Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

Nashville Bill Would Lower Residential Speed Limits

Photo: Walk Bike Nashville

The dangerous streets of Nashville may soon become safer thanks to a new measure to reduce speed limits.

Nashville-Davidson County's Metro Council is considering a bill to limit drivers to 25 miles per hour from the current 30 mph default speed limit.

The move comes after, 23 pedestrians and bicyclists were killed in the combined city-county municipality, which sprawls across 526 square miles.

"We know speeds are the largest contributing factor to the number of crashes and the severity of crashes," Nora Kern, the director of Walk Bike Nashville, told Streetsblog. "As we’ve seen a rising number of crashes in Nashville we need urgent action to address the issue."

The legislation, introduced yesterday, is vague, but it instructs the Traffic and Parking Commission to conduct a study determining the appropriate speed. It follows a pilot experiment with lowered speed limits to 20 mph in three neighborhoods.

A study by the Traffic and Parking Commission found the pilots were effective in lowering average speed, on average between 1 and 4 mph. Following the studies, the commission recommended residential speed limits be lowered to 25 miles per hour citywide.

Kern says she expects the legislation to pass. Next up, her group will push for the safety initiative to expand to include a 30-mile-per-hour limit on arterial streets and for traffic calming measures — such as speed humps or curb bump outs — to be added.

Speed limits have been dropping in recent years in cities such as New York, Boston and Portland, where the changes required state approval. A study out of Boston found reduced speed limits, in themselves, lowered average speeds even without any changes to the streets.

A pedestrian struck by a car traveling 40 miles per hour has a 55 percent chance of survival. But a pedestrian struck at 20 miles per hour will survive 93 percent of the time.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Eyes on the Street: Culver City’s Farragut Walkway Revamp

The ~200 foot long walkway - also used by cyclists - connects two residential streets about a half-mile south of downtown Culver City

November 4, 2024

This Week In Livable Streets

Tuesday is Election Day! Click through for endorsements and recommendations!

November 4, 2024

Metro Rider Updates: C/K Lines, Bus Lane Cameras, TAP-to-Exit, and Cell Service

Cameras on Metro buses are now enforcing bus lanes! Metro K Line Aviation/Century Station opens this Sunday, with changed C and K Line operations. TAP-to-exit and cell phone reception are expanding.

November 2, 2024
See all posts