WalknBike Nashville Draft Plan CoverThe WalknBike Strategic Plan draft was released January 9, 2017. The public comment period will be open at the WalkNBike website until January 31st via http://nashvillewalknbike.com/.

Walk Bike Nashville was a partner and involved on the Steering Committee for this plan. The plan has generally satisfied requests for prioritization, network and transparency, but we really want specific feedback and comments from the community now that the draft is released.

What can you do?

1. Identify and Comment on Your Neighborhood and Routes

  • Look closely at recommended bikeways and sidewalk network for your neighborhood and frequently used routes. Do they make sense? Is there something glaring, dangerous or high-stress that has not been identified?

You are also strongly encouraged to provide feedback on general principles of the plan. We have identified several priority issues should be clarified or emphasized further in the final plan, and we hope you will add these to your comments:

2. Emphasize Goals and a Clear Timeline (p. 12)

  • The plan currently has goals of achieving 2.12% Bike Mode Share and 4% Walk Mode Share. This is a good start for accountability, but is insufficient without further infrastructure goals and  timeline.

  • WalknBike must emphasize specific and measureable goals and action steps front and center with clear timelines for completion.
  • All goals, action items and target completion dates should be compiled in an easily referenced chart and highlighted in the Executive Summary.

 3. Prioritize Pedestrian Crossings and Intersections: (pg. 142)

  • The current section entitled “Intersection Priorities” is insufficient in detail and prioritization for the most dangerous component of walking in Nashville.

  • WalkNBike plan should make specific recommendations on locations and improvement types in intersections and midblock crossings based on high priority locations for safety and connections.

 4. Bike Boulevards and Traffic Calming (pg. 108, 177-180)

The concept of Bike Boulevards is a new and exciting concept to improve the Nashville street safety and recommends 78 miles of neighborhood streets that prioritize bicycling through traffic calming that reduces traffic volumes and reduces speeds to 20 mph.

  • Because Nashville has never implemented a Bike Boulevard, the details required for implementation of a Bike Boulevard are insufficient. Clearer requirements and specific minimal design elements are necessary.

  • The Bike Boulevard concept should also extend to pedestrian safety and general traffic calming on neighborhood streets. Reworking the concept as “Quiet Streets” would improve implementation and neighborhood support by embracing all road users.

 5. Publish Timeline for Public Status Tracker and Project List (p. 203)

The plan includes an online public Status Tracker so that people can see the status of all approved sidewalk and bikeways projects.  It also promises an Appendix with project lists, both of which are essential to implementation accountability.

  • The plan must include a timeline for publication of the Project List Appendix and a timeline for the availability of the Status Tracker tool.

 6. Include the High Capacity Transit Corridors (p. 225)

While the High Capacity Transit (HCT) corridors (Gallatin, Nolensville, Charlotte, Dickerson, and Murfreesboro Pikes) should addressed comprehensively in conjunction with nMotion and MTA, they are left out of this plan.

  • It is essential that WalknBike address these corridors because of the extreme and imminent safety issues.

  • Highest priority safety gaps and needs should be listed in the plan even if not included on initial project lists.

  • The plan should recommend fast interventions and pilot projects that can be implemented at the most dangerous locations on the HCT corridors.

 

View the Plan: http://nashvillewalknbike.com/draft-walknbike-plan/

Comment on the Interactive Maps: http://nashvillewalknbike.com/interactive-maps/

Contact the Nashville Metro Planners Directly: [email protected], (615) 862-8750

Walk Bike Nashville welcomes feedback on this comment sheet and the overall plan. We are happy to collect and forward any comments on the plan to the Metro Nashville WalknBike Plan staff.

Please direct questions and comments to Daniel McDonell:

[email protected], (615) 928-8801