Better East Bank Connections: Woodland Bridge
4 min read We need an enjoyable and effective connection between Downtown Nashville and East Bank for the successful development of East Bank. Woodland Bridge plays a key role for the connection.
By Rodney See, Community Member
Does anyone out there miss driving over the Shelby Street Bridge? I don’t either. It was closed to traffic in 1998. After it sat dormant for many years, it became a pedestrian bridge. Since 2003, the John Seigenthaler Bridge has played a vital role in downtown’s current boom. Maybe it’s time to think about another pedestrian-centric route?
Would another bridge being closed to cars make traffic worse? You could argue that. As much as I would hope to see traffic diminish, this idea focuses on safety and efficiency. If we consider the location of Woodland Street Bridge, it’s easy to see it can be much more than just a pedestrian route over the river. Let’s consider how we can better utilize an underutilized East Bank connection that can lure in new residents and ensure safer commutes for current residents in and around downtown. I propose we one day close the Woodland Street Bridge to all private vehicles, but in the meantime, let’s focus on how a road diet would prioritize multimodal transportation: walking, biking, and transit.
Crossing the River on Foot is Not Ideal
The current collection of bridge designs across the Cumberland need immediate review. The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge has one end in a parking lot and the other end near a 24 hour outdoor festival where honky tonk goers revel on Lower Broadway.
At each end of downtown there are Interstate Highway bridges that include DOZENS of lanes for vehicles only. Sandwiched in between these monuments to car dominance, we have 3 additional high speed river crossings that pedestrians would rarely dare to cross.
The James Robertson Bridge, one block north of Woodland Street, has five lanes with one that switches direction.
Directly south we have the Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge with six lanes.
About half a dozen blocks north, the Jefferson Street bridge’s six lanes add to your options crossing of the river in a vehicle at over 40mph.
Oddly enough, the largest bridge with the highest speed limit (KVM) also has the only separated (painted) bike lane. I mean that as no compliment.
Road Diet Offers Pedestrian Refuge
A better multimodal solution over the Woodland Street Bridge presents an opportunity for tourists and locals to enjoy crossing the river without the current headaches. Since the Woodland Street Bridge ends in a sharp turn, the traffic is naturally slower and therefore not the preferred driving route from East Nashville into Downtown. Bikers may cross this bridge more safely due to the limited number of cars that use it; they may also prefer it because they can cross more comfortably due to its shorter incline compared to the Pedestrian Bridge and Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Woodland Bridge Multimodal Transportation
I want to go on and on about crossing the river on foot, bike or other micromobility. When cars aren’t flying by at 40+mph, it can be rather pleasant. People should have at least one way across the river that can be used daily, without a car. Therefore, a better design solution for the Woodland Street Bridge would be to implement a road diet, reducing the vehicle travel lanes from 4 to 2. Bus travel would be a priority in those vehicle lanes, but the gained space could be used for plantings, protected bike lanes, and a widened sidewalk.
Additional steps in this plan could recommend slow moving traffic, like horse and buggy, pedal tavern and possibly party-busses to prioritize using this bridge to cross the river. This would give the city a safe route that could quickly become a new tourist attraction. Eventually, becoming a 4.5 mile route going from Five Points to Music Row. All on a nearly car-free, safe street design. If confined to specific areas, at slow speeds, party buses and peddle taverns become harmless, albeit noisy and weird - just like me or you (hopefully). We have a responsibility as a community to protect the users of our roadways - from themselves at times. The addition of a multimodal river crossing at two of the cities most popular locations just makes sense.
Union St - Woodland Bridge Transition
Historic Bridge turns Urban Oasis
Woodland Street Bridge has a deep history in Nashville. It’s the site of the first bridge that crossed the Cumberland almost 200 years ago. Therefore, I encourage treating the design of the space with reverence rather than impatience. It was a suspension bridge originally and trains ran across it. This rich history could be explored though art installations similar to other parks throughout town. The current structure has been in place since 1966, I would imagine it has many years left if we lessen the traffic over it. My recommended changes to the bridge could coincide with access to the Cumberland River, i.e., future river taxis, recreation, or simply to relax at riverside parks.
I’ve seen plans to develop housing and offices in the areas around the stadium - I don’t think any of these East Bank infill projects would be negatively affected by a multimodal corridor in the middle. Oracle has an agreement to put a pedestrian bridge from the east bank to Germantown and I’ve seen plans for three new bridges in North Nashville, so I like to think we’re moving in the right direction to accommodate growth.
Woodland Street Bridge can become an urban oasis. Massive lanes that could accommodate any sort of low-speed mobility device. Small park-lets connected by pedestrian pathways could allow for more indirect travel. Also, we must allow for green space where there currently is none. There are many non-transportation benefits to this plan!
An Expanded Perspective on river connections
By Taylan Tekeli, Design & Research Assistant
I have spent majority of my life in Istanbul, Turkey. And a significant part of that time was spent on its public transportation system. Approximately 5,000-6,000 hours of time in public vehicles such as bus, minibus, metrobus, taxi, shared taxi, water taxi, train, subway, tram, streetcar, ferry, motorboat, cable car, funicular… My favorite was always taking the ferry when I could. Fresh simit with tea in the morning while sitting in a ferry was my favorite activity in Istanbul. I didn’t only try to go from A to B in the fastest way when I lived there. Nashvillians are probably not trying to be the fastest when they ride their bike to go to work. They likely do it because it is healthy, environmentally friendly, and fun!
One of the ferries of Istanbul. [Photo by: Ken Welsh/Getty Images]
Simit & Tea. [Photo by: BBM Magazine]
In my opinion, one of the most underestimated aspects of public transportation is that they are usually not designed for people to enjoy it. Popular opinions about transit is “Its purpose is to take you from A to B. Therefore, cheapest and the fastest way is the best.” I strongly disagree with that. One of our Guiding Principles even emphasizes the goal to change this foundational element of civic design, “Develop an equitable and desirable transportation infrastructure.” Currently, the density of Nashville is not high enough to facilitate the improvements of the transit infrastructure, and most of the time, people simply do not prefer to take the bus. There’s a little bit of a “chicken-egg” situation in transit. If there aren’t enough people who consistently ride, there is not enough money or proof to provide better transit, and when the transit system is not desirable, people will not use it. On the other hand, we could have enough people to take transit after a major development in East Bank area. But numbers alone are still not good enough unless we provide a FUN transit system if we actually want to encourage more people to use public transportation rather than their own cars.
Streetcar Downtown
Are streetcars in Nashville’s future?
Not only does a streetcar bring joy to its riders but also to its viewers.
Although streetcar would bring a lot of joy to Nashville, this project does not have to start with an expensive infrastructure. It’s probably the best to separate the streetcar phase from the public space development of Woodland Bridge.
Below are some of the phases we can implement. Order of these phases should be determined by the need.
Add protected bike lanes
Paint the space between new bike lanes and existing sidewalk to expand the sidewalk.
Plant trees & small plants
Build a streetcar infrastructure
Turn the bridge into an active public space by programming it
And more!
Woodland Bridge Street View
Are you dreaming big about other river crossings? New public transit?