Nashville officials present proposed access management manual, seek to consolidate code and tighten safety standards

Melissa Hayes, a traffic engineer with the Nashville Department of Transportation (NDOT), and Meredith King, a traffic engineer with Arcadis, presented a draft access management manual to the Metropolitan Council Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, outlining proposed spacing, corner‑clearance and administrative changes to how the city regulates driveways and other vehicle access to public roadways.

The manual, prepared over roughly a year and a half, aims to consolidate requirements now split between municipal code chapters 13 and 17 into a single, authoritative access manual and to prioritize safety and context‑sensitive guidance for urban and downtown street environments rather than relying only on Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) standards geared to higher‑speed state routes. “Adequate access management can reduce conflict points, increase roadway capacity, reduce travel times and delays, and increase property values,” Hayes said during the presentation.

City staff told the committee they identified three primary challenges: access rules are dispersed across two code chapters and contain discrepancies that confuse reviewers and applicants; TDOT guidance focuses on interstates and higher‑classification facilities and…