Why Not Make Green Hills Walkable?!

It is has always baffled me why the congested retail area of Green Hills in Nashville has never been walkable. What I mean by walkable is this: park your car and walk to your destination instead of idling for 10 minutes in the 'parking-lot-of-a-road' beginning at Crestmoor and Hillsboro Pike and ending at Hobbs and Hillsboro Pike. I'm sure that you've lost your patience when driving through this area. Most folks in Green Hills are shopping and having to hop into their cars to go from let's say Walgreens to the UPS store three blocks down the road. You might be thinking you could walk the distance. There is a sidewalk, right? Sure you can walk it, but is it really that enjoyable to walk? No. It is not the least bit walker or biker friendly , for that matter. While their is a sidewalk, what Green Hills is missing is an overall environment.

The one and only part of the retail district in Green Hills that has done it right is the Hill Center. They have created a destination and walkable environment. Think about the areas in which you enjoy shopping. When I shop in Nashville and the surrounding area, I enjoy going to places like Hillsboro Village, the Hill Center, Five Points, 12th South, downtown Franklin and Leiper's Fork. All of these places have a welcoming and walkable atmosphere that allows you to like shopping, dining out and even enjoy running your errands.

So in this green age, why should we not make Green Hills GREEN? We could implement more walkable space and save on gas and reduce fuel exhaust. We could build more dense parking structures with green roofs and parks for folks to enjoy. We could add structures to store bikes and bridges to get from one side of Hillsboro Pike to the other side. And why not plant more trees and implement more overall green space? This is an area with high consumer use and demand, so why are we not doing something to improve the area, our lifestyles and the environment? Stay tuned to see how I believe we can make Green Hills green.