Eighth Avenue Lane Reduction Plan Sparks Backlash

NASHVILLE, TN — Metro Planning's idea to add bike lanes and a shared center turn lane to nearly a mile and a half of busy Eighth Avenue —the plan would take the stretch of Eighth between Wedgewood and the roundabout south of Broadway down to two travel lanes for cars — is being met with plenty of opposition among business owners and residents alike along the thoroughfare.

The plan calls for converting one existing travel lane into a shared center turn lane and to add a bike lane. While increased walkability is among the reasons Metro Planning and advocacy group Walk Bike Nashville are pushing for the change, many property and business owners note that the initial plan doesn't actually include sidewalk installation.

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Citizens Against 8th Avenue Gridlock have launched a web site and Change.org petition to express their concerns.

"A large number of studies have been done on 4-to-3 lane conversions. All of them agree that they only work on streets with fewer than 20,000 vehicles per day. The 8th (Avenue) study showed we already had 21,000 vehicles per day way back in 2014. Traffic counts have gone up dramatically since then, putting us far, far beyond what a three-lane road can accommodate. Condo developments currently under construction will add even more," the narrative included with the petition reads, in part.

On the other side, Walk Bike Nashville's president Nora Kern launched her own petition calling for the implementation of the project.

"Right now, it is miserable to walk on this street," she told News Channel 5. "We really want to emphasize, it's not only about bikes, it's about what it's like to be a pedestrian, what it's like to be a person going to a restaurant, going to a brewery."

The project is still in the public comment phase.

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