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Oak Ridge, TN

City Services

Long recognized for its science and its schools, Oak Ridge has other attributes that are unique for a city of 28,000.
Among his favorites, Mayor David Bradshaw says, are the city’s parks and greenways, which beckon families to
take part in outdoor activities. “Look at Haw Ridge Park, which is 700 acres of mountainous terrain where you can
mountain bike, ride a horse and hike. We have a rowing course, golf courses — certainly soccer and tennis. All these outdoor things you can do are really nice amenities,” Bradshaw says.

For almost everyone in Oak Ridge, a park or a greenway is within walking distance of home. One statistic the mayor likes to cite is that Oak Ridge has nearly 35 miles of walking trails, paved paths and greenways, about twice the average of 13 benchmark cities in Tennessee that the city recently studied. Another is that Oak Ridge has 46 acres of parkland per 1,000 people.

Besides its parks and recreation, the City of Oak Ridge provides an array of services that many small cities only dream of. The City of Oak Ridge operates its own public library, provides financial support to a public school system recognized as among the best in the nation, and has
a police force and fire department that outperform those in comparable cities.

Of the schools, Bradshaw says, “There is no better value in Tennessee than to live in the city of Oak Ridge and have access to Oak Ridge schools at no additional cost. The schools are a huge drawing card.”

The services the Oak Ridge Fire Department provides help keep home insurance rates low for the city’s residents. For 99 percent of the city’s structures, the city’s insurance rating is 3 on a 10-point scale, with 10 being the worst. Oak Ridge’s Fire Department is among only 3 percent in the nation with a class 3 rating, according to Fire Chief Mack Bailey.

Thanks to the Oak Ridge Police Department, the crime rate is lower while crime-solving is higher in Oak Ridge than in benchmark cities recently studied by the city. And Oak Ridge has about 33 percent fewer auto accidents than comparable cities, thanks to the efforts of the Police Department in effective enforcement and to Public Works for proper signage and street care.

The Oak Ridge Public Library is a community gathering place and features a children’s room with scheduled storytime readings and puppet shows. The library’s total circulation per person is about 30 percent higher than other cities studied. The high rate of interlibrary loans — about
44 percent higher than other cities — means that a lot of patrons are requesting items from outside Oak Ridge.