An annual report to the mayor from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission points out limited progress on bike lanes and greenways in 2025, calling on the city to accelerate projects and better engage the public. Nashville has been among the deadliest American cities for pedestrians in recent years. Twenty-five pedestrians and four bicyclists were killed in the county in 2025, mostly on state routes like Dickerson Pike and Murfreesboro Pike. Greenway construction stalled at about one mile per year, while the city built just 2.6 miles of bikeways last year — a sharp drop from 21.4 miles in 2024. The commission, chaired by Katherine McDonell, also recommended the city “significantly accelerate” sidewalk construction. McDonell tells the Scene that the commission sent the report to O’Connell’s office on Dec. 31.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell, elected on promises to improve Nashville’s non-car transportation infrastructure, revived the citizen commission in 2024 during his successful transit referendum campaign. The mayor and other transit progressives have promoted the city’s greenway system as an alternative map within Nashville for those who prefer pedestrian and bike connections throughout the city. Beyond functional connectivity, its exercise and recreation offerings have made the greenway a popular city feature, especially in places like Shelby Park and Richland Creek. A push for increased bike safety and access helped get O’Connell to the mayor’s office in 2023, though the city stopped prioritizing actual bike lane construction last year, according to the BPAC report. The report also highlights a slight increase in new sidewalk construction, which increased from 3.8 miles in 2024 to 5.9 in 2025.
The mayor’s high-profile transit projects last year focused instead on smoother bus and car efficiency with signal upgrades and service expansion.
A pedestrian was killed and another injured at the same Germantown intersection this summer, raising concerns about response time
Controversy over East Bank Boulevard designs has also become a proxy for O’Connell’s commitment to bike infrastructure in the eyes of transit advocates. A final choice for the new neighborhood’s key artery has gotten lost in pages of designs, plans and reports. The BPAC report calls on the city to keep multimodal access at the center of any planning decisions.
“We again call on Metro leadership and [the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure] to formally reject the 6-lane designs for East Bank Boulevard that are opposed by 80% of the public and work together with BPAC, [Vision Zero Advisory Committee], advocacy organizations, and the community to design a people-centered street that provides dedicated space for walking, bicycling, and transit, in alignment with our modal hierarchy and the Imagine East Bank vision plan,” reads BPAC’s strongest recommendation.
Commissioners also clamored for a bigger role in the city’s decision-making process around pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, including having an explicit liaison in the mayor’s office and direct consultation before changes to sidewalks and bikeways.
