Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission is slated to discuss a speed limit reduction for a major road, but one Councilmember has some concerns.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission is scheduled to consider reducing speed limits on a major road at a meeting set to take place next on October 14.
The Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) is set to request approval for the speed limit reduction as a part of Vision Zero, an initiative aimed at ending all traffic deaths and severe injuries on Metro Nashville’s roads.
If approved, the plan would drop speed limits along Hermitage Avenue and Lebanon Pike from Korean Veterans Boulevard, downtown, all the way to the Wilson County line. The push comes after multiple crashes were reported along the stretch of road, including one where a 50-year-old woman was hit by a car while crossing the street.
Those proposed reductions would fall between 5 and 10 miles per hour depending on the road. However, not everyone is in favor of the proposed change.
“We have a lot of trucks. We have a quarry, an asphalt plant, and a concrete plant right over there. Those trucks speed down Old Hickory Boulevard and Lebanon Road all day long,” District 11 Councilmember, Jeff Eslick, said. “They go down side streets where they’re not supposed to. I just need more enforcement.”
Eslick tells News 2 there is not so much a need to reduce the speed limit, but rather get more enforcement from metro police of the limits already in place.
“I’ve had conversations with NDOT. I’ve had conversations with the traffic division captain for the Metro Police Department. I’ve met with Chief Drake one-on-one about this. All those meetings just showed there’s not a priority in making traffic stops,” Eslick added. “It’s not working. If you’re going to lower the speed limit, you’re going to need to enforce it, no matter what it is. That’s just not happening.”
A spokesperson for NDOT sent News 2 the following statement:
“Vision Zero is the number one priority of the department, and we know that speed is the #1 contributing factor in roadway fatalities. Our traffic engineers conducted a speed study on this corridor and made a recommendation to the Traffic & Parking Commission to lower the speed limit on Lebanon Pike. The Traffic & Parking Commission will consider the proposed speed limit reduction on Monday’s agenda, and we’ve communicated with council members over the past several weeks about the proposal. We’ve also attended community meetings to present on the proposal. If the speed limit reduction is approved, we will work with our partners at MNPD to ensure that there is enforcement to accompany these changes.“
The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) sent News 2 data for the past few years:
So far in 2024, MNPD has traffic fatality reports for 24 pedestrians, 49 single- or multi-vehicle crashes, 13 motorcyclists and 1 bicyclist, for a total of 87
In 2023, MNPD had traffic fatality reports for 39 pedestrians, 68 single- or multi-vehicle crashes, 19 motorcyclists and 1 bicyclist, for a total of 127
In 2022, MNPD created traffic fatality reports for 48 pedestrians, 72 single- or multi-vehicle crashes, 7 motorcyclists and 2 bicyclists, for a total of 129
MNPD officials also sent News 2 data with respect to area traffic stops for the first three quarters of 2024. For District 11, the number of stops exceeds those during the first three quarters of the prior two years:
So far in 2024, MNPD has reported 631 stops, including 229 warnings, 394 citations and 21 arrests
In 2023, MNPD reported 362 stops, including 142 warnings, 212 citations and 16 arrests
In 2022, MNPD reported 431 stops, including 116 warnings, 308 citations and 21 arrests
However, Eslick said that this data doesn’t show the massive drop in traffic stops since 2018.
“Without enforcement, this is just a random, unattainable goal,” Eslick told News 2.