NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — City leaders have a better idea of how to improve a West Nashville neighborhood for pedestrians.

According to Metro Councilmember Brenda Gadd (District 24), a neighborhood "walk audit" around Sylvan Park held with residents and transportation officials highlighted small ways local intersections can be improved to enhance pedestrian safety for those who call it home.

The walk was conducted by the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure and the Sylvan Park Neighborhood Association, according to Gadd. Areas highlighted by officials included lighting needs and traffic control measures in the area.

"We walked around and basically took note of different intersections that have high foot traffic, or where folks have noticed there have been near-misses," Gadd told News 2. "We walked through different striping areas that would either need to be restriped or need heavier striping, and a couple of areas for enhanced crosswalks."

Now that the audit is complete, Gadd said NDOT identified several ways to improve pedestrian safety, including:

• Conducting a speed study on Murphy Road
• Tracking road striping changes to align with upcoming repaving
• Enhanced crosswalks with flashing beacons at the intersections of 51st and Park avenues and 46th and Park avenues
• Lighting improvements for the roundabout on Murphy Road and 46th Avenue near McCabe Park
• Evaluating options to the Murphy Road bike lane with delineators

"It was a really wonderful time to kind of walk through with NDOT staff," Gadd told News 2.

The areas included in the walk audit also included spaces that NDOT had previous crash data for, which Gadd said was helpful.

"It was really interesting to see those things overlap, because we were just talking through anecdotal [evidence] and people's experience and what people are seeing," she told News 2. "Being able to actually get some action on that was pretty exciting."

Gadd said NDOT encourages residents to report problem areas for pedestrian issues or general traffic concerns to them through hubNashville, or they can contact their council member to inform them of the issues as well.

"NDOT is empowering folks to go through themselves to do these walk audits as well as getting in touch with your local district council member," she said.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/sylvan-park-walk-audit-highlights-neighborhood-safety-needs/