A huge step in the right direction! The roads of Percy Warner have always been uncomfortable as a pedestrian due to the many cars trying to pass along the narrow roads. This is a gesture towards making the experience one that is comfortable and safe for those who use it most: the walkers and bikers. Good job!
From The Nashville Banner
5.8-Mile Loop in Percy Warner Park will be Car-Free by Spring
Better experience for walkers and cyclists, better for wildlife, still 10 miles for cars
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The 5.8-mile loop and connectors, shown in green, will be converted from road to car-free trail. Photo: Metro Parks.
Walkers and cyclists in Percy Warner Park will no longer have to share the road with vehicles along the popular 5.8-mile loop once park improvements are completed this spring. Connectors will also be closed to cars, making a total of 7.5 car-free miles of paved trail.
Not only will the conversion from roadway to trail reduce conflicts between drivers and riders or walkers, it will also create a 700-acre car-free zone for wildlife.
“For many years there has been concern and confusion,” says Tim Netsch, Assistant Director of Planning and Facilities Development at Metro Parks. “The road is one way for cars, two way for bikes, and where should pedestrians go? We’re eliminating one of the user groups that has the biggest impact, and that’s cars.”
Walkers and bikers are thankful for the changes. "Pedestrians and bikes don’t mix well with cars on the narrow, winding, tree-lined roads in Warner Parks," says John Harkey, an avid walker and cyclist. “Almost 30 years ago, I wrote an op-ed piece for the Nashville Banner that argued for closing some roads within Warner Parks. Soon after I wrote that column, the Parks Board decided to close one of the roads in Edwin Warner Park, expanding the wilderness feeling for that part of the Warner Parks. We have all had to wait a long time, but I’m quite pleased to hear that soon we will enjoy a new expansion of walking and cycling trails, this time into Percy Warner Park. Separating cars from walkers and cyclists results in improved safety while also improving the wilderness experience,” Harkey says.
"I am excited about these changes," says Mark Carver, a frequent runner and walker in Warner Parks. "Parks was very thoughtful about balancing between making the park available to users and protecting and preserving the park. Less vehicle traffic will be great for the land and will be a positive for most users, yet they still have reasonable options for folks who need to or want to see the park by vehicle."
Additional parking will be installed at Gaucho Road near the steeplechase, at the Chickering Road entrance, and in two locations at Deep Well off Highway 100. The Gaucho Road and Chickering Road lots will have new connector trails to the Mossy Ridge (red) trail loop.
For those who love a car ride through the park, there will still be more than 10 miles of roadway open to vehicles, accessible from the Gaucho and Chickering entrances. The initial 1.6-mile loop off Belle Meade Boulevard will also be open to cars.
Nearly two million people visit the park each year, and the number is growing. “We’re really beginning to see the impacts of overuse,” says Netsche. When people come to the Warner Parks and can’t find paved parking, they have been parking in riparian and root zones, which kills trees and negatively impacts water quality as well as aquatic habitat. Metro Parks is repairing the areas most affected, and new parking barriers will be installed, Netsch said.
The new Burch Reserve, across Highway 100 from Warner Park Nature Center, is also under construction and is expected to be open to the public in a year. Until then, the Nature Center will continue to offer periodic guided hikes of the 250-acre property.
Link
http://www.thenashvillebanner.com/city-update/2016/02/10/58-mile-loop-in-percy-warner-park-will-be-car-free-by-spring.1867515#.VrvenT-Vr5U.facebook
What about those of us who cannot walk or bike that trail. That is not fair because my taxes pay for that park to.
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