NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you’re ever in downtown Nashville, one of the first things you’ll see are people lined up for vendors. That could change to where you see fewer vendors on the city’s most famous roads.
Metro Traffic and Parking Commission will meet today to take up a proposal to push the “No Vending Zone" further. It would expand about a block further south and west of the main downtown tourist area. This request was made by newly elected councilmember Jacob Kupin.
This is a proposal that's not getting a lot of support from vendors who, in the past, told us they only add to culture of downtown and the experience of tourists.
Last February, former Mayor John Cooper signed a bill into law that limited where street vendors could sell in downtown Nashville's entertainment district. City leaders say the reason for the change is the congestion on the roads.
The rule means vending on public sidewalks within the district, including Lower Broadway, is against the law. Currently, sidewalk vending is not allowed from the Cumberland River to 8th Avenue and from Union St. to Korean Vets.
The commission meeting is at 3 p.m. today at the Howard Office Building.
For people of my generation, in our younger days we spent part of our weekends watching music shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. That was before the age of music videos. Several years before Soul Train was syndicated out of Chicago, another syndicated R&B show was taped in Nashville at NewsChannel 5. Night Train aired in the 60s and included what may have been the first TV appearance for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Forrest Sanders has another great look back at station history.
-Lelan Statom
