NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — A proposal to build a sidewalk in North Nashville passed in 2015 and seven years later, it's finally done.
Sadly, neighbors say they're not surprised by the delay.
The proposal was passed back when former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry announced a plan to build new sidewalks in each council district in Davidson County.
Councilmember Freddie O'Connell announced the sidewalk for his district was only recently finished.
Sidewalks have been an ongoing issue for many communities for years.
"One of the issues we're trying to improve: our roads and also sidewalks in the neighborhood," said Carlos Shivers, co-president of the Hope Gardens Community group.
Neighbors in the Hope Garden Community in North Nashville meet every second Thursday on odd months here at the Gospel Tabernacle on Jackson street.
"Some of our neighbors grew up in this neighborhood and they have never seen the roads repaved. I mean these really old roads, they're dangerous; there's potholes, of course we have flooding down here in this area," said Anna Fields, co-president of the Hope Gardens Community group.
Better infrastructure is just one of many issues they hope to tackle.
"But we have not seen the roads and the sidewalks fixed," said Fields. "We've got one sidewalk down Herman Street, and that was really good because that was a dangerous stretch for so many of our walking neighbors. We have a lot of walking traffic going through here to head to the downtown area. We just really want to make this a better space for them and a much safer place for our new neighbors and a fancier place for our older neighbors."
This community did get that Herman Street sidewalk, but it took years.
"I never could have imagined that 1,300 linear feet of sidewalk would take seven years to construct," said O'Connell.
O'Connell said he's happy it's done, but he wishes it had happened sooner.
"There is this weird little industrial sweep along Herman Street that is a really critical connector from the Bicentennial Mall all the way out past, you know, Fisk and Mary out to basically Hadley park area," said O'Connell.
O'Connell said that with task forces, special committees and NDOT, he hopes the other sidewalk projects across the city can get completed sooner rather than later, and neighbors agree.
