The Truth

Our request is simply that Cheekwood, like every other Tennessee resident and organization, operate within the bounds of the law — specifically its zoning designation and use permit. This request is only existential if Cheekwood is operating outside of those. Our neighborhood has attended, supported, donated to and co-existed with Cheekwood for generations. This is not about shutting Cheekwood down. We are asking that Cheekwood operate under its current zoning, non-assembly cultural-center use, and establish the Highway 100 access required by law.

Cheekwood’s MOU with Metro requires only that Cheekwood stop parking cars on Warner Parks property. There is no Metro mandate or directive requiring a parking garage. The Kimley-Horn Study recommended on-site parking in tandem with an access road off Highway 100. It is Cheekwood’s choice to spend millions of dollars on a parking garage. Read the Kimley-Horn study.

Cheekwood currently has 480 spaces on park property and 75 spaces on site, totaling 555 spaces. It is planning capacity for 750 spaces on site — a 35% increase over current parking capacity. A 750-space parking facility is comparable in scale to parking at a Costco or Walmart, and traffic at that scale is not safe or appropriate for the neighborhood roads currently bearing the burden.

Cheekwood-related traffic demand far exceeds standards for local streets, creating unsustainable conditions and safety concerns. Data show several streets around Cheekwood carrying roughly 2.5 to more than 3 times the study’s 1,000-vehicle daily neighborhood benchmark. The KH Study recommended Highway 100 access and on-site parking. Rather than pursue the two-pronged solution, Cheekwood has proceeded solely with plans to build a parking garage.

Many of us have tried to engage with Cheekwood about this and other issues for years. If Cheekwood had truly worked to be a good neighbor, we would not be where we are today. For years we have asked to be brought to the table to discuss viable traffic solutions that would allow Cheekwood to grow while protecting neighborhood safety and access.

In a recent letter to some neighbors, Cheekwood wrote: “Cheekwood has no influence on any proposed drive or its location; all authority and decisions regarding a drive are solely NDOT’s responsibility.” But Cheekwood is a private entity and is responsible for creating lawful access to its property. Metro is responsible for enforcing codes, laws and regulations; Metro taxpayers are not responsible for paying for a private entity’s property improvements or for alleviating a nuisance created by that entity’s operations.

Most recently, neighbors were surprised by certified letters from a third party about property surveys before imminent blasting. The notices were inconsistent, and some of the closest and most affected neighbors did not receive them. Notifications for the June 22 community meeting were also inconsistent. At that meeting, little information was provided and residents have not received adequate follow-up on the questions and concerns raised.

Neighbors deserve to understand what to expect during blasting and to receive clear assurances from Cheekwood that any damage to homes or properties caused by blasting will be covered.

Cheekwood’s own Forward Momentum Strategic Plan says the opposite. Published after Cheekwood’s 435,000-attendance record, the plan’s first listed goal is “Expand.” It says Cheekwood should “cultivate new audiences and increase attendance, membership, and contributions,” invest in revenue-generating initiatives and capital projects, enhance visitor amenities, develop a plan for a new parking facility and visitor center, relaunch a tourism initiative, and increase earned and contributed revenue.

That is not a plan to stay static. It is a written growth plan — and growth at this scale requires lawful access, real traffic infrastructure, and meaningful neighborhood involvement.

Cheekwood continues to cite its peak attendance year — 2021, during Covid — to claim attendance has decreased. That is misleading. Although annual attendance in recent years is lower than the Covid-year spike, the trendline over the last decade shows steady and substantial growth in annual visitors.

The Kimley-Horn materials show approximately 80% of Cheekwood trips originate from the north, while neighborhood streets are experiencing increasingly high traffic volumes and lines of cars going to and from Cheekwood. These conditions create legitimate safety concerns for families walking and biking, and even more importantly for first responders and emergency vehicles trying to reach homes during peak crowds.

According to the Kimley-Horn study, Cheekwood, NDOT and Metro Parks are to coordinate to determine a new access point along Highway 100. Metro Planning voted to give priority to investigating a shared-use road, but it did not make any final determination as to access, location or shared use. NDOT was supposed to submit a final report by August 2025.

While there is pending litigation related to one of the five potential access options recommended by Kimley-Horn that would require use of Warner Parks land, there are at least four other viable alternatives. New parking at Cheekwood was only one-half of a larger plan to move traffic out of the neighborhood and create an entrance and exit off Highway 100. New parking should not proceed unilaterally without the corresponding traffic solution.