THREE QUESTIONS

THREE QUESTIONS

Sean Parker

The Dickerson corridor is no longer overlooked

T T he Metro Council District 5 representative talks about the future of Dickerson Road, a long-overlooked thoroughfare in Nashville’s hub-and-spoke physical layout — and an urban street poised to gain major momentum with expected growth looming.

With the recent announcement that Oracle will create a major campus at River North, how many large-scale projects — that is, buildings with, say, 50 or more residential units and/or retail and commercial space — do you anticipate being announced within the next 10 years for Dickerson Road? And is it more suitable to see these projects concentrated (for example, south of Cleveland Street) or interspersed? Relatedly, could some rezoning to allow for taller structures than is presently the case

be forthcoming? We’ll see dozens of largescale projects for the area within the next decade. The Metro Planning Department’s recent policy update for the area focuses most intensity between Dickerson and the interstate. The most dense node is around the Trinity interchange. Planned intensity tapers o quickly on the east side and transitions down to established neighborhoods.

Zoning will probably continue to be project-by-project. The density planned for the area will require infrastructure — road and greenway connections, etc. Making that infrastructure a reality means working with the community, individual property owners, developers and Metro departments on each project. We’ve got to get buy-in from stakeholders who see the benefi ts of improved infrastructure and higher density.

How will the Cleveland Street extension im-

pact the future growth? There are three major connectivity pieces associated with River North. The Grace Street (for pedestrians and cyclists) and Cleveland Street (for motorists) connectors [under the interstate and linking River North to] East Nashville and the pedestrian bridge [over the Cumberland River and connecting River North to] Germantown. I’m hopeful that the new pedestrian connections at Grace and across the river will help reduce car dependency for residents. Once you’ve got jobs, recreation, entertainment, grocery stores all in your neighborhood, it becomes much more practical to bike or walk around. With corresponding investments in transit, I’m hopeful that we’ll see new developments themselves be less car-oriented.

One of the major roadblocks is the current confi guration of Dickerson Road. Stringent sidewalk guidelines for new development have led to parcel-by-parcel improvements, and additional sidewalk work is slowly progressing. The WeGo No. 23 is already one of the most popular bus lines in Nashville. I’m hopeful the state will continue working with us to improve safety and transit on Dickerson (which is a Tennessee Department of Transportation road).

Do you anticipate the future growth along Dickerson to be driven more by out-of-town development companies or local entities or an equal percentage? And on that theme, is there a nice balance that needs to be struck?

It’s no surprise that a hot market attracts outside investment. I would love to see more local investment and development on the corridor. I don’t know of any bureaucratic or regulatory means to accomplish or entice that.

I don’t think we give enough credit to the folks who stepped up and invested in the corridor years ago. Shugga Hi, Good Wood, Retrograde and Uptown Fruit Market to name a few. Those folks have helped make it a desirable place for all this new growth to occur.