East Nashville to Vanderbilt commute

[FiveSevenNine]

Originally Posted by Carol McCullough

We live in Cleveland Park (on Stainback near Vaughn) and my husband works at Vanderbilt. He bikes periodically and it takes him about 25 minutes. He's not an avid bike rider (he was in the past), but he is an experienced commuter (which can mean a somewhat liberal view toward some stop signs ).

His route: Cleveland St. to N.9th to Woodland to 5th to Shelby and cross the Gateway Bridge to Demonbreun. Drivers treat him generally ok, but they don't tend to know how to behave. They aren't hateful, just not terribly knowledgeable with regard to how to interact with bike commuters (this perception is based on living a decade in Portland, Oregon which has much better infrastructure for bikes but also seems to have some drivers that are extremely hostile to bike commuters).

Most of the time that you might save driving to Vanderbilt tends to be eaten up by finding and walking from your parking space, so the only real inconveniences with biking are [1] getting a shower once you're there and [2] dealing with the fact that Vandy has inadequate covered bike parking.

In inclement weather, you can use your Vandy ID and ride the bus for free. Bus stops are plentiful in our neighborhood (there are 3 within a block of us). The commute is a bit long (45 minutes to an hour) but it's a good time to read, etc.

When he drives, it takes about 22 minutes door to door (the driving itself takes 12 to 13 minutes and then there is the walk to the building). You will also have to pay for parking. You could do a little of both and drive to some close, free street parking and then bike the rest of the way.

Based on your description of yourself as one who seeks diversity and is familiar with urban living, I highly recommend Cleveland and McFerrin Park. At this point, there are no specific streets to be avoided outright, but there are definitely blocks that have issues. These are almost always obvious to a casual observer, so just pay attention to the surroundings when you are house-hunting and visit a few times at different times of the day/week.

And, *no*, you most certainly should not feel like you need to pack heat. It is certainly your right to do so, but don't feel like all these people who DON'T LIVE HERE know what they are talking about. It's absurd.

I or my husband can tell you more if you want to send me a direct message (he's not on the board). Alternatively, you can attend a neighborhood meeting and talk to others who live here. McFerrin Park meets the first Thursday of every month at the MP Community Center [Meridian and Grace] at 6:30 pm. Cleveland Park meets the second Thursday of every month at the CP Community Center [Bayard and N 6th St] at 6:30 pm (this is a new time, we used to meet at 7p).

Both areas also have google groups: McFerrin Park Neighborhood - Nashville, TN | Google Groups
Cleveland Park - Nashville | Google Groups

Good luck, I hope you find what you are looking for!

Thank you so much for this post! Its wonderful to hear positive things about East Nashville from someone who actually lives in the area, and especially from Cleveland Park (since that's where a lot of homes in my price range are)! I really appreciate it.