37206dude

Good topic for discussion... The phrase 'in need of widening' does drive me a little crazy.... Although some people seem to suggest that there is mixed evidence about this, I find the data overwhelming that induced demand for highway traffic is real. Jeff Speck has been beating this drum for a long time. In his book Walkable City he specifically mentions Nashville: The most comprehensive effort remains the one completed in 1998 by the Surface Transportation Policy Project, which looked at fully 70 different metropolitan areas over 15 years. This study, which based its findings on data from the annual reports of the conservative Texas Transportation Institute, concluded as follows: Metro areas that invested heavily in road capacity expansion fared no better in easing congestion than metro areas that did not. Trends in congestion show that areas that exhibited greater growth in lane capacity spent roughly $22 billion more on road construction than those that didn’t, yet ended up with slightly higher congestion costs per person, wasted fuel, and travel delay. The metro area with the highest estimated road building cost was Nashville, Tennessee with a price tag of $3,243 per family per year. Thanks to studies like this one, induced demand is by no means a professional secret. I was delighted to read the following recently, in Newsweek, hardly an esoteric publication: “demand from drivers tends to quickly overwhelm the new supply; today engineers acknowledge that building new roads usually makes traffic worse.”

Can someone explain and/or weigh in on 1801 Woodland? http://www.nashville.gov/Portals/0/SiteContent/MHZC/docs/2014%20Meetings/12%20December%2017/SR%201801%20Woodland%20Street.pdf Description of Project: Applicant is requesting alterations to the previously approved width of the duplex, currently under construction, and a determination of new side setbacks. The setback determinations requested are different than bulk zoning requirements. The left side (18th Street) setback should be ten feet, but the house, once the brick veneer is added will be eight feet and five inches (8’ 5”) from the left side property line. The right rear corner of the house, once the brick veneer is added, will be four feet and four inches (4’ 4”) from the right property line, rather than the five feet (5’) required by bulk standards. Recommendation Summary: Staff recommends disapproval of the proposed left setback and width of the house, finding that the revised proposal does not meet the design guidelines for rhythm of the street, scale and setbacks. Staff recommends approval of the right-side setback determination because of its minimal encroachment into the setback area, if the rightside property owner does not oppose the encroachment. Staff recommends approval of the alteration of the paired windows in the front gable-field with the condition that staff provide an administrative review of a new front elevation showing a four inch to six inch (4” to 6”) mullion between the windows. Staff further recommends that the motion note that the decision does not alter all other previously approved or disapproved details and conditions of the project. I am interested in urban development but am very much an amateur observer.... It sounds like the developer tried to ignore a previous ruling of the MHZC to illegally squeeze a duplex on a small lot and are now asking to continue. Am I understanding this correctly? If so, then I hope the MZHC holds a firm line on this at 12/17 meeting. If anyone is going to the meeting then please advocate for enforcing the original rules or if you are inclined to write in an email the contact is: Project Lead: Robin Zeigler [email protected]

Yeah, I've passed by that house many times on the way to the park and there often seems to be an odd collection of stuff (and characters) hanging out in the front yard. For good or bad (probably mostly good), these kind of properties were fairly common in the neighborhood not that long ago but you would expect that any ones left will be plucked up by developers in the near future.

Meeting Monday Sept 8; Woodland St Bike Lanes; East Park 6-7pm Community Meeting next Monday night at East Park regarding a Protected Bike Lane for Woodland Street. To have room for Bike Lanes, the turn lane would have to be removed. A Protected Bike Lane has barriers to separate vehicular and bike lanes. The meeting is sponsored by CM Peter Westerholm. This kind of thing is very important for supporting growth along the main st/woodland st corridor. Protected bike lanes are part of a good mix of urban transportation options. Please come out and support if you can, there is small but very vocal (and curmudgeony) opposition to this.

Meeting Monday Sept 8; Woodland St Bike Lanes; East Park 6-7pm Community Meeting next Monday night at East Park regarding a Protected Bike Lane for Woodland Street. To have room for Bike Lanes, the turn lane would have to be removed. A Protected Bike Lane has barriers to separate vehicular and bike lanes. The meeting is sponsored by CM Peter Westerholm. This kind of thing is very important for supporting growth along the main st/woodland st corridor. Protected bike lanes are part of a good mix of urban transportation options. Please come out and support if you can, there is small but very vocal (and curmudgeony) opposition to this.

Meeting Monday Sept 8; Woodland St Bike Lanes; East Park 6-7pm Community Meeting next Monday night at East Park regarding a Protected Bike Lane for Woodland Street. To have room for Bike Lanes, the turn lane would have to be removed. A Protected Bike Lane has barriers to separate vehicular and bike lanes. The meeting is sponsored by CM Peter Westerholm. This kind of thing is very important for supporting growth along the main st/woodland st corridor. Protected bike lanes are part of a good mix of urban transportation options. Please come out and support if you can, there is small but very vocal (and curmudgeony) opposition to this.

That was definitely my initial reaction, but there are some questions about the mechanism used to go through the planning commission. There was also something about a landmark designation that I did not understand. I support reasonable commercial use, but I don't know enough about the procedures here to understand if there was an effort to work around the normal zoning request system.

1627 Shelby is getting some pushback from at least a few neighbors who don't want retail there. This is a high profile clothing store moving from NY and would be a big get for the profile of the neighborhood. http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/morning_call/2014/07/rock-stylist-plans-boutique-in-former-east.html Does emailing the planning commission help if one supports this project? I think it's on the agenda for next week.

Development info here: https://www.facebook.com/FarrowFivePoints

I understand developers want parking to support big projects but is bringing in >1000 more cars into downtown really a better way to spend tens of millions of dollars than building better transit infrastructure to bring people to work? MDHA wants parking garage on Giarratana's former Signature Tower site http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2014/05/mdha-wants-parking-garage-on-giarratanas-former.html

New bike lane went in on the Korean Veterans (to Shelby Ave) road bridge. Any progress is good because improved bicycle infrastructure is key to supporting density in Nashville. I implore fellow cyclists to use this lane instead of the nearby pedestrian bridge because visible volume is important to get support for more and better bike lanes. The good: There is a bike lane. There is a painted strip (3 ft?) separating the bike lane from car traffic. The bad: The bike lane is pretty much in the gutter with some debris. There is not any real barrier from traffic and cars drive fast here. Reflective posts could be put in very cheaply and would be a big help. for example: http://www.seattlebikeblog.com/2013/04/04/guerrilla-road-safety-group-politely-installs-illegal-bike-lane-protectors-on-cherry-street/ I promise people would use a real protected bike lane in the city that bypasses traffic congestion. I have spoken to many people who would bike commute if there were a separated safe bikeway. The bike enthusiasts who are experienced and/or risk-tolerant enough are already riding. To get the casual urban cyclist, riding in the city has to become more like a ride on the greenway and less like an adrenaline extreme sport.

From reading the MHZC summary, the developer revised his plan and got a (relatively) smaller house approved for 1107 Lillian. They still denied the request for a parking area in the front yard.

It looks like the historic (but it seems poorly documented) house next to Walden will be demolished... The other issue raised in the article is traffic control at the Walden intersection. If no stoplight, then what else can be done? __________ East Nashville home can't be moved; demolition looms from Tony Gonzalez, [email protected] Queen Anne-style home on Eastland Avenue in East Nashville will be demolished. An offer to give it away free to anyone able to move it failed. http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2014/04/18/east-nashville-home-moved-demolition-looms/7842593/ It's a no-go on relocating a historic East Nashville home that had been offered free to anyone able to move it. Instead of moving and preserving the gray, Queen Anne-style home at 1818 Eastland Ave., its architectural materials will be salvaged and then it will be knocked down in the coming weeks to make way for the latest phase of the popular Walden development. The home, estimated by the Metro Historical Commission to be 130 years old, drew a few dozen prospective "buyers" soon after social media postings and The Tennessean featured it in January. The list quickly dwindled. One serious developer, who owned land within two blocks, got an estimate of more than $50,000 to move the home — plus more to move power lines — but couldn't find a bank loan, said Tim Walker, historical commission executive director. "He desperately wanted to do it," said Walker, who declined to identify the prospect. "I really thought we were going to have a win-win. It's just a shame." The 17-room home was last assessed at $106,900. It's eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, but no effort was made to pursue the designation, in part because documentation was lacking. Walker said the home's door trim, baseboards, fireplace mantels and floor joists have substantial value. One nonprofit and one salvage company will save what they can. Limestone in the foundation also could be put to use in the landscaping, said developer March Egerton. He said the home, deteriorated and made up of multiple additions in recent decades, proved too difficult to salvage. But it's not a "zero-sum game," he said, because the property will be home to a new combination commercial-and-residential building similar to two nearby. Already, the development houses popular restaurants and stores that draw large, devoted crowds. Egerton said he has no plans to add more parking — though it's a question he hears often. "If you're going to have walkable neighborhoods and tenants and (attractions) people seem to enjoy, you're not also going to have oceans of parking," he said. "I'd contend I have a lot and I've got more than I'm required to have." Metro Public Works does not currently have a plan to add a stoplight at the corner of Chapel and Eastland avenues.

Areas with the most congestion is where it is most important to have dedicated lanes. First, these are the places where transportation demand most exceeds supply and where it is most beneficial to transport the most people per sqft of road space. Secondly, if the bus gets caught in traffic it increases travel time and destroys schedule reliability. Everyone who rides the bus is taking up a much smaller sqft of road than an auto passenger, benefitting everyone else and therefore meriting priority. It seems to me that the value of road space as a publicly owned commodity is underestimated by some. It is owned by all tax payers and those sitting in a car take up a disproportionate amount of this resource without compensating everyone else for removing that space from all other potential uses. Short of charging tolls to decrease demand, increasing supply for transportation throughput is the only way to resolve the issue.

I think a better comparison than Boston is Austin TX. For example: http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/abj-at-the-capitol/2013/12/transit-woes-we-cant-build-our-way-out.html A study by Texas A&M University'sTransportation Institute has found that even if Austin and Central Texas gets its entire, $28.4 billion, 25-year transportation plan into operation, traffic in Austin is still headed into gridlock. The report, that was finalized in August and included in a report by the Austin-American Statesman Tuesday, found that even if the region builds its whole wish list, a 12-mile trip from Buda to Austin would take 119 minutes and a 15-mile trip from Round Rock would take 99 minutes. The big problem is population. The five-county area is expected to grow from 1.8 million people now to about 3.25 million in 2035, according to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's 2035 plan. In the face of that growth, even the entire transportation infrastructure investment fails to keep pace -including local and regional rail systems. The report did offer a way out, however. If Austinites change how they live and work, travel times returned to acceptable ranges.

not exactly donuts but check out Yeast Nashville Woodland St & 8th across from East Park http://yeastnashville.com/

Nashville Plans to Solve Its Traffic Woes With … a Monorail http://www.wired.com/2014/03/nashville-getting-monorail/ I can't help but thinking about this....

Since you guys were over near 5 points recently... Beyond the style, what do you think of replacing older small houses with big ones on small lots, for example the 1100 Lillian block? Narrow street, small lots, and (until recently) small homes but now getting big homes on small lots mixed in. 1107 proposal is on the MHZC list for March 19, replacing a very small house with a relatively big one on a small lot. There's definitely precedent for it in the surrounding area but it still seems a little out of proportion. 1107 Lillian http://www.nashville.gov/Portals/0/SiteContent/MHZC/docs/2014%20Meetings/03%20March%2019/SR%201107%20Lillian%20Street.pdf

Is Ken's moving to Fatherland? This rumor was floated out there but I was not aware of anything confirming that. It sounds like the 2nd restaurant space in 1100 Fatherland will be Lynne Lorraine's Smoothie & Juice Bar http://theeastnashvillian.com/article/in-business-news- " Powell Design is also working on the build-out of Spark of Life, a new restaurant opening soon at 1100 Fatherland. Owned by Pam Daley, it will feature gluten-free and vegan food, organic wine and gluten-free beer. Hours TBA. Next door to Spark of Life, Powell Design is also working on Lynne Lorraine’s Juice Bar. Owner Chad Curry hopes to be open by the end of March or early April. The menu includes fruit and vegetable juices, both fresh and grab and go. They will have free Wi-Fi and indoor cafe seating, with outdoor seating available during the warmer months. The name comes from Chad’s mother’s and grandmother’s middle names. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8-2 Saturday, closed Sunday."

In the Tennessean article about the 1100 Fatherland building Spark restaurant they also write: "Separately, Sanders plans to begin construction this summer of 10 townhomes on a corner lot at South 10th Street and Fatherland." http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201402131006/BUSINESS/302130035 Any details available on that project? I assume it would be the corner that is now a parking lot for the shoppes.

This is a small neighborhood library. We have 2 little kids and walk there often. There are more than enough books for kids there and as you said you can have any book transferred there. When I'm looking for a quiet place to just sit and read I walk down the street to Bongo Java.

The new building at Fatherland and 11th is coming along. There is a sign up for Spark, a vegan cafe. image from their website: http://www.sparkoflifecafe.com/ Does anyone know about the other stores moving in there? They also knocked down the house immediately behind on 11th between Fatherland and Lillian, is that lot part of this development or unrelated? Also further up 11th toward 5points a single family house immediately behind the Russell/10th development was also demo'd. Anyone know what will happen at that site? It's right next to 2 lots that were recently renovated to upscale single unit mixed use on 11th.

Public meetings to provide information and solicit input about the plans for the AMP project. _____________________________________________________________________ http://ampyes.org/next-round-public-meetings-scheduled-final-design-engineering-amp/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=next-round-public-meetings-scheduled-final-design-engineering-amp MTA will hold four initial public design sessions in January to solicit community input and a second round of meetings in March to discuss how the input has been incorporated into the project. Project manager Mark Sturtevant said the charette-style sessions will include members of the new project team, assembled in October to work on the final phase of design. “Community input is crucial as we move into the final stage of design,” said Sturtevant. “We are now at the phase in which we want to dig in and answer detailed questions about the system, so we can ensure it serves its primary purpose – to alleviate growing traffic congestion along the city’s densest corridor.” Dates, times, and locations for the January design sessions are listed below: East Nashville Monday, January 13, 5:30 p.m., East Park Community Center theater, 600 Woodland Street, 37206 Downtown Tuesday, January 14, 5:00 p.m., Nashville Downtown Partnership, 150 4th Ave., N., Ste. G-150, 37219 Midtown Wednesday, January 15, 5:30 p.m., Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation, large conference room, 2565 Park Plaza (near Centennial Park) 37203 West Nashville Thursday, January 16, 5:30 p.m., Montgomery Bell Academy, Paschall Theater, 4100 Harding Rd., 37205 Please help improve transportation in your city. http://ampyes.org