Jul 15, 2009 - Bicycling    Comments Off on Safe Bike Route for HWEN to Green Hills Mall Area

Safe Bike Route for HWEN to Green Hills Mall Area

I had a discussion with a non-bicycling friend several weeks ago about bicycling, Nashville bike facilities, and the feasibility of bicycling for something other than exercise.  She was adamant that bicycles are impractical, stopping short of "bicycles shouldn’t be on the road."  And there are plenty of greenways and bike lanes that bicyclists should stick to, and stay off her roads.  Interestingly, her husband, a former bicyclist, seemed to agree with her.  At first I was furious.  Then it dawned on me that this is the attitude that bicycling advocates have to overcome, and Tennesseans have to overcome to bring the state out of the bottom of every state rankings list.  Anyhow, so I’m going to work on a series of ways Nashvillians can get from place to place, at least around the Hillsboro West End area as either a start or a finish area. 

It’s a shame to have a high population density in the area, and to have a road like Hillsboro Road that is so bicycle and pedestrian challenged.  At the time of this writing, the road is under construction to be repaved and restriped to include a turn lane down the middle.  The project is not including any bike/ped facilities whatsoever.

  • The graphic below shows a way to get safely from 23rd and Woodmont to the Green Hills Mall area, avoiding Hillsboro Road entirely. 
  • Take Woodmont (with bike lanes from Harding Rd to Woodmont) east towards Hillsboro Road. 
  • Just before the light, take a right into the church parking lot.  Follow the parking lot parallel to Hillsboro Rd towards the mall.
  • Approaching Cavalry Church, there’s a grass area separating the two churches.  Get off and walk across the grass.  Continue towards the mall.
  • There’s a path between Cavalry and the Krystal parking lot. 

From there, you become more "sidewalk friendly" and you should be able to safely navigate to anywhere in Green Hills.  Suggestions?  The two churches could install a sidewalk between the parking lots, allowing neighborhood pedestrians and bicyclists to safely connect.  They could go as far as painting bicycle symbols to guide cyclists through the parking lots.

23rd and Woodmont is easy to get to from Natchez Trace, Woodlawn, Bowling, Hillsboro Village.  An alternative route to the mall is to use Belmont, then cut down on Glen Echo.

One last note, I’m a pretty avid bicyclist.  But since I first started riding, I’ve never seen a hill so steep I couldn’t walk.

Comments are closed.