jesusurbanist.substack.com/p/why-cant-n... For everyone who has listened to me rant and rave about Parks for months: thank you, I'm sorry.

oh hey. Francois J. de Kock was hired as the new Assistant Director of Parks, overseeing the greenways division. Un/fortunately, I don't have LinkdIn and so can't tell you anything about him.

The 2026 updated Plan to Play includes Aaittaama as one of the new parks, but it is not developed or open to the public. They do not note this in Plan to Play.

I forgot this isn't a microblogging website for Nashville urbanists and got a jump scare when I opened bluesky this morning

Re the data center next to the Zoo: I find it a little frustrating how much the conversation leans on the fact that the data center will hurt animals at the zoo, without any mention of the thousands of human beings who live near the zoo (myself included!)

Had to say goodbye to my sweet dog today. Martin Luther (the 16th century monk and reformer, not MLK) was a big fan of dogs. "Be thou comforted, little dog; thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail."

The more I talk to people about Metro Parks, the more I hear about different projects and parks that have never been built. What are some that you know about? A greenway extension that won't happen, a park that won't be built, improvements that won't happen after being told they would?

Does anyone know about Aaittafama' Archeological Park in Nashville? Who tried to get it started and where it stalled?

Here's a now vintage article about our relationship from 2015.

Happy Pride Month. Eleven years ago, my now spouse and I couldn't marry in Tennessee, the state we were both born and raised in. Since he's a trans guy, our marriage is considered a same sex one and was illegal. Here we are at Nashville Pride in 2014, a billion years ago.

Happy pride month eve to everyone, except for city councilmembers voting yes on pride month proclamations and then not voting to allow housing to be built within their borders.

If your truck/SUV is too big for a parking spot, you can't park there. I don't really care if it's at a park, a grocery store, a parking garage, whatever. If you chose to buy an oversized vehicle, you also chose to park far away from everything.

This rider is using this bus station the same way I do when it rains: standing outside of it, using the wall as a shield against gutter spray from vehicles in the superfluous third lane. Make this lane bus-only and not only is the street safer, it would preserve transit riders' dignity (and socks).

There's a meeting this Wednesday on CHYM & the future of Nolensville Pike, one of our deadliest corridors. I'm honestly scared of meetings like this, please join me so I'm not alone. 🙏 Wed 5/27 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Glencliff High School. See you there?

Open Spaces & Greenway Commission does not have a current roster of members, does not publicly notice their meetings in a timely fashion, and does not post their meeting minutes or agenda anywhere. Which is all a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

The last time Metro Parks built any new greenway was eight years ago. EIGHT! The last Metro department to build greenway? Metro. Water. All other new greenway additions have been by private entities.

To be clear, Metro Parks has not been "very transparent with the constituents" about their cancellation of the Seven Mile Creek Greenway. They had three years and half a million dollars to build a fully-funded greenway. They failed to do that, and they failed to even tell residents/CMs

Do you love Bike Fun? Voces de Nashville, the best spot to take a Spanish class? Folks on bikes delivering burritos to the unhoused? Community gardens at schools? Mutual aid for immigrants? All this work and more happens inside Woodbine UMC. You can support all this work by donating to rebuild!

All Robins are against F-250s. I am also raising my son on one, the owner can't use it for another 17 years.

New Nashville is better.

Why are many working class neighborhoods against improved cycling and pedestrian infrastructure? A conversation with Winston Wright (now on BPAC, Master of Public Health and Nashville transit instagram) on bike lanes, transit, gentrification, and class.

Two deaths on Harding within a month. At the last VZAC meeting, I asked how many will die on Harding before it becomes a CHYM complete street in 10+ years. If we don't do any interventions on these roads before CYHM improvements, the answer will be dozens of human beings.

How many of you were radicalized as children by SimCity?

Gonna to spend the weekend resisting the urge to stay cynical and angry.

This complete lack of new greenways should raise eyebrows.

We probably need to do an audit on all participatory budget projects from 2023 to see if there are any others which will not be completed, and which departments they happened in.

Update from Monique Odom: Parks "could not" build an already funded, half mile pavement on land already owned by the city, so they spent the $400k for the greenway somewhere else. I asked her where they spent it, but who wants to take a bet before she responds it was in a wealthier part of town?

Just learned that the promised Seven Mile Creek Greenway extension will not happen. Insane. Metro owns the land, has over $400k from COVID relief funds to do it, has designs already, and had three years to do this project. Now it's not happening, because...?

jesusurbanist.substack.com/p/a-cyclist-... On homelessness & traffic violence in Nashville, and reflecting on (at least) four unhoused Nashvillians dying while walking and biking in eight weeks.

Mothers invented traffic calming.

A couple of people have texted me to ask how I felt about @quinevanssegall.bsky.social withdrawing her legislation, and I think it's a good think. I appreciate the CM, her support for the benches, and her dedication to improving quality of life in Nashville.

One year ago today, Jose Salamanca was killed while riding his bike on Antioch Pike. I visited the site of his death yesterday. Nothing has changed. No bike lane, no road diet, no marked crossing, no reduced speed limit.

Mother's Day began as a pacifist/suffragist movement! It continued as organizing against preventable death! On the history of Mother's Day/responses to women's organizing/the success of Mothers Against Drunk Driving/traffic violence

Caring about liability over morality is literally Jesus's beef with the Pharisees.

I am once again competing in the Pride Deadlift Party. Last year I came in SECOND for fundraising which is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.

I think @nicgoodridge.bsky.social's comment highlights what the city is not understanding when it comes to greenway expansion. The city doesn't see a .5 mile greenway as a problem because they don't see it as a form of transportation

Without reservation, I love the bike to school days, AND -- it's so damn sad it takes so much work and coordination to make it possible for Nashville children to safely ride their bikes to school.

The stupidest greenway/the one I use the most is absolutely Seven Mile Creek Greenway off Edmonson Pike, which is exactly HALF A MILE LONG.

None of this to mention -- between now and whenever actual improvements begin on Gallatin -- real life human beings will lose their lives!!! This is what this is about!

My concern is really not so much the Main/Gallatin plan - which, as it has been proposed, is great. If NDOT said they were going to use 40% of the VZ budget towards what has been put before everyone in the past -

To be really clear about this - the Vision Zero budget (aka the "people shouldn't die on their way home" budget) seems to have been gutted, and 40% of the remaining budget is going to be spent on one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Nashville.

I just received an email stating that it's @nashvilledot.bsky.social's policy to remove any reported vulgarity within a day. So, you know, if you have any HUB requests, hit it with a paint marker first before you submit to expedite the problem.

Unfortunately, I sleep so much better during tornado warning weather.

If you wanted a Greek lesson and a reflection on theology & Nashville's streets, boy do I have the Substack for you.

The best entertainment on a long run is to take pictures as you go for all the HUB requests you're about to make.

Happy Earth Day. Here's one way that environmental classism can manifest (from Coleman Park on Thompson Lane & Nolensville Pike, next to a library and community center)

when you're sitting in dumbass traffic on Nolensville Pike full of giant cars with just one (1) person in them, and then you see a car with ZERO (0) PEOPLE IN IT

Deeply, deeply tired and saddened knowing that yet another ped/cyclist death has occurred within walking distance of my house, and the response will be... nothing.

Another death on a city-owned road, in an area with a lot of pedestrians and cyclists. Harding Place doesn't have sufficient sidewalks and zero cycling infrastructure. Within ~1mi there have been 2 ped deaths, 1 car death, and ~4 nonfatal ped crashes.

The most important business in South Nashville is the ice cream truck that plays Christmas music yearround.