It's not unusual for Chrissy Hood to walk into a bathroom and cry when she sees an adult changing table mounted on the wall.

Why it matters: Hood's 22-year-old daughter Alaina has autism, cerebral palsy and other conditions caused by a rare genetic syndrome.

• Adult changing tables are a necessity for her, and for the Hood family, they have become symbols of independence and dignity.

"Everyone deserves dignity," Hood says.

• When Hood sees a changing table, she says, she knows "I'm not having to lay my daughter down on that dirty, filthy restroom floor and change her."

The big picture: Parks officials are working on parallel tracks to boost accessibility under the Access 2030 initiative, which aims to make Tennessee's parks the most accessible in the country. Changes are rolling out quickly.

• Earlier this year, Tennessee State Parks hired Ryan Jolley as its first-ever accessibility coordinator to oversee the ongoing projects.

What she's saying: Hood works for the advocacy group Family Voices of Tennessee and serves on the state's Council on Developmental Disabilities, giving her a bird's-eye view of efforts to improve access to state parks.

• "What we are doing with our state parks and accessibility has really put Tennessee on the map in a very positive way," she says. "Tennessee is leading the way."

State of play: Tennessee state parks have added adult changing tables at a rapid clip. Each new location represents a new opportunity for Alaina and her family.

• "We're getting to get out and see parts of our state we've never seen, and we're getting to experience our parks and nature," Hood tells Axios.

Zoom out: Also new at multiple state parks are all-terrain wheelchairs that can navigate trails and give people access to vistas they might have otherwise missed.

• Some parks have also added wheelchair-accessible canoe and kayak launches.
• Others have special viewfinders that can help people who are colorblind experience the vibrance of fall leaves.

Reality check: Thirty-five years after the Americans with Disabilities Act became law, barriers are common. Inclusive playgrounds that accommodate children of different abilities, for instance, can be hard to find.

"There's no rose-colored glasses on, that's for sure," Jolley says of the work that still needs to be done.

• He notes that plenty of older buildings and infrastructure across the state's park system are not up to date.
• Teams conduct assessments to prioritize needs and create improvement schedules.

The bottom line: Jolley, who is legally blind, tells Axios his job is to listen to Tennessee residents, identify persisting parks problems and push new measures to solve them.

• "It's not just the right thing to do; it's a proactive way to keep Tennessee's population healthy — mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually," he says.
• "These parks belong to every Tennessean."

Share this story ... More information about accessibility measures in Tennessee state parks

Elon Musk's The Boring Company officially unveiled its plans yesterday for the Music City Loop, an underground tunnel connecting downtown to the Nashville airport.

Why it matters: Gov. Bill Lee touted the project as an innovative approach to addressing Nashville's traffic congestion at no cost to taxpayers.

The big picture: The project has an ambitious timeline of completing the 10-mile route in less than two years.

• The tunnel would move vehicles at warp speed as well. A trip from downtown to the airport would be about eight minutes, according to Boring Company CEO Steve Davis.

What he's saying: "The Boring Company is developing the most cutting edge transit systems in the world," Lee said at a press event at the airport Hilton.

• "This is the most dynamic city in the country. People are coming here by the millions, and now with the Music City Loop, the Boring Company is set to transform the airport-to-downtown travel experience."

Zoom in: Davis said the Boring Company looks for places where its tunnel projects can be useful, as well as cities that are welcoming.

• He said Nashville checked both of those boxes. The company plans to start hiring in the coming days, he said.

Yes, but: Although Davis lauded the city for being welcoming, Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell was not in attendance at the press conference. O'Connell told Axios over the weekend he had questions about the project.

• Details such as the costs for construction and operations remain unclear.
• It's unclear what approvals could be required of Metro leaders.

What we're watching: Davis said Nashville presents challenges for its state-of-the-art digging technology due to the city's hard, rocky ground.

What's next: The downtown-to-airport tunnel could just be the beginning.

• Davis said the Boring Company will be soliciting community feedback for the most "useful" places in Nashville where other transportation tunnels could be constructed.

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⚖️ The federal fraud trial of Plaza Mariachi founder Mark Janbakhsh begins today. (Nashville Banner)

🌡 Peak heat is expected in Nashville as the streak of 90-degree days continues. (WPLN)

🏊‍♀️ Harpeth Hall grad Gretchen Walsh won gold in the 100-meter butterfly at the World Aquatics Championship. (Nashville Post)

The University of Tennessee football program is worth $1.4 billion, according to an estimate by The Athletic.

Why it matters: NCAA teams aren't for sale yet, but name, image and likeness (NIL) has led more to mirror themselves like professional clubs.

By the numbers: At $2.38 billion, the University of Texas' football program is the most valuable.

State of play: The Athletic ranked teams in the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 by how much money they'd hypothetically sell for on the open market.

• The New York Times-owned sports publication took real-life sales examples across pro sports to determine what each program is worth.

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