Statement on Event Traffic, Our Bridges, and the East Bank

Dear ,

As you know, one of my major concerns about the development of the East Bank has been the potential for us, here on the East Side, to be blocked into our neighborhoods on event days. Given the geography of the city, there is often no other way to get into or out of East than the bridges across the river. We’ve all experienced being stuck in that event traffic. Adding in construction for years and more events after that will be a significant problem if it is not properly handled. That is why affirmatively addressing that potential problem has always been a top priority for me.

I’ve been working with the Mayor’s Office, and Metro Departments, on this issue, and have some updates and positive news to report. I am glad that Mayor O’Connell understands and cares about this issue, and I am grateful to him for hearing me out about it and overseeing strong early steps to address it.

One important step is that NDOT (our department of transportation) will be taking the lead on event traffic management. This will enable better coordination across the Metro government, and it will allow experimentation led by traffic engineers. A new working group will be studying what is working and what is not.

Another significant change is that our city buses will no longer avoid the East Bank during events—so that you can now finally take the bus to a game, with the usual stops along Woodland and Main Streets. There is no long-term solution that does not involve ways for many more people to get into and out of the East Bank without a car. That means walking, biking, and the bus have to be safe and reliable. (This is yet another reason that passing the transit referendum in November will be a big help to East!)

I have never liked that the development of the East Bank is premised on the stadium deal that passed at the end of the previous council and mayoral term, but I have been working very, very hard to make sure the District 6 voice is heard now, so that we can make the best of it. 

And there is much about the East Bank that will be better than I was hoping even a year ago—that what we are building there will be a neighborhood for families and Nashvillians, with 45% of the units being Affordable; that the streets will be multimodal; that there will be a day care in the first wave of development; that we’ve tailored the zoning to prevent the Broadway party scene from jumping the river, and have forbidden short term rentals there. 

But getting the traffic piece of the puzzle right over time is going to require vigilance and work. There will be trouble spots and problems—but we’ve had no shortage of trouble spots and problems for years, so now we’re finally going to start learning from them so things can improve!

I will be advising NDOT’s working group about how things are working for us here in East. Please let me know what you see and experience so I can fully advocate for us. I am going to continue focusing on this, partnering with Mayor O’Connell on it, and working on more improvements to come.

Clay