NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — On Main Street in East Nashville, cars line up to park along the right of way near the Five Points intersection. Now concerned drivers are asking for action.
"So I usually drive through here nearly every day with my daughter," said East Nashville resident Steven Younes. He said the two-lane road often becomes one-lane thanks to the long line of cars parked on the street.
"There’s some higher blood pressure, you know I get high blood pressure," he said. “To me, it’s one of those things that Gallatin Road has been two lanes, and it never turned down to one lane until now, I guess.”
Younes worries East Nashville's infrastructure simply isn't keeping up with the city's growth.
“I just know Gallatin isn’t made for this sort of traffic, and the density’s picked up. We’re just seeing more and more traffic, unfortunately," he said. "So this area wasn’t built for this, and ultimately we need mass transit.”
But Metro Council Member Brett Withers said the issue isn't so much about the city's growth, it's more about drivers being unwilling to park where they're supposed to.
“When you actually look around Five Points we have parking lots everywhere," he said.
Withers said unless drivers choose alternative options — like walking or public transportation — they may have to learn the hard way.
“The unfortunate reality is, for this, what will happen is we’ll put up signage and give people tickets until they stop parking there, and then that ties up police officer resources and other resources that could be doing more important service to the community," Withers said.
A representative with Metro Nashville Department of Transportation said parking is in fact illegal in that area, and NDOT did issue work orders last week to place no parking signs at this location.
A Metro Police representative also said the cars parked on Main Street are being ticketed if they are within 30 feet from the intersection.
