captainwjm

The Lone Wolf tattoo parlor next to Chuey's on Broadway has moved. Any word on what will happen to this building?

Just noticed that the garage at the corner of Rosa Parks (8th Ave) and Church is closing at the end of the month. Any word on future plans?

Well, they are working about 18 hours a day.

Begin rant. Went to the Boat Show at the MCC today. Parking and traffic flow is a clusterflock. Gridlock getting in and out on both Demonbruen and KVB. Parking garage gridlock inside the MCC. And what is it with the lights on KVB? Traffic was backed up westbound across the bridge and town on 1st due to lights on KVB at 2nd and 3rd. This is a real black eye for a booming and beautiful section of town. End rant.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2015/01/08/police-demonbreun-street-closed-for-possible-meth-lab/21431575/ Seems like everything is on Demonbreun these days.

That's a good question and one that our Planning Commission seems unable to ask. All they consider is whether the project has sufficient parking, but never whether the streets surrounding these projects can handle the traffic.

Way back, there was a proposal to limit truck traffic on "the 440 Parkway" as a compromise offered by opponents seeking to block construction on this route. I was on the legal team for the opponents. That proposal was rejected and litigation ensued. Among our arguements was that 440 wouldn't solve the downtown congestion, and that a loop route further to the south would be better suited for the supposed purpose of 440 (we suggested Old Hickory Blvd.). 20 years later, TDOT suggested 840.

Nashville owes a great deal to Randy Rayburn. This is sad news.

How about a really radical idea. Close completly the I-40/I-65 portion of the downtown loop and route all traffic around the east side. This would require expanding the current I-24 as well as the section of current I-40 between 24 and 65 south (an easier section to enlarge). I-40 would no longer run through downtown, it would follow I-440 (which would "dissappear"), and the current link betwwn 440 and 40 on the west side across the Fulton bridge would be a 3 numbered connector between 40 and 24/65. Besides elimination of the divide between downtown and Midtown, it would eliminate the crossover congestion that occurs on the south loop.

So why keep saying "It's arrogant if it is true"? Besides, so what if an owner objects to a neighboring project if it affects them? That's not arrogance.

It's been there since mid October; waiting for blasting to end, probably by the end of the month.

The rumor is not true.

Been there since October, waiting for blasting to finish before erecting tower. Blasting expected to continue through mid -December.

Disagree; the traffic patterns make a 2-way 21st at West End a gridlock magnet. Separation makes sense.

It's Styrofoam, at least that was the original plan.

Official ground breaking scheduled for October 29.

It's not Beaman, some group from Bowling Green.

That's right, Yeah Burger will be on Broadway at the site of the current gray two story salon building [not Salon FX] if they get a parking variance. Simpson's Gulf at 19th and West End is closing and is rumored [i haven't seen anything official] to be a local bank's new branch.

Fireworks have been part of several convention openings, too. That was our speculation.

That is a convenient excuse, methinks. What about the Cool Springs location?

The use of state incentives to get a company to move to one of the wealthiest counties in the country, with the fastest growth rate in the region and the lowest unemployment in the state? If not outrageous, then what? If incentives are necessary [a debatable prospect], why not downtown Nashville, or if Nissan insists on a suburban location, why not areas that need development, such as the area near Nissan's plant - Smyrna, Antioch, or Lavergne? Short answer, Williamson didn't need the help.

My recollection is that Nissan always planned to move to north Alabama or as it is locally known, Cool Springs. The use of the batman building was just temporary pending the construction of their building. Too bad that Nashville didn't fight hard enough to keep them in Davidson county, and it is an outrage that state development funds were used to "lure" them to Williamson, instead of either Davidson or Rutherford counties.

I agree; they have really worked that building. I hope that leasing goes well.

That was when it was privately owned. All interior lights were left on and blinds were selectively lowered to spell out letters. When the State bought the building it underwent the first of several renovations. Included was a change in blind design and in the windows themselves that limited the amount of interior lighting that could be seen from the outside. And, the interior lighting was placed on timers or motion sensors. The combination made messaging with the windows much more difficult. Also, since it was state owned, there was legitimate concern regarding the potential appropriateness of "sponsoring" some events. Allowing some, but denying others created a can of worms for General Services. Given all that, a decision was made to not offer the service anymore.

Demo equipment and personnel on site this morning. There are flashing lights already at the crosswalk on Broadway at 20th; all other crosswalks on 21st are at traffic signals; except the 2 across from the law school which are marked by yield signs in the lanes of traffic. What crosswalk are you talking about?