Will We Finally Get A List Of Where Nashville Is Building Sidewalks?

There’s a question the Nashville government has struggled to answer for years: Which streets are getting new sidewalks and paving — and when? Now Metro Councilman Jeremy Elrod is asking Metro Public Works to be better about sharing its to-do list.

Elrod said he
heard people gripe while he campaigned last summer. Many had no easy way of knowing when projects were coming to their neighborhoods.

Nashville sidewalks occupied a lot of airtime in the mayor’s race and prompted copious media coverage. (For an example, look no further than
WPLN’s
“
When Are You Getting A Sidewalk On Your Street?
“)

So Elrod wants to require public works to share quarterly and annual updates that go beyond what they currently post online.

“The
sidewalk map that’s online is fairly outdated and is almost kind of a wish list that needs to be updated to current needs. And, with something like this, folks will know what’s coming.”

The map he mentions was created in 2008 and it doesn’t easily reveal a list of current projects. Elrod’s proposal lists what information he’d like public works to share, like projected start and end dates for projects, costs, and a breakdown of work by council district.

He says a better report will help the council oversee funding. He noted that the council’s Public Works Committee (he is the chairman) hasn’t seen a project list in months.

His
council bill is one of a handful of transparency efforts coming through lately, including to increase reporting requirements on Metro Codes, spending from the city’s reserve fund, and on the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency.

Elrod hasn’t spoken to public works yet, and praised the departments responsiveness on most matters.

The department has said before that publishing a work list is tricky — for instance, the weather and road conditions can change what they tackle on a daily basis. As it stands, the department publishes its ”
Current Weekly Activities” list online with information about sidewalks, potholes, paving and bridges.

The city’s overall plan for sidewalks and bikeways is also
about to undergo a major rewrite. The first public meeting for that project is noon on April 15 at the downtown Nashville Public Library, 615 Church Street.