How Nashville Decides Where To Put Sidewalks

For years, Nashvillians have complained about “sidewalks to nowhere” — or having no sidewalks at all. But the city is considering a $25 million sidewalk proposal, the largest amount ever for helping people get around on foot.

Deciding where to put those sidewalks can hinge on a scoring system that almost nobody knows about.

It’s called the “P.G.I.” or Pedestrian Generator Index. It sounds complicated. But it’s actually pretty intuitive. The higher the PGI score, the more likely that the city will pave a sidewalk.

If there’s a park nearby, or a library, or a school — bonus points. An elementary school? Even better. Add a bus stop, or the fact there are a few other sidewalks around — now you’re talking.

More: View Metro’s sidewalk master plan

Tony Gonzalez WPLN News

Residents along Bowling Avenue in West Nashville have clamored for a sidewalk extension.

Let’s look at Bowling Avenue — it’s a street in West Nashville where residents are on a quest to get more sidewalks.

Just off West End, the street runs along the bustling Elmington Park, where there’s almost always groups playing soccer and sometimes even food trucks. There’s a middle school next door, several churches in sight, and plenty of people jogging on the sidewalk after work.

This stretch has a robust PGI score of more than 40. But anybody jogging knows — not far after the school, you’re going to run out of sidewalk. It’s the place where you take to the grassy shoulder — and where locals curse the PGI.

Where the sidewalk comes to an end, it’s mostly residential roads and homes in every direction, and a lowly PGI score of just 6. That means the odds of getting a connecting sidewalk are slim.

More: See the PGI calculation worksheet

Metro Nashville

Screenshot of Nashville’s Pedestrian Generator Index worksheet

There is a glimmer of hope: there’s a movement to change how the points are calculated. A new method could factor in where people already try to walk along the grass. Or places with high scores that have a walking gap in between.

But, at least for now, Nashville’s PGI isn’t going anywhere — love it or hate it.