Great news…meeting with Public Works set tentatively for 5/21/2014 to discuss the Sidewalk Priority Index (SPI) for Bowling Av. This number helps categorized projects in a multifaceted way (see below).
One of the objectives for the SPI is to 'provide and objective method for prioritizing sidewalks and other pedestrian improvements that will maximize benefits to pedestrians'.
'The SPI is 'intended to ensure that sidewalks are first constructed where existing need is the greatest and where the potential for pedestrians traffic is the greatest'.
The score is made up (currently) of:
Transect Zones
- Core (+8)
- Center (+8)
- Neighborhood (+6)
---1/4 mile radius of 'Neighborhood Center' or 'Commercial Corridor' (+2)
- District
---Medical Center (+2)
---Industrial (+2)
- Suburban (+2)
---1/4 Mile Radius of 'Neighborhood Center' or 'Commercial Corridor' (+2)
- Rural Reserve (-2)
- Preserve (-2)
Trip Generator: 1/2 Mile Radius
- Public School
---Elementary/Middle (+8)
---High (+4)
- Libraries and Civic Buildings (+5)
- Parks & Greenways (+5)
- Colleges & Universities (+6)
- Senior & Assisted Living Facilities (+4)
- Public Housing (+6)
Trip Generator: 1/4 Mile Radius
- Hospitals (+4)
- Transit Routes (+6)
Other
- Arterial Roads (+4)
- Collector Roads (+2)
- Urban Services District (+2)
- Missing Segment (Within 0.25 Miles of Existing Sidewalk)(+4)
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Another consideration would be that current use does not necessarily reflect future use. There is no assessment of likely ‘level of use’ of sidewalk (no assessment of population density or size of population likely to access sidewalk; instead, use is presumed to flow from the point value of the nearby destination).
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The Nashville-Davidson County Strategic Plan for Sidwalks & Bikeways was last updated in 2008. There has been progress in sidewalk production but slowly…maybe, one could argue, too slowly for changing times.
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For anyone who may wonder…'Why care about sidewalks' or 'Why bother with walkability'… I encourage you to take a look at the Op-Ed in the Tennessean.
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If you have ideas about additions to the current SPI ranking - I would love to hear them.
Shade Parade Nashville is dedicated to increasing walkability in Nashville via high quality, well designed sidewalks. Thanks for your interest in walkability in Nashville!
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