Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Large Civic Project Financed by Property Owners and Real Estate Developers, Not the City of Nashville.










Woodmont Blvd 



Did you know that Woodmont Blvd was the first paved road in Davidson County? This article from 1964 mentions a repaving effort on "concrete boulevard," which was Woodmont's nickname for many years. 



In its heyday, Concrete Boulevard was often a training ground for young people learning to drive. The paving of Woodmont in 1916 was financed by property owners and real estate developers, not the city of Nashville.






This article is a gem.  It was sent to me by Adams Carroll of Walk/Bike Nashville (http://www.walkbikenashville.org).  

I am so curious about the precedent of individual landowners and developers coming together for big civic change such as the paving of a road.  Certainly, it would be preferable for Nashville to use our taxes to finance sidewalks but the progress has been woefully slow (3 new miles over the last 2 years).  

Will we come full circle and have individuals either pay to sidewalk their own house or join together with their neighborhood associations to sidewalk key streets?  Maybe a collaboration between private and public funding sources?  

Or, would it be best to start a foundation that allows individuals to donate to sidewalk formation citywide?  




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