New Streetscape for the Safety of 8th Avenue
By Taylan Tekeli, Design & Research Assistant
3 min read Improving the pedestrian experience on streets in Nashville can save lives. Our Design Studio studies a section of 8th Avenue South, between Division Street and Chestnut Street, and makes recommendations for enhancements.
Figure 1: Context map showing the focus area in orange and important multimodal connections in yellow.
Addressing Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety
8th Avenue South is a major thoroughfare located south of Downtown Nashville. It is an important connection to the SoBro Neighborhood and ties into many other critical roadways. As 8th gets closer to Downtown the population and pedestrian activity around it also increases. According to Vision Zero: Safe Streets in Nashville Action Plan 2022-2026, the section we are studying is included in the “High Injury Network”. For these reasons, not only did we design elements to improve the beautification of the street, but we also made recommendations to increase pedestrian and cyclist safety.
The 4 maps above show how this section of 8th Ave has severe safety issues. All modes indicated in the Vision Zero Dashboard highlight this section of 8th Ave as a High Injury Network for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. As development increases along this segment of roadway, we need to strongly encourage all developers and their projects to contribute to safety and healthy built environments.
Figure 2: 8th Avenue Improvement Diagram—includes locations for new trees, traffic lights, and bike lanes
8th Ave has limitations in road width, so it makes for dangerous on-street bike facilities. When looking at this segment between Chestnut St/Edgehill Ave and Division St we saw that a parallel route via Cherry Ave might be an ideal connection for cyclists. If Cherry Ave could be converted into a complete street, it could help to connect Division St (in the Gulch) and the future Chestnut Street/Edgehill Ave bike lanes that would link these two important cross-town cycle routes.
Figure 3: Example of bike lanes within parking garage of a development
Figure 4: Bike Lanes through “Highway Wedge”
There are several new projects being developed on this section of 8th Ave. If the new mixed-use project that is north of Cherry Ave could accommodate the proposed bike lane shown by the scenario in Figure 2, then it would only have to connect under the interstate (using the Highway Wedge or triangular space between the highway support structure and the landscape underneath shown if Figure 4) to connect Chestnut St/Edgehill Ave to Division St in the Gulch. This proposal would get bikers off one of the most dangerous streets for cyclists in Nashville and could be an innovation to be used as a case study for a creative type of public/private partnership.
Video precedent of bikeway through a mixed-use development in Amsterdam. Clip from Why America Is Terribly Designed
If you think this idea is too far out, then consider that this video above shows real projects that are typical in many European cities.
Expanding the 8th ave Tree Canopy
Root Nashville is a public-private campaign, led by Metro Nashville and the Cumberland River Compact, to plant 500,000 trees across Davidson County by 2050. Its planting efforts are focused on key neighborhoods, in order to create an equitable tree canopy. The South Nashville segment is in Red on the map below and borders this portion of 8th Ave S in which we are looking to increase the tree canopy on the street.
This map above indicates the primary impact areas (North Nashville, South Nashville, and Madison) and boundaries (Davidson County) that the Root Nashville campaign works within.
Tree shade should be one of the first improvements in order to create more walkable sidewalks. More mature trees would be preferred plantings on each side of 8th Ave. Also, cherry trees can be planted on Cherry Avenue to honor its name while creating a scenic road for the cyclists.
New Developments on 8th Ave
3D Diagram of 8th Avenue between Division St and Edgehill Ave looking south
As 8th Avenue continues to grow, new developments can bring value to the safety, and pedestrian-friendly environments. If new projects along this street plant new trees and maintain the surrounding landscape it would drastically improve the look and feel of this Neighborhood. Bike lanes going through the Highway Wedge* can contribute to the idle and not-perfectly-maintained spaces under the highways all around the city.
New developments can help connect neighborhoods together to provide a more cohesive biking network. Parking garages hold a great opportunity to turn their dark and cold environment into a more lively and activated space. Adding simple solutions such as bike lanes and suspended ceilings with string lights could transform parking garages into exciting public-private connections.
Help us identify other locations where we can bring solutions to pedestrian safety.In addition to this street development, Nashville could benefit from other creative solutions where pedestrian safety is not the priority. If you to think of an additional location for this solutions, please comment below!