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NDOT unveils preliminary Creek View Drive traffic‑calming plan; neighborhood to vote by mail
Summary
NDOT presented a preliminary design of three speed‑cushion locations for Creek View Drive, reviewed data showing an 80th‑percentile speed of 35 mph and about 1,300 vehicles per day, and said it will post a final design and begin a six‑week, owner‑only mail ballot this fall; neighborhood representative agreed to skip a second meeting.
Jeff Hammond, a consultant for the National Department of Transportation (NDOT), presented a preliminary traffic‑calming plan for Creek View Drive on a neighborhood call and said NDOT will move the project into detailed design and a mailed ballot if residents support it.
Hammond said Creek View recorded an 80th‑percentile speed of 35 mph, about 1,300 vehicles per day and that the street is roughly one‑third of a mile long and about 30 feet wide. “We do focus on speed reduction,” he said, describing the program as an engineering‑led approach that pairs physical devices, such as speed cushions, with educational tools and enforcement partners.
The preliminary design shown to attendees places three sets of speed cushions along Creek View, spaced to discourage drivers from accelerating between devices. Hammond described NDOT’s typical cushion dimensions (about 6 feet wide with gaps to allow larger vehicles to pass) and cited before‑and‑after results from other projects showing roughly a 9–11 mph reduction where cushions were installed.
Resident Ariel said, “I personally love this plan,” and asked whether feedback signs record speeds and whether ballots would reach current occupants. Hammond replied that driver‑feedback signs only display speed to approaching drivers and can store anonymized speed data for NDOT; they do not transmit speeds to police or NDOT. He also explained that ballots are mailed only to property owners listed in public records, not to current renters, because the program ballots owners and treats each owner as a single voter.
Hammond outlined how NDOT prioritizes projects: roughly 70% of the score comes from traffic volume and speeds, and 30% from factors such as lack of sidewalks, proximity to transit, parks or schools, and any documented pedestrian crashes. He said NDOT selects 25 projects in each semiannual cohort (50 per year) and that Creek View rose to the top of the most recent selection.
On process and timing, Hammond said NDOT will complete detailed field measurements and a final design (he estimated about one month for design work), post the design online, then begin a mailed ballot around Nov. 1 that stays open for six weeks. If two‑thirds of returned ballots from property owners say “yes,” the project would enter NDOT’s construction queue; Hammond said the construction lead time is currently about eight to ten months and estimated cushions could be installed in Q1 of next year if schedules allow. He cautioned there is no guaranteed date: “I don’t want you to leave here tonight thinking, by Halloween, you’re gonna have speed cushions out there. It’s not gonna be that fast.”
Attendees raised location‑specific concerns at the Edgemoor intersection, where mailboxes have been struck and a yield sign exists. Hammond said changing a yield to a stop sign would require review by the Traffic and Parking Commission and NDOT staff would submit a request; he recommended a stop sign or a bulb‑out rather than a roundabout for the specific right‑turn movements described by residents. Ariel asked NDOT to “offer it up” to the commission so it would be tracked as part of the project.
On minor implementation details, Hammond said NDOT will not place delineator sticks at the proposed cushion sites because the 30‑foot street width leaves roughly a 3‑foot gap between cushions and curb; he also said new snowplows can be programmed with cushion locations so plow drivers avoid damaging devices. NDOT staff said Hub Nashville (311) and Engage Nashville (engage.nashville.gov) are resources residents can use to report later damage or to follow project status.
Neighborhood representative Ariel agreed to proceed without a second neighborhood meeting and to move directly into the online/mail ballot. Hammond said he will post the final design and begin the ballot process per the timeline discussed and provided NDOT contact and project web links.
Next steps: NDOT will complete detailed measurements and final design, post the design online (target mid‑October), begin the six‑week mailed ballot around Nov. 1, and — if the owner‑ballot receives the required two‑thirds approval — schedule the project for construction (current queue estimate 8–10 months). Specific dates for commission review of traffic control changes (for example, changing the yield sign to a stop sign) are not fixed and depend on commission agendas.
