NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Speed limits could change around Nashville if a proposal makes its way through Metro Council. It aims to change the speed limit from 30 miles per-hour to 25 in certain areas.
The discussion to change the speed limit in neighborhoods will happen during Tuesday night's Metro Council meeting.
Walk Bike Nashville says this could force people to slow down and stop driving recklessly in Nashville neighborhoods. The group says speed determines how severe a crash will be and just a few miles per-hour difference can have a huge impact.
Research also shows if a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle at 25 mph they have a 25% risk of serious or fatal injury, but that risk jumps to 50% at 33 mph.
Walk Bike Nashville says last year, 39 pedestrians were hit and killed. In 2019, 32 people died, and in 2018, 22 people were hit and killed.
The group says those deaths are on the rise in Nashville and if the speed limit is lowered on local streets in the Urban Services District, it could make our streets safer.
"This is really hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of streets and really the small local roads that go through our neighborhoods. We are really excited about the potential safety benefits of this and also the potential to cut down on cut-through traffic in neighborhoods,” said Lindsey Ganson, with Walk-Bike Nashville.
Mayor John Cooper has said in the past that he wants to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries in Davidson County. He joined a national effort called Vision Zero to help address the problem.
