Almost Friday, Nashville! It’s November 5.
☀️ Patchy fog and sunshine. Cool weekend. High: 69, Low: 45
📍 New in Nashville’s Neighborhoods: a rise in pedestrian deaths, an update on home break-in trends, changes to the East Bank’s roads, tulip-looking additions to a stretch of road, a $27 million warehouse project, and a “luxury” apartment complex’s return after pushback.
📰 Also in today’s newsletter: why you might pay more if you get caught speeding and four Nashville restaurants make a nationwide top 100 list.
🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
Madison
Rise in pedestrian deaths: A man died early yesterday morning after multiple vehicles hit him on Gallatin Pike North near its intersection with Alta Loma Road. The drivers of two of three vehicles involved left the scene, police said. Metro Police noted it was drizzling at the time of the crash, but also that there “were no pedestrian traffic control devices or painted crosswalks at the light.” Pedestrian deaths in Nashville increased more than 50% compared to this point last year with 29 deaths so far this year, according to data from Tennessee’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
Hermitage & Donelson
Crime trend: I reported last month on a rise in home break-ins in the Metro Police Department’s Hermitage precinct (map here). That trend appears to be slowing down, based on new police data. As of early October, cases had increased nearly 27% compared to last year. That’s been cut to a 21.6% increase, rising from 111 cases at this point last year to 135 so far this year. The Hermitage precinct still leads all of Nashville for the biggest jump in the raw number of cases. Countywide, home break-ins are down about 3%.
Downtown (and nearby)
Redoing the East Bank’s roads: The East Bank’s transformation is more than new buildings. Its roads will look a lot different in five years. The Metro Council will consider two agreements with TDOT tonight. One is for lowering James Robertson Parkway from Victory Memorial Bridge to Interstate Drive. It’s scheduled to be “substantially complete” by August 2029, a Metro analysis says. NDOT will be responsible for up to $100 million of the $185 million project. TDOT will fund the rest. The second agreement is for connecting Marine Drive with Dickerson Pike and widening Cowan Street. Those projects are part of $208 million in road and stormwater improvements. NDOT will be responsible for about half of the costs. All of the work is scheduled to be finished by late 2030.
Glencliff
Tulip wand delineators: It’s prettier than the used tires repurposed into bike lane barriers on Antioch Pike. The Metro Council will consider tonight whether to accept a donation of 75 lane delineators that look like tulips. You can see them on the last page of this document. “Each colorful Tulip head is made from recycled plastic, collected from waste,” The Civic Design Center said of its donation. “These Tulip wands will be added to the communities’ tactical urbanism mural in front of Wright Middle School.”
Antioch
Luxury apartments: This idea concerned neighbors before it stalled, and now it’s back. A new developer wants to move forward with more than 300 “luxury” apartments at the corner of Eagle View Boulevard and Baby Ruth Lane. A representative for the developer presented at the beginning of this community meeting, which you can watch here. WKRN reported last year on neighbors’ concerns, including traffic. Metro Council member Joy Styles said the new developer agreed to improvements to the Ridgeview neighborhood, which were part of a deal with the original developer to move forward with rezoning. Those include paving, landscaping, a new playground, and more. Rent prices haven’t been released.
East Nashville
New bar: This commercial building that’s been boarded up or fenced off over the past five or so years appears to be benefitting from Dickerson Pike’s transformation. A new building permit application indicates a bar is coming to 709 Dickerson Pike. The application doesn’t give a name for the bar, but I’ll keep watching for filings that might reveal more details.
Near Crieve Hall
Greenway bridge: “It probably will happen, maybe if it does happen, in 50 years time,” the Metro Parks Assistant Director of Greenways and Open Space admitted after pitching his idea to Metro’s Board of Parks and Recreation. He described a “major, big, iconic pedestrian cycling bridge” that goes over I-65 and Franklin Pike to connect nearby greenways. “Now is the day and the time that you have a vision and you start talking about it,” he said. Obviously, this is far from happening and there wasn’t further public discussion, but I found it interesting enough to share with you.
Whites Creek
$27 million project: Developers just got a building permit for a 208,000 square foot warehouse building with office space at 7435 Old Hickory Boulevard. A listing for the “Old Hickory Logistics Center” says it’s “scheduled for delivery in Summer 2027.”
North Nashville
Senior center reopening: The Elizabeth Senior Center at 1701 Arthur Avenue will have a reopening celebration next Tuesday. Thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Lowe’s Community Improvement Program, the facility got new flooring, paint, and ceiling tiles, along with a computer lab. You can read more about the renovations here.
📰 A few more stories I’m following…
More expensive to speed: I reported in September on a nearly 30% increase in traffic stops by Metro Police over the past year, along with the top times and places for traffic stops. Now the consequences of getting caught are on track to cost you more money. A bill in the Metro Council would increase the fee for traffic school from $90 to up to $114.50, about 27% higher. The legislation, which is up for the second of three votes tonight, points out “a significant increase in individuals enrolling in traffic safety classes,” along with rising costs to operate the traffic school.
What I’m following today: Will the Metro Council approve the mayor’s $544 million list of projects across Nashville’s neighborhoods, which I detailed here? The council delayed the vote last month over several concerns, including funding for a replacement jail. Also, members will consider tighter restrictions on door-to-door soliciting. Here’s my reporting on what the bill does.
Top 100 list: It’s been a sad few months in Nashville’s hospitality industry with so many restaurants closing, so let’s celebrate some good news. Four restaurants in Nashville are on OpenTable’s “Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2026” list. They’re Bastion, Kase x Noko, Locust, and Noko. I’ve been to none of them, so let me and other nash.news readers know in the comments if you have a review of any.
🍽️ Restaurant inspections
Correction, feedback, question? Just reply to this email or email me directly at ryan@nash.news. Talk to you tomorrow! —Ryan