Nashville's new road safety efforts: Concrete barriers, raised crosswalks
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Barriers set up to separate cyclists and drivers. Photo: Courtesy of NDOT
Nashville is using Choose How You Move funds to test out a series of street safety measures, including new concrete bike-lane barriers and raised pedestrian crosswalks.
Why it matters: Metro police have logged more than 60 deaths in fatal crashes this year, including at least 18 pedestrians, intensifying pressure to improve infrastructure.
The latest: The Nashville Department of Transportation recently rolled out concrete dividers along the bike and scooter lanes on Commerce Street downtown and on Davidson Street near Nissan Stadium.
- The so-called Toronto barriers are long, low-profile concrete blocks that create a physical barrier between cars and cyclists.
- The initial installations are a pilot effort, and NDOT is collecting feedback from residents.
Zoom in: Another strategy getting deployed is raised crosswalks, which create long, sloped areas in roads that elevate pedestrians to about sidewalk level.
- The Federal Highway Administration says the elevated pathways can reduce pedestrian crashes by up to 45%.
State of play: There are three raised crosswalks already in and around downtown, with one more on the way.
- The latest addition is at Fourth Avenue South and Symphony Place. Others are located at Third Avenue and Symphony Place and on Rep. John Lewis Way North near First Horizon Park.
- The final project in this series, at Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard and Church Street, begins construction this month.