NDOT proposes speed cushions and tables for Harpeth Bend Drive after engineers record 43 mph prevailing speeds

Amy Birch, a transportation engineer and consultant working on behalf of the Nashville Department of Transportation (NDOT), presented a finalized traffic-calming plan for Harpeth Bend Drive at a neighborhood meeting, proposing a series of speed cushions along the nearly one-mile corridor and two 14-foot speed tables behind Devon Park to address high speeds and motorcycle bypassing.

The program is application-based and uses an online ballot to confirm neighborhood support before construction. NDOT will mail unique postcards with QR codes and a six-week voting period. If at least 66% of eligible respondents — defined by NDOT as residential properties, churches and schools abutting the right-of-way — vote yes, the project will be placed in NDOT’s construction queue, currently estimated at six to ten months.

Why it matters: NDOT measured an 85th-percentile speed of 43 miles per hour on Harpeth Bend Drive where the posted speed limit is 25 mph, and recorded daily volumes of about 1,400 vehicles. Birch told residents, “85% of the traffic that we measured over the course of 24 hours is going 43 miles per hour or below,” using that metric to explain why Harpeth Bend scored highly in the program’s prioritization process.

The recommended plan calls for roughly 10 vertical devices spaced about 400–600 feet apart (average spacing about 500 feet) to encourage a consistent slower speed along the corridor; NDOT staff described spacing cushions in series to avoid drivers slowing only briefly then accelerating between isolated devices. Where motorcycles were reported to use gaps between cushions, staff added two continuous speed tables to better deter high-speed through-riding. Birch said the tables are the same rubber-mounted material as cushions but are continuous across the lane and typically 14 feet long.

The design includes flexible delineator posts to protect adjacent bike lanes and visible striping and signs for night visibility. NDOT emphasized they will avoid placing cushions immediately behind driveways or across intersections and that contractor placement will use pole and driveway references shown on the plan. On the plan overview Birch noted the western section near an existing traffic circle had earlier calming installed; she said those intersection treatments lose effect farther east and do not adequately slow traffic along the eastern segment of Harpeth Bend.

Residents raised aesthetic and maintenance concerns about flexible delineators and existing traffic-circle markers. Jeff Shearer, a Harpeth Bend resident, told NDOT the current delineators “look like a bunch of Q tips sticking up in our neighborhood,” and asked whether a less intrusive treatment might achieve the same protection for bicyclists. Birch said NDOT uses the delineators because they are visible and that she would pass along concerns for follow up.

Another resident reported seeing speeds “up to 70 miles an hour” and said the risk extended beyond properties that directly abut the street; a Devon Park resident, Bernard, said that crash history in the area includes at least one vehicle striking a house and supported adding speed tables in that section.

NDOT described the program’s selection criteria and process: streets apply during a window; NDOT scores applicants using five criteria (speed 45% of score, volume 25%, non-driver accommodations 15%, vulnerable-user crash history 10%, trip destinations 5%) and typically selects about 25 streets per cycle. The department said the prior selection process for other Harpeth Bend segments used different, earlier procedures; NDOT migrated from wet-signature petitions to the current mailed-postcard online ballot process in roughly 2022–2023 to increase participation and reduce door-to-door petition burdens.

For Harpeth Bend Drive NDOT identified about 58 eligible voting properties. Vacant lots and businesses are not eligible to vote. Ballots will include a link to the posted plan; NDOT said ballot results (percent yes/no) will be published on trafficcalming.nashville.gov, but not individual votes. Birch provided contact information for follow-up questions and asked residents to alert neighbors to look for the postcard when it arrives.

Next steps: NDOT plans to mail postcards to eligible voters within days, open a six-week voting window, then, if the ballot meets the 66% approval threshold, schedule the project in the construction queue and order materials. Birch said the current construction lead time places actual installation about six to ten months after a successful vote.

Discussion versus decision: the meeting was a staff presentation and public comment session; no formal board or council vote took place. Staff indicated intention to proceed to the ballot and residents indicated general support but raised concerns about delineator appearance and long-term maintenance; NDOT committed to follow up on those concerns and to post the design and ballot information online.