Parks and Recreation

Bells Bend Park

A $35,000 grant from the American Planning Association's City Parks Forum gives Metro the green light to initiate a master plan for Bell's Bend Park, an 808-acre tract of land located along the northwest corridor of the Cumberland River.

Identified as a possible landfill in the early 1990's, Mayor Bill Purcell chose to preserve this undeveloped property along the Cumberland River in fall 2001. Shortly after proposing the area as parkland, the Mayor explained the economic impact and benefit of the land in a case study to the City Parks Forum (CPF), which resulted in the grant award. Nashville was one of four cities in the nation last year to receive the CPF's 'catalyst' grant for research and planning the design and revitalization of urban parks and open spaces.

CPF Director Mary Eysenbach said, "The City Parks Forum has worked with mayors to help identify park revitalization projects that can succeed with planning and local support. We're committed to helping plant the seeds needed for these efforts to flourish in the long term."

Bell's Bend, the fourth largest green space in Metro's park system, is a scenic pasture and habitat for plants, migratory birds and other wildlife. The master plan for the park will provide a blueprint for the preservation of the open space, address the questions of access and programming, and develop guidelines and strategies for integrating this rural, isolated riverside property into the city's overall parks, greenways, and open space. An appropriation of $750,000 has been made to begin immediate implementation of the plan once it is completed.

"A clear intent of the project is to educate the public about the value of green space within an increasingly urban and continually developing city," explained Metro Park Director Jim Fyke. "The Mayor's Case Study on Bell's Bend, which he presented to the CPF, identified the major challenges the land presented which the Mayor felt could be addressed in a master plan."

Key issues identified with the park included the site's location, potential activities and amenities, and integration of the site into the existing parks system. The Bell's Bend master plan will:

  • Identify a program of uses that is compatible with the property, sensitive to the site's natural and cultural resources, and capitalizes on the unique characteristics of Bell Bend.
  • Result in strategies and solutions for accessing the property, including pedestrian, vehicular, and marine access, as well as compliance with ADA guidelines;
  • Develop design solutions that address the adjacent wastewater treatment facility, and effectively integrate aesthetics and the recommended program uses while preserving the rural character of the area;
  • Determine the buffering, zoning and other planning actions necessary outside of this property to assure preservation of the open space and compatible adjacent uses; and,
  • Educate the community about the significance of green space in a developing city.

The consultant for the project is Greenways, Incorporated from Durham, North Carolina. Greenways, Inc. is a multidisciplinary environmental planning and landscape architecture firm that specializes in providing consulting services to government agencies, for-profit corporations and nonprofit organizations. The firm specializes in greenways, alternative transportation, rail-to-trails, open space and park planning, design, development and management. They have provided services to Canada, Japan and Venezuela and more than 100 communities in 27 states.

The City Parks Forum is a program of the American Planning Association, whose mission is to advance the art and science of urban, rural and regional land-use planning. For more information, visit APA/s web site at www.planning.org. The City Parks Forum is made possible by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

The Bell's Bend initiative is part of Mayor Purcell's Parks and Greenways Master Plan to guide the city's park system into the second century. The master plan recommended improvements and investments totaling $262 million over the next ten years. This year's funding of $35 million to improve parks and greenways was the largest single appropriation in the history of Metro's Parks Department. The funding, allocated by Mayor Purcell in the Capital Spending Plan adopted by Metro Council last year, represents the first step in creating a world-class park system that will have a significant impact on the way we use our parks now and in the future. For more information on Bell's Bend Park, call Metro Parks' Planning Division at (615) 862-8400 or email Jackie.Jones@nashville.gov