The Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure is announcing the addition of Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPI) and signal timing enhancements in the downtown area.

These changes aim to optimize signal timings for 108 intersections in Downtown Nashville in accordance with the Vision Zero Implementation Plan and Connect Downtown Action Plan and provide a safer experience for people walking.

A main objective of the signal timing changes is to implement Leading Pedestrian Intervals at all signals identified. The LPIs provide pedestrians a head start to enter the crosswalk before vehicles moving. This allows pedestrians to better establish their presence and be more visible in a crosswalk before a vehicle making a turn.

LPIs have been proven to reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes at intersections by 13% by providing the following benefits:

• Reduced conflicts between pedestrians and turning vehicles.

• Increased compliance by motorists yielding to pedestrians.

• Enhanced protection for pedestrians with slower mobility.

The new signal timing plans will also optimize vehicular efficiency by improving signal coordination. By collecting data movements across various times of the day, NDOT can ensure drivers receive more consecutive green lights along corridors for smoother traffic flow.

“This project is a great example of how we are leveraging data to improve both safety and efficiency hand-in-hand,” said NDOT assistant chief engineer Derek Hagerty. “It’s possible for us to prioritize safety for people walking, while at the same time making our signals operate better for people driving, and we’re excited to continue rolling these improvements out across the entire city.”

The signal timing updates will be deployed over a two-month period in sections of 20 signals at a time to allow engineering staff to make observations and field changes based on early feedback.

NDOT introduces new parking rates, limits

NDOT has also introduced new parking rates and time limits, which went into effect April 7.

The new on-street parking rates and time limits will provide consistent rates, extended parking times (up to 10 hours), and economy zones with more affordable pricing. The rates and time limits for on-street metered parking will be posted on nearby signage.

Central Parking District

• $2 per hour for 0-2 hours

• $5 per hour for 3-4 hours

• $6 per hour for 5 hours or more (10 hour maximum)

• $2 per hour in Economy Zone 8

Non Central Parking District

• $2 per hour for 0-2 hours

• $3 per hour for 3-4 hours

• $4 per hour for 5 hours or more (10 hour maximum)

• $1 per hour in economy zone 9

Payments can be made by phone, credit card or coin. All credit card transactions will incur a convenience fee. Users will be allowed to extend the parking session from their phone twice with a maximum allotted time of 10 hours. Once the session expires, the driver will be notified and the vehicle must be moved from that parking zone for a minimum of 30 minutes.

More information, including economy zone maps

Vanderbilt using new organ preservation tech

Vanderbilt Health kidney transplant surgeons are now the first in Tennessee, and some of a handful in the Southeast, to use a new Food and Drug Administration-approved portable hypothermic perfusion technology designed to preserve and transport donor kidneys.

The adoption of the Paragonix KidneyVault Renal Perfusion System is the latest advancement in Vanderbilt Health’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology in the organ transplantation process.

By pioneering new approaches, Vanderbilt Health, which houses one of the oldest and largest kidney transplant programs in the country, can serve more patients, including high-risk patients who may not be candidates at other medical centers.

More than 106,000 patients are currently on the national transplant waitlist in the U.S., with 86% waiting for a kidney. Expanding donor pools and optimizing available resources is critical.

Hypothermic machine perfusion has shown significant benefits for kidney transplants.

SBA offering loans for Midstate drought relief

The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the availability of low interest federal disaster loans to small businesses and private nonprofit organizations in Tennessee who sustained economic losses caused by the drought occurring Aug. 1-Dec. 1, 2024.

The disaster declaration covers the counties of Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Marshall, Maury, Rutherford and Williamson.

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs with financial losses directly related to this disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers or ranchers, except for aquaculture enterprises.

EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.250% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

The deadline to return economic injury applications is Nov. 28.

Information: sba.gov/disaster, email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or call 800-659-2955.

TDMHSAS gives $5.2M for affordable housing

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is releasing $5.2 million in grant funding to create safe, quality, affordable housing for people living with mental illness, recovering from substance use disorder and reentering communities from incarceration.

TDMHSAS awarded grants from the Creating Homes Initiative to 12 nonprofit agencies across the state. In total, the agencies committed to create 101 new beds with the funding.

Since 2000, the Creating Homes Initiative has leveraged more than $1.3 billion in federal, state, local, foundational, and other funding sources to create more than 36,000 housing opportunities.

The Creating Homes Initiative takes seed money from a recurring state investment and creates a system for writing grants and leveraging additional sources of funding to create housing for people living with behavioral health challenges.

The initial model serving people with serious mental illness proved so successful it’s been expanded twice to support the housing needs of people in recovery from substance use disorder and reentering the community after incarceration.

Grantees will be creating new housing in Davidson, Knox, Madison, Obion, Overton, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner and Washington counties. The timelines for completion range from six months to a year.

Information

Del Webb opens Barton Village community

Del Webb, the nation’s leading builder of active adult communities for those 55 and older, this weekend celebrated the grand opening of its newest Metro Nashville community, Del Webb Barton Village, with over 500 people in attendance coming from across the country.

Homes are now for sale, and prospective residents are actively touring and purchasing.

The 240-acre 55+ community is located directly off Interstate 40 in Wilson County and is an integral part of the 350-acre mixed-use, master-planned Barton Village community. Upon completion, Del Webb Barton Village will include over 700 homes.

Compass Self Storage offering storm relief rent

Compass Self Storage, a member of the Amsdell family of companies, is offering a helping hand to support residents and businesses in the greater Nashville area that have been impacted by the recent severe storms and flooding.

Compass Self Storage is offering one month of free rent for a self-storage unit to anyone dealing with the damage from these storms at their Nashville locations.

Those locations include:

• 461 Waldron Road in La Vergne

• 200 Front Street in Smyrna

• 1022 Nissan Drive in Smyrna

• 702 Jessica Street in Murfreesboro

Location hours and additional information

Home demand rising, but so are tariff worries

Pending home sales and mortgage applications improved a bit at the start of April. But since then, the back-and-forth on President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy, rising mortgage rates and the increased odds of a recession have likely pushed down homebuying sentiment, according to Redfin.

The housing market is under pressure as prospective homebuyers and sellers navigate a rapidly shifting economic landscape, with President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, a volatile stock market and increased chances of a recession exacerbating widespread financial uncertainty.

Homebuying demand improved at the start of April. Mortgage-purchase applications rose 9% during the week ending April 4 on a seasonally adjusted basis. Pending home sales posted their smallest decline since the start of 2025, falling just 1.1% year over year (that’s partly due to a holiday effect, with Easter falling into the comparable period in 2024).

But those numbers reflect what happened before and in the immediate aftermath of last week’s initial tariff announcement, when mortgage rates dipped to a six-month low and gave homebuyers a brief reprieve.

The improvement in demand is unlikely to last. Mortgage rates have since soared, jumping April 9 to 6.95%, their highest level in six weeks. The bounce is due to economic turmoil and the Fed making it clear it’s not cutting interest rates more than previously expected.

Even before mortgage rates bounced back up, the median monthly mortgage payment was at an all-time high of $2,813.

Payments are likely to rise even more in the coming weeks, and that, along with economic instability, may scare off more prospective buyers.