NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The head of the Nashville Symphony said the city needs to work together to solve the problem of tourists, partygoers and traffic on lower Broadway that he says is prompting some of his patrons to choose to stay home instead.
The CEO of the Nashville Symphony, Alan Valentine, said he's heard from some of his patrons that they've given up on attending events at the symphony center because of the traffic downtown — both before and after the performance — and because of walking through all the rowdy behavior of the crowds on lower Broadway.
"You can hear it in the background," Valentine said. "The party vehicles, pedal taverns and so on, are contributing to the congestion of traffic around our building, making it challenging to get in and out of parking garages like the Pinnacle garage across the street."
Valentine said he supports two concrete solutions he said would help solve the problem: a better mass transit system centered around downtown, and more one-way streets like other cities have to help deal with the traffic.
But Valentine said he's optimistic that the city, the convention and visitors bureau, the downtown partnership and Metro Police can work together to improve the situation.
Valentine said he has received some positive response from Metro Police officers who were out earlier with a drone studying traffic patterns to come up with a plan.
