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April 1

Looking NE from 20th Ave. North, 1/2 block north of West End Ave.

March 27

6 minutes ago, markhollin said:

It's now official: the Taco Bell and office structures at 4300 and 4306 Harding Pike, respectively, are going to be demo'd to be part of the larger multi-building H.G. Hill development to the north that will be a partnership with Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital. The project will be mixed-sue, but specifics have not been released as of yet. See several posts at the top of this page for more info.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2024/03/27/hg-hill-ascension-saint-thomas-harding-taco-bell.html

I didn't grab a picture, but the demo is already happening. The Taco Bell was a pile of scrap as of noon today.

March 12

Looking east from 20th Avenue and State Street. 1805 Church is the on the left of frame. LOCAL Midtown is on the right of frame.

There are still a lot of parking lots and old low-rise buildings ripe for redevelopment in this area between West End and Charlotte Pike.

March 12

Looking east from 20th Avenue and State Street. LOCAL Midtown is on the right of frame. 1805 Church is on the left of frame.

March 5

There was a tragic general aviation plane crash tonight, along I-40 East in West Nashville, behind Costco. The eastbound lanes of I-40 were completely shut down Monday night. It does not appear that there were any survivors.

Flight tracking data: https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/CFBWH/history/20240305/0019Z

News coverage: https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/plane-crash-reported-near-i-40-east-in-west-nashville/

Video from passerby before emergency crews arrived:

Needless to say, this is an extremely sad situation. I’m sure there will be a thorough investigation, but tonight our prayers are with the victims’ families.

January 9

3 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

Narrow lanes might sound good to a lot of folks, and I get the overall sentiment of them within the urban core. But I know that no one is thinking about or considering the effects that those lanes will have on the truckers bringing goods into town. Yes you all know them, those unforgettable good folks that bring you EVERYTHING that you touch, eat, purchase. Reducing lanes down to 10 foot from the current 12 equals 4 feet loss on a normal two lane road , might be good for a Kia or VW but it’s drastic for maneuvering a 80 foot long semi. And before the wise mouth remarks about how you don’t think semis belong downtown, remember not only does everything you consume get delivered by truck somewhere along the line, remember all those beautiful new buildings popping up all over town , need materials ( especially steel) to get built. Yes you might not like them or you probably never think of them other then their always in your way or they are this or that , whatever you want to think they are a necessity of life and we can’t survive without them. Stop trying to rid the world of things that don’t fit a dream utopian fantasy of the perfect urban environment and think of ways to blend what is here and now with the right amount of infrastructure for all modes of transportation. I fully understand and support advocating for proper bike lanes and better implementation of multi modal transport, but anyone who only thinks about their needs and perspectives without regard to others is blindly ignorant

If we design our streets for the comfort of semi trucks, the streets will be uncomfortable and unsafe for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Sure, 10’ lanes will require semi drivers to drive more slowly and cautiously. As long as they can get where they need to go, I don’t see why that is such a bad thing? We all need to share the road, which requires compromises from everyone.

January 8

7 hours ago, markhollin said:

TDOT plans to widen a 4.4 mile stretch of Nolensville Pike (State Route 11/U.S. 31) fro Old Hickory Blvd. south to Burkitt Rd. The current two lanes will become 5 lanes with sidewalks on each side.

I appreciate CM Sean Parker pushing for slightly narrower lanes (TDOT’s current plan is 12’ lanes). https://x.com/seanforfive/status/1744406502633246883?s=46&t=esxz5S9AONY_ADGiyzx4fw

Hopefully TDOT narrows the lanes somewhat and uses the extra space for wider sidewalks/street trees.

December 19, 2023

38 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

This is a great collection of different views, and there’s a lot of interesting content. And it’s understandable from a biker perspective of how much is really important and needed to make your life both safer and better. But without prejudice or bias, Nashville and probably 99% of the United States is not Copenhagen or Europe as a whole. Things are viewed differently here, and not for the better. Our capitalism and culture along with the lobbyists that control our government, make it almost impossible to make change happen. For instance, without calling anyone out , a majority of our roads are controlled by the state and it’s very hard to convince State legislators and elected officials from a majority rural communities, that anything remotely close to transportation infrastructure for all ( automobile, bikes, sidewalks, etc) is a good idea and worthy of appropriate funding. Other then a handful of elected officials from the five largest cities, most come from areas that still have one lane gravel roads, are overwhelmingly poor and have a excessively large number of good ole boys driving the largest vehicles they can get. There’s really no denying that they really don’t care about what the city folks need or want. And without funding and cooperation from the State and the ROW giving to Metro, it will be a hard time getting anywhere on substantial meaningful transit solutions.

I agree that there are big hurdles, but I see real signs of hope. After all, Nashville elected two walkable city, transit nerds as Mayor and Vice Mayor. Several of our new Council Members are highly motivated by this issue. Even TDOT is making small nods to bus transit in their “choice lanes” proposal. It won’t be easy or quick, but a walkable, bikable, transit-friendly Nashville is possible.

December 19, 2023

I want Nashville to be a healthy, safe, affordable place to live for everyone.

A healthy city is one where people are encouraged to walk and ride bicycles as part of their daily routines. It's a city where the air is not choked by car fumes and streams aren't polluted by tire dust.

A safe city is one where people can walk or bike without risking their lives. Painted bike lanes on the shoulder of a 45 mile per hour road with cellphone-distracted F-150 drivers speeding past are (obviously) not safe.

An affordable city is one where people don't need to spend roughly $900/month for a car just to accomplish basic tasks. In affordable city, you can ride your $500 bike to the grocery store. You can walk to the coffee shop. Or you can ride reliable mass transit for a small price.

I also want to touch on what it means to be a city designed for everyone.

Elderly people often cannot drive. People with certain health conditions cannot drive. And—here's a huge a group—CHILDREN cannot drive. I want my daughter to be able to bike to the park one mile down the road without getting killed by a car. Most kids in Nashville cannot safely walk or bike to a park to play kickball with their friends. They are stuck.

Over the past 60 years, Nashville was designed for cars above all else. We got stroads and strip malls. Pedestrians were an afterthought at best (lol at the NES poles placed in the middle of sidewalks across the city). But Nashville has entered a new era of supercharged growth, and we have a unique opportunity to build a better city for our children. I reject the defeatist attitude that Nashville's transportation is forever frozen in the 1970s.

October 27, 2023

5 hours ago, markhollin said:

Driving along completed Broadway Viaduct over CSX tracks:

The lack of a protected bike lane is frankly embarrassing.

October 9, 2023

The Tennessee Lookout has a new article detailing the Fallon Co.'s proposals and the mathematical difficulty of meeting the rosy revenue projections that Mayor Cooper and Titans lobbyists used to sell the stadium deal.

See East Bank developer proposal hints at potential struggle to keep revenue, housing promises.

October 9, 2023

7 minutes ago, markhollin said:

The recently opened Novel Harpeth Heights (4 stories, 322 units on 22 acres SW of the I-40 Old Hickory Blvd. exit) has just been sold to TA Realty for $99.34 million by developer Crescent Communities.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2023/10/09/ta-realty-pays-99-million-bellevue-apartment.html

This site previously housed a Sam's Club, a Sam's club gas station, and the associated enormous parking lot. I'm glad we traded that extremely inefficient land use for 322 units of housing. A huge upgrade in my opinion!

September 29, 2023

1 hour ago, markhollin said:

4301 Harding Pike will be a 6 story structure that will house a 56,300 sq. foot Kroger grocery store on the ground level, with 5 stories of 236 residential units above, and an internal garage on a 3.97 acre site that was formerly home to Harris Teeter Grocery and once was the historic Belle Meade Theater (the rendeirng appears to incorporate some of the former theater entrance and iconic signage). The project is being co-developed by Bradford Allen and Southeastern Development Assoc. DCS Design is the architect; Ragan Smith will oversee civil engineering. The Kroger will be a relocation from the Belle Meade Plaza, several blocks to the west, which is being redeveloped by AJ Capital.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2023/09/29/plans-revealed-for-new-belle-meade-kroger.html

I'm thrilled that they're including a decent amount of residential. Although it's only six stories, I'm sure this project will face a ton of SFH pushback a la Belle Meade Plaza. Here's a preview of what we'll hear:

This will make traffic way worse!
Not enough parking!
Not enough above-ground parking!
What about the historic theater?? [Which ceased theater operations 30+ years ago and was already partially demolished in 2006]
This is inconsistent with the residential character of the neighborhood.
We want more retail, which serves the community, not apartments! [New apartments don't serve existing homeowners, which are the only community members who matter.]
What about existing tenants? We love the FedEx Office Print and Ship Center and will be devastated if it moves.
Blasting will damage surrounding buildings.
Construction will be loud.
Construction traffic will make traffic way worse.

(As you can tell, I'm looking forward to those community meetings!)

September 26, 2023

48 minutes ago, glamdring269 said:

(Speaking of donuts, did Voodoo basically replace Five Daughters? I know they were announced pre-Covid but have not seen anything about them since.)

Here are the original plans Fraport released in 2019. I don't see a Five Daughters listed here, but it may have been announced and cancelled at some point between this original 2019 plan and now.

Central Terminal

Concourse C

Concourse B

Concourse D

Baggage Claim

September 26, 2023

In addition to the new international arrivals facility and marketplace (which will deservedly be the topic of conversation here for the next few days), BNA premiered several new concessions between gates C-1 and C-2 on Monday, including Hattie B's and—my personal favorite—Slim & Husky's Pizza.

Photos via the BNA (@flynashville) Instagram page:

September 22, 2023

1 hour ago, PaulChinetti said:

I like the idea of these downtown. But I also like the idea of weekend and deliveries after 8pm for older vehicles.

BUT, it would require enforcement which is not Nashville's strong suit.

The end is pretty depressing for the US, ugh.

We now have at least one cargo e-bike enthusiast on Council. At-Large CM Quin Evans Segall rode her cargo e-bike to Metro Council orientation today.

https://x.com/quinevanssegall/status/1705208824104141181?s=20

September 22, 2023

8 minutes ago, Argo said:

What are you talking about.

The State of Tennessee is the one putting up hundreds of millions dollars if not a billion dollars to help build this area.

It's their money so they have some input in what gets done with it.

Nashville would be essentially donating the (extremely valuable) land. We can't afford that because we need that land to help pay for the $2.1 billion(!) Titans stadium.

If the State wants Nashville to do things that will bankrupt the city, we need to politely decline.

September 22, 2023

25 minutes ago, Bos2Nash said:

To me, TPAC on the East Bank is a great thing! TPAC would serve as a great gateway to the East Bank. It would be creating a landmark for the East Bank for pedestrians coming across the river rather than just another commercial building.

FWIW, as cool and sexy as they may be, I don't think we need more East Bank "landmarks."

The Titans stadium and the park facing the river are already huge landmarks for the East Bank. I would rather focus on vibrant, mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods rather than more "landmarks." Residents want wide sidewalks, safe streets, shady tree canopies, grocery stores, shops, restaurants, convenient transportation, playgrounds for kids, dog parks, etc. "More landmarks" is far down the list of priorities.

Even if we wanted to, I agree with @smeagolsfree that we just can't afford to sacrifice more tax revenue for TPAC. We genuinely need all the tax revenue we can get out the East Bank if we're going to come close to covering our stadium obligations.

September 21, 2023

46 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

Bos2Nash, I hear where you’re coming from. I was born and raised in Connecticut, technically they have counties but they really aren’t governing. It’s more that each city or town controls their respective areas, and they all border each other. Example: if you live in Waterbury the city is the government and has its school system etc , but the towns that border it have their own schools, fire, police etc. there’s no such thing as county government or county schools, police, etc. you basically go from one town or city to the next. When we moved to Florida in 1989 , it took a while to get used to the County government idea and I always thought it was weird. Once we moved here to Tennessee, it quickly became apparent that county government rules, and I still ask why?

To that end, consolidating the city and county governments was one of the smartest things Nashville/Davidson County ever did. Downtown and the suburbs are forced to work together because they're all one city. It's one of the key features that makes me so optimistic about Nashville's future.

Think of how difficult it is to coordinate public transit with Williamson or Rutherford county. Now imagine if we had those same coordination problems with Bellevue or Donelson. Our consolidated government is a huge advantage. Memphis—and the constant battles with its Shelby County suburbs—is a contrasting example.

September 20, 2023

TDOT has provided some Transportation Modernization Act updates. From NewsChannel 5:

TDOT staff are currently studying which corridors across the state to recommend building choice lanes. They will run alongside normal lanes of traffic, and drivers can access them with a fee. Transit operators like buses will be allowed to use the lanes free of charge . . . . TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley says the choice lanes will all be new construction, and no current lanes will be converted to their purpose . . ."We've got wide right-of-ways if you think about it from here (Nashville) to Murfreesboro or here to Franklin, there's still a lot of room in many of our locations," he said. "And when you think about even downtown you can build up (over the current roadway). So there's a way to engineer a solution to be able to do these choice lanes just as other states have" [Emphasis added].

Per the article, TDOT will present the full plan on December 1.

September 19, 2023

51 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

I tend to agree with BRT as a starting point. But it somehow needs to be separated from normal traffic, otherwise the “R” will stand for ridiculous.
there’s no way anyone would resolve to taking a bus , if it doesn’t get them to their destinations any quicker then they can drive themselves. The objective is to get people to park their cars and find alternative ways to get somewhere, in a mass transit environment. Plus the buses will need to be clean, modern, and tech friendly so people can feel comfortable and able to use internet connections. Also IMHO , this has to be a collaboration with all the Counties within the MSA to make a difference, getting commuters to leave their cars in the city they live and getting a bus into a hub downtown to make connections to intercity destinations. And there definitely needs to be a real incentive to make the WEGO ( Music City) STAR a true commuter rail service, it’s there let’s use it to its fullest.

Agreed. The question isn’t whether it runs on rails or rubber. The question is whether it has dedicated right of way.

This will be challenging downtown, and I’m curious to see how the eventual transit proposal handles that.

September 19, 2023

15 minutes ago, Bos2Nash said:

Interesting article about choosing what kind of transit is right for the city.

I know everyone wants trains/light rail/subway, but if our density isn't approaching that, then it would really be silly to go after that. Hey @UTgrad09, can you help with comparing the numbers below to recent census information?

True BRT may be the best bet for the next 15-20 years. Hell, the 30 acre master development around the Titans Stadium is slated for final completion in 2034 (11 to 12 years from now). I may behoove our new mayoral administration to work through a BRT transit referendum with a vision plan for how things grow and possibly evolve into a train heavy system in 20 years.

In a recent interview, Mayor O'Connell seems to agree with this BRT-centric approach.

September 18, 2023

1 hour ago, jmtunafish said:

That money comes from the gas tax which essentially means that those who use the roads pay for them every time they fill up. "The State" isn't fleecing sales tax money from Campbell County coal miners to build roads in Davidson County. I have yet to see a funding mechanism for mass transit where only those who use the mass transit are the ones to pay for the entirety of it. Mind you, I am a huge proponent of public transportation (I grew up in Hong Kong, Brussels, and Paris which have outstanding public transportation networks) but taxes in those places (well, Brussels and Paris) are extremely high.

I would love to see Nashville set up some sort of self-taxing district where the extra taxes generated would go directly towards the development of better mass transit in that district. I don't think someone filling up her car in Newport should be funding Nashville's mass transit.

OR I would love to see a system like Hong Kong's, where the mass transit company (MTR) has a hand in the developments on and around its MTR stations and therefore needs absolutely zero subsidies from the government, and in fact it turns a profit every year.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/mar/19/how-public-transport-actually-turns-a-profit-in-hong-kong#:~:text=The model sees the MTR,as for funding new projects.

We agree on some points, but I want to push back on your concern that the State would unfairly funnel Cocke or Campbell County taxes to Nashville. In reality, the subsidies work the other way around.

In 2021, Nashville generated between $1.22 and $1.80 billion more in State tax revenue than the State spent back into Nashville. Nashville and its surrounding MSA subsidize the rest of Tennessee's counties, 79 of which (out of 95 total) take more funding from the State than they contribute. (See full analysis here.)

We are a long way from needing to worry about unfairly taxing rural counties for Nashville's gain.

September 17, 2023

505 Church experienced a fire this morning. The fire began on the 27th floor and, although the fire suppression system extinguished that fire, water from the suppression started an electrical fire on the 24th floor. Nashville Fire Department crews extinguished that second fire. See below:

According to NewsChannel5, the building's fire alert system did not alert all residents immediately. Instead, "firefighters had to knock on all 528 units to evacuate people..."

September 15, 2023

6 hours ago, jjbradleyBrooklyn said:

AMAZING! That was one of my questions. I was going to research his views on that this wknd.

Thanks for calling that out. FANTASTIC news for Nashville!

After this election, we also have Angie Henderson as Vice Mayor and Quin Evans-Segall as an At-Large Council Member, who are both knowledgeable walkability/transit advocates. I'm eager to see their leadership.

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