This week, immigrant advocates released a list of dreams for Nolensville Pike, an area known for tire shops and commuter traffic. They believe it needs a facelift that reflects the new diversity along the busy corridor.
Nolensville Pike is the home to Latino, Kurdish, and Somali residents. But it wasn’t always that way.
“It was all white, predominately. And now, it’s wonderful. Absolutely wonderful,” said Debbie Young. She has lived in the neighborhood for years and witnessed the rapid demographic change.
Young was one of 10 residents interviewed as part of Conexión Américas’s project called Envision Nolensville Pike. In a presentation this week, the organization outlined a rough sketch of what changes residents would like to see along the busy corridor: murals, more sidewalks and a roundabout at the busy Harding Place intersection.
Also in the works is a giant “Welcome” sign that would greet commuters in many of the languages spoken along Nolensville Pike.
Students from nearby Glencliff High School, one of the most diverse in the state, led the resident interviews.
“They asked such great questions,” Young says. ” ‘Why do you stay here? How was it when you grew up? What was the food like when you were at school?’ And I tell them, ‘It was great! We had great cooks!’ “
As Conexión Américas organizers joked in their presentation — people come to Nolensville Pike for the tires but stay for the food.
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