I asked Nashville residents what they'd do if they were mayor for a day. The answers reveal a lot about what's actually happening in the city right now.
If you're planning a trip to Nashville, this is the real talk from people who live here. Not tourism board spin — just honest frustration and hope.
The Parking Situation Is Real
Free parking near Broadway came up multiple times. So did adding more parking lots and garages.
One person straight up said: make all parking free for residents.
What this means for you: parking downtown is expensive and hard to find. Budget extra time and money for it, or just use rideshare.
The Property Tax Crisis
This came up over and over. People are angry.
One resident said their property taxes jumped from $1,200 to $3,000 in a decade. Another called for cutting property taxes immediately.
Several people mentioned stopping the new Titans stadium because property taxes keep climbing while the city funds another stadium.
Why visitors care: when locals are priced out, the city changes. The neighborhood spots get replaced by chains. The culture shifts. You're seeing Nashville in the middle of this transformation.
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Read more →Traffic & Roads Are A Mess
Subways to control traffic. Wider roads. Getting semi-trucks out of downtown and off certain streets like Woodmont Blvd.
Someone mentioned Church Street hasn't been repaved in four years.
For visitors: traffic is worse than you think. Plan extra time getting anywhere. The roads aren't great, especially outside downtown.
The Fairgrounds Speedway Drama
Multiple people said “sign the NASCAR deal” or “bring NASCAR back.”
There's clearly something going on with the Fairgrounds Speedway that locals care about. Some want it under sports authority control instead of the fair board.
This matters because: Nashville is fighting over what kind of city it wants to be. Racing vs. soccer. Longtime residents vs. new development.
Make It “Music City” Again
One person said it perfectly: “Make it music city again. Neon, nitro, pedal steel, and dobro.”
Another wanted to outlaw celebrity-branded bars.
What you're seeing on Broadway isn't what Nashville used to be. Locals feel like their music city is disappearing behind corporate bars with famous names on them.
The Homeless Situation
This came up repeatedly. Clean up Broadway. Give shelter to the homeless. Remove tent cities.
One particularly harsh comment wanted to “feel safe over a homeless drug addict.”
Reality check: you'll see homelessness downtown. It's a real issue the city is grappling with, and locals have strong feelings about it.
Things That Would Make Downtown Better
Close Broadway between 5th and 2nd Avenue, possibly 24/7.
Get rid of the speed cushions (those raised bumps in the road).
Fix the smell downtown. (Yes, someone said that.)
Clean up 8th Avenue from Division Street to the roundabout.
Ban drugs. (One person joked the city would be empty if they did.)
The Political Undercurrent
Several people just said “fire the mayor” or “resign.”
Someone wanted to “fire Glen Funk” (the District Attorney).
Others mentioned installing license plate readers, hiring prosecutors who actually prosecute, and locking up criminals instead of giving “slaps on the wrist.”
There's clearly frustration with how the city is being run.
The Weird & Specific Requests
Make everything tax free.
No beers over 5 bucks. (Good luck with that on Broadway.)
Bring in an MLB team.
Ban out-of-state and corporate ownership of residential property.
Rent control.
Get rid of 80% of bike lanes.
One person suggested donating Antioch to Rutherford County. (Brutal.)
The Really Controversial Stuff
Some comments got pretty extreme about immigration, politics, and policing. I'm not listing those here because they're not helpful for planning a trip.
But they show you: Nashville is a city with tension between old and new, local and transplant, conservative and progressive.
What This All Means For Visitors
Nashville is expensive. Parking costs money, drinks cost money, everything costs more than it used to.
The city is changing fast. What you see might not be what locals recognize as “their Nashville.”
Traffic is bad. Roads are rough. Plan accordingly.
The music scene is still there, but you might have to look past Broadway to find the real stuff.
Locals are frustrated. They love their city, but they're watching it transform into something different.
If you want to see authentic Nashville, you're racing against time. The corporate bars are taking over. Property values are pushing longtime residents out. The character that made Nashville special is fighting to survive.
That's not meant to scare you off. Just know what you're walking into. The Nashville you're visiting is in the middle of a major identity crisis. Some of what made it special is still there — you just have to look harder for it.
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I agree with all the locals. Get rid of the celebrity bars and bring back the Nashville of 15 years ago…even 20! When it was fun!
I made my second visit to Nashville (from New Zealand) in 2022. On our last day I turned to my wife’ in the car and said, “I love this city but I could never live here” The traffic is terrible”.
A few weeks later we were driving into Dallas at 3 pm on a Friday afternoon . We were down to 5-8 mph for over 30 minutes on the freeway. I turned to my wife and said “After this I will never say Nashville traffic is bad. Compared to this it is a breeze”.
Things are what you make them. Traffic, parking, crowds. All are relevant. There are great, reasonably priced, parking places if you are prepared to walk for 10-15 minutes. And early to midweek is much better than the weekend to visit.
Oh, and find hotels out of the city centre at under $130 a night. Drive park and get a ride share into the city if you must.
There are a lot of issues, but every town has issues. We need leadership that puts citizens first.
We need to re route thru truck traffic around the city. Having all these Interstates using the same pavement may have worked when first built but now it’s nearly a 24-hour logjam.
It makes you wonder what is being done with the tax money that is collected. The roads are a mess.
Just think what it costs you everyday to drive on roads that feel like cobblestone, to sit in traffic with engines running for hours on end-a
waste of gas and time and money that pollutes our air and drives people crazy.
We don’t need a new stadium. We don’t need a tunnel. We don’t need to be wasting time and money on things that have been cooked up by the far-right Trumpers to distract us from doing what needs to be done. We need to throw out the Republicans and let the Democrats come in and do what they do best…work for the people.
YES! This! Couldn’t agree more. Let’s look to places like Memphis and Detroit as models of excellence and what Nashville could become. Great point, John.
Sorry! Democrats run Metropolitan
Nashville government. In fact, it is the first metropolitan government in the nation. It is; however, surrounded by a sea ofRepublican county governments.
How dumb can you be!!!We have had straight Dem mayors for the last 62 years!! THEY have been running the city fool!!!
I think the issue here is you have bought into the typical Nashvillian view, at least social media like /r/nashville on Reddit, that the state Republicans are responsible for all the bad and the city Democrats are trying to fix it.
The reallity is far more complicated, but it should be noted Democrats have controlled Nashville since 1860. Yes, we can play the “today’s Democrats are not the same as the Democrats of the 1800s” game, but that gets hard once you get past Bill Boner whose term ended in 1991.
As for the city council, there are currently only 2 members that might be called Republican, or at least conservative, out of 40 seats (5%). As of the time Briley was elected, there were maybe 5.
The point here is the Democrats have been doing things, so any “doing to the people” is their issue. Sure, state Republicans have done some things, but our bad roads, budget shortfalls, tax raises, etc. are all on the Democrats. Well, not technically, as the city is bipartisan officially, but that is really just splitting hairs.