEASE | |||
SUBJECT: | Man Previously Charged with Theft of Donation Jar Has Now Been Implicated in a Motor Vehicle Theft Investigation | ||
DATE: | January 26, 2015 | ||
CASE #: | 15-001352 | ||
GENERAL NARRATIVE | |||
On January 21, 2015 at approximately 7:30 AM, Kingsport Police Patrol Officers responded to a residence on Sewanee Street in reference to a stolen 2011 Hyundai Elantra stolen from the driveway during the early morning hours. The owner stated that he suspected that the keys had been left in the vehicle by mistake. Later that morning at approximately 9:00 AM the owner notified police that his vehicle had been returned to his residence by a person he knew only as “Slim.” When the owner stated that he was going to call the police, “Slim” fled on foot.
That same afternoon, in an unrelated incident, Olen R. Blaylock was arrested and charged with Criminal Impersonation and Theft under $500 after being identified as the suspect in the theft of money from a collection jar that was intended to benefit a sick child. For additional information on this incident please refer to the earlier news release: http://kingsportpdblog.com/2015/01/22/kpd-e-news-release-donation-jar-thief-identified-and-arrested/ At the time of his arrest, Mr. Blaylock was in possession of a backpack. Mr. Blaylock denied ownership of the backpack and its contents. An inventory of the contents of the backpack revealed an assortment of items that were traced back to the victim of the earlier motor vehicle theft. The arresting detective also knew Mr. Blaylock was known by the nickname, “Slim.” Further investigation resulted in the vehicle’s owner positively identifying Mr. Blaylock as the individual who stole his car. A warrant was obtained charging Mr. Blaylock with the additional charge of Theft over $10,000. He was served with the warrant while already detained in the Sullivan County Jail on the earlier charges. He remains incarcerated in lieu of a $10,000 bond. |
SUSPECT INFORMATION | |
Name | Olen R. Blaylock (a.k.a. “Slim”) |
Age | Date of Birth 5/7/1984
30 Years of Age |
Race/Gender | White/Male |
Residency | Homeless |
Charge(s) | Theft of Property over $10,000 |
RELEASING OFFICER | ||
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Thomas M. Patton, Public Information Officer
Kingsport Police Department Professional Standards Unit |
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RELEASING OFFICER | ||
![]() |
Thomas M. Patton, Public Information Officer
Kingsport Police Department Professional Standards Unit |
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RELEASING OFFICER | ||
![]() |
Thomas M. Patton, Public Information Officer
Kingsport Police Department Professional Standards Unit |
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