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CSX Agrees to Clean Railroad Lots in Metro More Often
East Nashville neighborhood groups are applauding a new agreement between Public Works and CSX Transportation that will mean railroad lots get mowed and cleaned up three times a year instead of one.
Metro's office of Beautification and Environment has been working with railroad representatives for more than a year on a variety of issues affecting neighborhoods, including more frequent mowing and upkeep of CSX properties in Nashville. On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, Metro and CSX officials announced the new property maintenance contract at a press conference on Bronte Avenue in East Nashville.
Following the press conference, CSX contractor crews got busy mowing and cleaning up the property on either side of the railroad tracks that run along Bronte Avenue between McGavock Pike and Litton Avenue in East Nashville.
CSX Transportation has numerous trains that traverse Nashville daily, many of them through East Nashville residential areas. Historically, CSX has mowed and cleaned the properties on either side of their tracks once or twice a year. The rest of the time, the lots were overgrown with high grass and weeds and littered with trash and illegally dumped items, prompting repeated complaints from area residents. Potential health and quality of life issues were also of concern to Metro officials.
Working together with Metro Codes, Health and Public Works, CSX and Metro Beautification and Environment recently agreed on new property maintenance guidelines that mean railroad properties will be mowed and cleaned more often.