Jeff Hammond, a consultant for the Nashville Department of Transportation (NDOT), on Tuesday proposed installing two sets of speed cushions on Sultana Avenue to slow traffic and improve pedestrian safety, and said the plan will go to a mailed ballot of property owners.

Hammond said NDOT placed Sultana in its traffic‑calming program after staff analysis showed an 80th‑percentile speed of about 29 mph, roughly 1,000 vehicles per day, a pavement width near 20 feet and a project length of about a quarter mile. "Right now, we're sitting on a backlog of something around 600 streets," he said, explaining the department selects about 25 projects twice a year based on a scoring model that weights vehicle counts and speeds, sidewalk presence, transit stops and documented pedestrian crashes.

The preliminary design presented calls for two sets of speed cushions: one just south of Prince Avenue and another before the steep 90‑degree turn where Sultana becomes Kingston Street. Hammond described speed cushions as a standardized, recycled‑rubber product installed across the city; "They're only about 3 inches in height," he said, and are configured with gaps to allow larger wheelbase emergency vehicles to pass.

NDOT staff will take field measurements and complete a formal design before sending mailed ballots to owners of properties that abut the Sultana corridor. Property owners will have six weeks to respond online or by phone; Hammond said, "if two thirds of the people have voted in favor, we will move the project ahead." Churches and schools that abut the corridor are eligible to vote; commercial properties and vacant parcels are not. Owners with multiple properties on the corridor receive one ballot each.

Residents at the meeting raised concerns about on‑street parking and pedestrian access. Meredith, a participant in the meeting, said neighbors reported that "the people that were parking on the street were not residents," and that condition "was making it extra hard for pedestrians because they were having to walk in the middle of the street." Hammond said cushions can coexist with on‑street parking and that NDOT will consider parking impacts near commercial corners as the design is finalized.

Hammond also described alternatives if a speed‑cushion ballot does not pass. In that case NDOT would implement a "Plan B" package without raised treatments — typically pavement striping and radar feedback signs — which staff can design and install without a ballot. He cautioned that, even if the ballot passes, construction would enter a queue and installations could be about a year away.

NDOT invited further input through Engage Nashville and its traffic calming web pages and provided contact information for comments and questions. "Feel free to reach out to us" by email, Hammond said. The department will post the design and ballot results on trafficcalming.nashville.gov when available.