Statements
Mission
Walk Bike Nashville seeks to make active transportation an option for Nashvillians, no matter where they live or where they're trying to go. We want our sidewalks and bikeways to support active living, commuting options, and recreational opportunities. Together, we're building a more walkable, bikeable, livable Nashville.
Background
Over the past 20 years, Walk Bike Nashville has earned a reputation as the strongest and most credible entity in Nashville for promoting improved bicycle and pedestrian facilities, creating and delivering biking and walking events, and promoting cycling and walking in general. Initially Walk Bike Nashville was formed when a group of bicycle advocates merged with a group focused on student health and walking to school. Together they decided to establish an organization focused on making it easier and safer for people to walk and ride bicycles in Nashville, both for transportation and recreation. Among the things Walk Bike Nashville advocated for that have come to fruition since 1998 are the construction of many bike lanes (there were none in Nashville prior to 1998), the passage of the landmark Sidewalk Bill to require more sidewalks during construction, the completion of the 2017 WalkNBike Strategic Plan, the hiring of a Metro bike/pedestrian coordinator at Public Works and at Metro Planning, increased funding for sidewalks and bikeways in the Capital Budget, and the creation of a Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.As Metro Government has focused increased attention and funding on bike/ped issues, Walk Bike Nashville has expanded its focus to the include educational and encouragement programs, services, and events. Walk Bike Nashville has a track record of creating and delivering innovative, community-based events such as the annual Tour de Nash, Open Streets, Bike Month (May) and Walk to School Day (October). In addition we deliver ongoing programs including bike rodeos for children, adult learn to ride classes, and bike parking at community events. Walk Bike Nashville also partners with Metro Nashville Public Schools to run the city's first Safe Routes to School program, which includes district-wide efforts and efforts at select focus schools. Today Walk Bike Nashville has 7 full-time staff positions, 2 part time staff, a Board of Directors and an Advisory Council. For more information on our current work, please visit www.walkbikenashville.org.
Impact
Recent Highlights: Walk Bike Nashville co-hosted, with NDOT, the 8th Open Streets Nashville in October 2022 on Main Street in East Nashville. Thousands of people enjoyed walking, biking and playing in a car-free street on a Sunday afternoon. Walk Bike Nashville's annual Tour de Nash brought out nearly 1,500 cyclists for Nashville's largest tour of bikeways and greenways. The Tour de Nash highlights safe, convenient routes that can be used to get to work, school, or just to have fun outside.We organize free community bike classes and rides, promote Bike to School Day and host Walk to School Day. Nashville's Walk to School Day has been going for 20 years and is one of the largest in the country. Throughout the year we advocated for policies that promote walking and biking. Recent successes include supporting Metro's adoption of a Vision Zero Action and Implementation Plans, the passage of a policy will help prevent the closure of sidewalks and bikeways for private use, an update to the East Bank Vision Plan that includes bikeways on the East Bank Boulevard, community-driven traffic calming improvements in the Napier community and a Dickerson Pike Pedestrian Safety Study which will influence a transformative project by TDOT on the corridor. Walk Bike Nashville provides Bike Valet and Bicycle Parking for some of the city's largest and most popular festivals. We also host a Families for Safe Streets chapter to support pedestrian and bicycle crash victims and their loved ones, and allow them to share their stories and support targeted advocacy campaigns.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Public & Societal Benefit - Alliances & Advocacy |
| Secondary Category: | Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness and Relief - |
| Tertiary Category: | Public & Societal Benefit - Public Transportations Systems |
Areas Served
| TN - Davidson |
