NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Reliability keeps life moving through Gallatin Pike.
Reginald Jones kept his career because of dependable bus rides. "That's the bus I ride, Gallatin road," said Jones. "And I have been riding it for the last 40 years."
It delivered him to Vanderbilt, where he found great pride in his work for 30 years before he retired. "I would go in and we would clean student rooms," said Jones. "They gave us a bus card."
Reginald still walks to the bus stop on the grassy side of Gallatin Pike. "From where I am to downtown it takes about 45 minutes, sometimes longer," said Jones.
Choose How You Move Director Kendra Abkowitz stated that a lack of sidewalks makes getting to bus stops unsafe. "Whether you’re walking along that corridor or waiting for bus service, you may find yourself in unsafe conditions," Abkowitz said.
She identified additional issues with the speed of traffic on major roads, such as Gallatin Pike."Significant congestion causes delays in bus service, and we also cannot increase the frequency of service on those corridors; today, we are at capacity," Abkowitz explained.
She noted that these roads have not been assessed in decades.
"Consider our busiest corridors: Murfreesboro Pike, Gallatin, Nolensville, Dickerson, West End, Charlotte, the Sobro downtown loop, and Clarksville Pike," Abkowitz continued.
These corridors will receive a complete facelift from how they look today.
"There will be dedicated bus lanes for at least a portion of those corridors, green and complete streets with trees, safe bus shelters, additional sidewalks, new streetlights, and in many cases, we may have the opportunity to place power lines underground," Abkowitz said. "This will give Nashvillians more time back and help reduce the cost of living."
City leaders stated that it will take about 15 years to complete the All-Access Corridors project across Nashville. However, planning for Murfreesboro Pike and Gallatin Pike is already underway.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Kim.Rafferty@newschannel5.com.
The line ''see something, say something" took on new meaning recently in Bowling Green. Two alert neighbors helped tip police to stolen Corvettes from the nearby assembly plant. That led law enforcement to find 8 stolen Corvettes worth over $1 million. We may all be able to learn a little lesson from this.
-Lelan Statom
