Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Around Town / Phillips Who Should Care about Bell's Bend?
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 5:51 AM
The third question is the most fun to answer for folks who are familiar with that side of town, because once you say, "Well, they're going to put a bridge at Cockrill Bend Boulevard," you can almost script out how it's going to go.
"Rich people are going to live and work there?"
"That's the plan."
"On the same exit as the maximum security prison?"
"That's the plan."
"They are aware that you'll have to drive by a prison to get to the river, right?"
"It doesn't say 'prison;' it says 'correctional facility.'"
And then you wait for the laughter to die down.
But the question of who should care is actually an interesting one.
Residents of Bells Bend--I think it's self-evident why you should care. If this happens, it will completely change the landscape of the Bend. Even if the Bend remains mostly rural, it will not be as isolated as it is now.
Residents of Scottsboro and Jordonia--Regardless of promises to keep OHB rural, you certainly will see more traffic and, if the jobs they promise come, more residents in your area.
Residents of West Nashville--at least one bridge is coming into your neighborhood. You have to decide if you mind the increase in traffic, how businesses in your neighborhoods might be affected, whether you feel that the City has stuck to the neighborhood plans you've worked so hard to come up with.
Residents of Cockrill Bend--Um, well, yes, you're incarcerated, so on the downside, it'll be more traffic with no corresponding increase in family visits. On the upside, a pedestrian friendly bridge will make crossing the Cumberland much easier if you are able to escape and head west.
TSU faculty, staff, students, and alumni--The big benefit to you is that you've been given a nice chunk of change and a nice chunk of land. Two big drawbacks--1. The uncovering of the "survey" done by your students that was actually just advertising for May Town has been embarrassing for you and 2. This great gift of land contains the three big archaeological sites that the MTC developers know about, and their care and preservation are now your problem.
Residents of Bordeaux--This has been pitched as a great way to bring much-needed businesses to our neck of the woods, since all we have at the moment, really, is the Kroger. But if the bridges go in where they're supposed to go in and OHB is somehow kept a small two-lane country road, how easy will it actually be for y'all to get over there?
Downtown Business People--Yes, I know. No one wants to make enemies of wealthy people, but your refusal to openly support this project indicates to me that you feel you have some stake.
Member of the Church of Christ--David Lipscomb owned land out in the Bend. Is it meaningful to you to preserve some of the character of the land how it was when he was there? And, if so, what do you think is the best way to accomplish that?
Anyone with dead people in the Bend--Just on the May Town Center land, there is a still-active cemetery, a slave cemetery, and at least three Native American bural sites (though, as noted, when the floodplain is transfered to TSU, those will be the University's problem). If you are a Muscogee, Shawnee, Chickasaw, descended from slaves in the area, or have some folks in the Barnes cemetery (and if you are Melungeon, you should take a look at those family names) and you don't care about what happens in the Bend, then I just don't understand you.
History Buffs--Don't even make me go into it again. You've got thousands of years of Native American history, Civil War history, maligned ethnic groups history, vanishing rural Davidson county history, religious history, all kinds of history. What do you think is the best way to protect and preserve it?
Fans of the Whooping Crane--They visit the Bend in the winter, you know.
Archaeology Grad Students--Oh, for you the double-edged sword! On the one hand, it must pain you to see these valuable sites under this level of threat. On the other hand, there's certainly enough work in the Bend to keep an army of you busy for a couple of years.
The May Family--The tremendous amount of good your family has done for this city since you got here can hardly be under-stated. And if this works, your name is known to all Nashvillians from here on out and associated with real foresight--You're like Seward with his folly. On the other hand, if it doesn't work, your name is known to all Nashvillians from here on out and you're like William T. Love, with his failed canal.
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
After reading about this project for so long, I decided to drive out there myself and have a look at the area. I encourage every one to do this. It's incredibly beautiful. But more striking than that, it's way the hell out there.
Why -- I mean really, WHY -- do we need a new downtown out there? It defies all logic. Can't we just take all the money and effort this project is going to take, and pour it into our existing downtown? Make that more livable/workable/etc.? Maybe fill some of the office vacancies there first before worrying about sprawling all over the place?
Shouldn't we be allowed to vote on this mess?
like
dislike
You already did when you voted for Metro Council.
And the developers did it exponentially more when they financed Metro Council members' campaigns and paid off their campaign debts.
I agree with those who postulate that May Town is moving toward Planning Commission passage because the Council tugs their purse strings. And generally, Metro Council does the bidding of the lobbyists and moneyed interests in Nashville.
Mark it: CMs are going to use the pawn of opportunity-starved Bordeaux as the linch pin to keep the wheels on this proposal. Eventually none but a few scraps will be thrown to job-hungry constituents, while the May Town cheerleaders like the District CM Lonell Matthews will be richly rewarded by the investors.
Ironically, the best hope proponents of conserving Bells Bend have is not in the legislative body charged with direct democracy, but with the elite class of planners more detached from the masses.
Anyone know where our esteemed mayor, Mr. Karl Dean, stands on May Town? 'Cause I for one haven't heard him say the first word about it.
I've never worked as an urban planner, but took a few courses in school, a long time ago. I read a book by Tony Hiss called *The Experience of Place*. I can't say if it would seem dated to some now, but at the time he brought such a fresh and compelling explanation to the desperate need for more protection of existing "working landscapes" through regionally minded planning. I would heartily recommend the book to every member of the Planning Commission before they make this fateful decision. And it's a quick and easy read, besides.
Making it more convenient to get to won't help May Town Center. No matter how many roads or bridges they build. If you need proof, just look at all the shopping and retail businesses that still remain in the mall in Bellevue or in the shopping area at Fountain Square. They're both practically empty despite their convenient right-next-to-the-damn-interstate access.
Fountain Square never had enough visitors coming back for retail to survive and Bellevue Center couldn't couldn't compete with Cool Springs or Green Hills even though it was closer to the west side than either alternative.
Hell, it's hard enough for Rivergate and Hickory Hollow to compete with Cool Springs and they've got substantial localized populations available to draw from. Malls as a concept are going the way of the passenger pigeon. I'd recommend a different way to memorialize Dan May than MTC.
