Complete Streets Leadership Academy Case Studies

With a newly adopted Vision Zero plan in place, Metro Nashville joined the Complete Streets Leadership Academy to strengthen partnerships and test out new paths to achieving safer streets. Working together to improve crossings for people walking allowed them to strengthen their relationships with local partners and provide quick, tangible benefits to a community that was ready for change. Read the full case study in the Complete Streets Leadership Academies Report and explore the other case studies here.

Project Snapshot

As the participants from Nashville combed through potential sites, one location stood out among the rest due to the high pedestrian traffic along the route and the known equity concerns in the area: Dickerson Pike and Queen Avenue. Despite known safety concerns, the project area hasn’t seen major transportation improvements in 30 years. A quick-build project was a way to demonstrate to the people who live around Dickerson Pike—who are primarily low-income and people of color—that their safety and accessibility are a priority for both local and state decision-makers.

To reclaim pedestrian space, the Nashville team painted walkways along the east side of Dickerson Pike and the north side of Grizzard Avenue, a roadway on the west that dead-ends into Dickerson. The painted walkway on the east side of Dickerson included a mural by local artist Charles Key, who used affordable and easily accessible materials including colored concrete seal applied with roller brushes to make the art attractive and functional. Adding art further drew attention to the changes along Dickerson, both attracting pedestrians and signaling drivers to slow down and watch for people walking.

The Nashville Department of Transportation (NDOT) also made multiple changes to the long crosswalk to make it more comfortable and safer to traverse. A pedestrian refuge in the center turn lane, painted with bright yellow paint and lined with flex posts, shortened the length people needed to cross. NDOT also refreshed the crosswalk with thermoplastic and replaced the school bus crossing signage with pedestrian crossing signage to match current needs.

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