Richland Creek Greenway set for summer, not spring

According to yesterday’s Tennessean, it may be summer, rather than spring, before the second phase of the Richland Creek Greenway is complete:

By summer, greenway users will be able to enjoy the entire 2.8-mile length of the trail, which runs alongside the railroad, snakes its way through the trees along Richland Creek and hugs the edge of McCabe Park Golf Course.

“It depends on the weather, but we’re really trying to get it done this spring,” says Shain Dennison, Greenways director with Metro Board of Parks & Recreation. When it’s finished, the greenway will link neighborhoods with commercial areas and offer users a pleasant place to enjoy the outdoors close to home…

The second segment [of the greenway] will follow Richland Creek along the edge of the golf course to a trailhead near Wyoming Avenue, with a spur trail going to the Target/Lions Head Village shopping area.

Go see the rest of the article for additional details and historical information about the greenway.

Elmington Park playground being replaced

City Paper reporter Bill Harless explains that plans to demolish and replace the playground at Elmington Park a few blocks from Murphy Road have upset some nearby residents:

The Metro Parks Department is spending roughly $3.2 million to demolish old city playgrounds and replace them with new playgrounds compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Since 2003, the department has demolished and replaced 37 park playgrounds, and it is in the midst of replacing six more at a cost of roughly $75,000 to $80,000 a piece. The department, since 2003, has also rebuilt 39 parks on public school grounds. The playground building frenzy comes on the heels of a 2001 report in the Parks Department five-year master plan that said only 8 percent of the city’s parks were “in satisfactory or good condition” and that 73 percent “needed to be replaced.”

The department’s good intentions, however, have stirred some nostalgia in West Nashville, where the playground at Elmington Park, a well-loved, 13.3-acre corner park at the intersection of West End and Bowling avenues, is facing demolition.

Fifteen years ago, a band of West Nashville neighbors raised roughly $40,000 in private money to pay for the playground along with matching city dollars, and — although they are understanding of the Parks Department’s desire to build safer playgrounds — they are sad to see their old playground being demolished and replaced with one that, for the sake of modern safety standards, will not have sand covering its ground.

Burkley Allen, who lives a block away from the park and led the fund-raising drive, said she understands why the Parks Department is installing the safer, ADA-compliant playgrounds and said she has no beef with the department — the public planning process for the Master Plan was an open one, she says. But, still, Allen was startled to see the wrecking ball at Elmington Park.

It sounds like this is being done for the right reasons, but I suppose any change–and especially one that brings back memories for local childhoods–is bound to generate both positive and negative reactions. At the very least, it’s something to think about the next time you decide to take the kids to the park.

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Black Lab found, needs owner or new home

Neighbor Rick Zimmerman reported the following information about a dog found over the weekend on behalf of Denice Heatherly:

Last night as my daughter was leaving work she found a dog … It was around midnight and the dog seemed scared and desparate. Heather asked her if she wanted to get in the car and she jumped right in. She is a black lab mix – she may have a little [Weimeraner] in there – she is on the small side for those breeds. She is intelligent, well behaved, housebroken ( not kidding – she woke Heather up to let her out this morning ) calm, a bit timid around our dogs but we haven’t really had time to intoduce them all properly yet. Her coat is shiny and in good condition, her nails are trimed, we don’t see any signs of fleas either…

We can’t keep her very long – we just moved and we are renting – we are so fortunate to have a landlord that is fine about three dogs that we cannot push it by having four… Also – if the owner for this lovely girl isn’t found very soon there will be vet bills and that is not something I can’t take on right now either.

This is what we need:

1. Circulate this [news] and hopefully find the owner

2. Temporary housing for her

3. If no one claims her a rescue to take her on

We will be glad to donate as much as we can toward her care. I am treating her for fleas today ( even though I don’t see any on her ). This is a great dog, she doesn’t act as if she has been abused – I would love to be able to keep her. I will not take her to the pound – black dogs have the lowest adoption rate and I just don’t believe in rescuing a dog and taking them to a place where their time is limited. It will be Monday before I can check with Animal Contol to see if anyone is looking for her – I have to finish moving stuff out of my apartment today and give it a final clean – my lease is up today.

We really need help with this so feel free to contact me ( Denice ) @ 615-496-1417 or Heather @917-653-9658.

Help RCWA restore Richland Creek!

Neighbor Monette Rebecca, who is working hard to establish the Richland Creek Watershed Alliance to improve water quality for this valuable neighborhood and city resource, needs your help.

Monette is looking to secure 200 signatures from local residents who support plans for an RCWA Environmental Resource Center to be located at 137 51st Avenue North on the old Richland Village property and who are willing to lend their time to help with creek cleanup and other activities such as water quality sampling, stormwater sampling, rain barrel installation, rain garden installation and how-to workshops.

If you are interested in lending a hand to restore Richland Creek, please sign the RCWA contribution contract and return it to Monette today at the following address:

Monette Rebecca
320 54th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37209

If you have questions or would like more information, please send an email to Monette at monetter@comcast.net.

Rhino Books on the move

Rhino Booksellers, currently located on Murphy Road behind A Squeeky Clean Laundry, will move to a new location at 4918 Charlotte Pike in early March. Owner Fred Koller and new SPNA associate member Fred Koller reports that the store will be housed in the “historic Bank of the West building.” Fred is “excited to finally have plenty of space for the growing collection of lightly read books and fine first editions …[and] is always looking for good books and hopes to also carry music and movies.”

If you have a question for Fred or are curious to learn more about Rhino Booksellers, call (615) 279-0310.

Nashville West Target to open March 11

The new Target location in the Nashville West development (pictured above) is scheduled to open for business on Sunday, March 11. Contrary to initial reports, this is not a Super Target, but it will have a Starbucks located inside. Dick’s Sporting Goods is already open nearby. [Image: WonderDawg]

Recent Police News

The Metro Nashville Police Department made gang- and drug-related arrests over the weekend at the intersection of 39th Avenue and Delaware Avenue as part of its Operation Safer Streets initiative. This location is across Interstate 40 from Sylvan Park, but it is still nearby and worthy of note. As always, please report any crime or suspicious activity to the police at (615) 862-8600 or call the department’s anonymous (615) 244-DOPE (3673) hotline. Reporting possible criminal activity helps the police adequately staff different areas of the city.

Sylvan Park in demand, says City Paper

Kind words for the neighborhood from today’s issue of the City Paper (the City Homes section does not appear to be online):

They all want to live in Sylvan Park. You know a neighborhood is considered prime when folks who follow local residential trends casually describe it as “overrated” — yet, in reality, would shave their heads like Britney Spears for a chance to live there. Bring out the shears for Sylvan Park.

Yes, many of the area’s homes are pricey — especially the shoeboxes that garner about $300 a foot — and the buzz that surrounded SP six years ago has calmed a bit. But this one-time working class enclave on the city’s upscale west side remains one of the city’s most desirable old-school residential districts.

I am proud to say that I have a full head of hair and that I call Sylvan Park home. I hope you are, too, especially on the latter part.

SpaghettiFest date is wrong in SPNA News

Neighbor Vicky Amann let me know last night that the date for the Sylvan Park Elementary SpaghettiFest listed in the SPNA News is incorrect. The event will take place on Friday, April 27. My apologies for the error. Please update your calendars and plan on attending to support the school.

SPNA News Spring issue now online

The Spring 2007 issue of the SPNA News is now available online. Thanks to Martha Berry and Janet Younts and the tireless work of many other volunteers, hard copies of the newsletter will be delivered to neighborhood households this weekend.