After a year of discussion, Monday the city unveiled the WalknBike Draft Plan.
Anyone driving through Nashville can see the many roads without sidewalks and bike lanes that simply disappear.
"It is such an enormous problem," said Nora Kern, who rides her bike to work, even in the bitter cold.
Kern is part of the committee that worked for a year on a plan that the city hopes encourages others to bike or walk more.
"In any city like Nashville we have a lot of people living in the same place and we need to have a lot of different ways to get around," she said.
Monday, the city unveiled the WalknBike Draft Plan, which was a year in the making. It emphasized sidewalks on the heavily trafficked corridors, namely the pikes.
Gallatin, Dickerson and Charlotte were all considered crucial due to their higher traffic density.
As for bike lanes, they hope to kiss the disappearing acts goodbye.
"It's not just enough to have one here or there," Kern said, "we need to have a grid so that people of all ages and abilities can access and get around by bike - not just the fearless few."
A total of 18 pedestrians died in Nashville in 2015. The city reported that it was a 20-year-high. The plan addresses the growing danger and headaches from traffic with recommendations like establishing a Bicycle and Pedestrian Division, adding more B-Cycle stops and bike parking around town and addressing construction blocking access to bike lanes and sidewalks.
"We're really excited but I think it's really all gonna come down to what happens next and how we make use of the plan," said Kern.
The plan gives different cost options for each major issue. The sidewalk network could take between 5 and 35 years to build and cost between $110 million and $15 million dollars a year.
Bike lanes could take between 5 and 41 years, which will cost $8 million or $1 million dollars a year.
Public Meetings planned for the WalknBike Draft Plan:
January 9, 2017
5:00pm to 7:00pm
MNPD North Precinct
2231 26th Avenue North
January 9, 2017
7:00pm to 9:00pm
MNPD West Precinct
5500 Charlotte Pike
January 10, 2017
5:00pm to 7:00pm
Madison Park Community Center
510 Cumberland Ave
January 10, 2017
7:00pm to 9:00pm
Stanford Montessori School
2417 Maplecrest Dr
January 11, 2017
5:00pm to 7:00pm
MNPD South Precinct
5101 Harding Place
After 30 days of public comments, the plan will be finalized by the city.
