Friday, we cut the ribbon on the first completed section of the new River North Greenway, another step towards creating a more connected and accessible East Bank. When completed, the greenway will stretch nearly two miles connecting the Oracle campus and new pedestrian bridge to the Shelby Bottoms Greenway.

Through a combination of parks, greenways, and civic plazas, Nashville is setting a goal of 118 acres of parks space across the East Bank supporting approximately 30,000 residents expected to call these 550 acres home. 

Future plans include adding three new greenway connections that link neighborhoods directly to the riverfront. These paths will make it easier for people to walk, bike, or roll into the new public spaces.  

Across the county, investments are paying off with improved greenway connections.  

• The 440 Greenway got an upgrade between Park Plaza and Centennial Park, offering connectivity to the park and surrounding neighborhoods..
• Sevier Park to Browns Creek Pike will have a new one-mile stretch that connects two existing greenways.
• And next in the queue is the Opry Mills Connector Greenway which we are working on in coordination with TDOT. 

It has been an incredible year for our Parks! This summer has brought fresh upgrades and new life to community spaces all across the city.   

• Mariposa Park is open in an area of Nashville that had never previously had a park.
• A new grant will enable improvements to Mill Ridge Park.
• Metro acquired 300 more acres for Beaman Park, a move unanimously approved by the Parks Board. 
• Metro finalized an update to its parks master plan, Plan 2 Play.
• Opened the new Old Hickory Community Center.
• Improvements throughout the Cumberland River Greenway network including ensuring continuous access around Ascend Amphitheater. 

We’re also making significant safety and maintenance upgrades across the entire parks system, ensuring that trails, facilities, playgrounds, and community spaces remain welcoming, accessible, and well-cared for for all Nashville residents.  

This Labor Day, we had the opportunity to celebrate alongside our Nashville community at the 13th Annual Labor Day Parade. Labor Day is more than a holiday; it is a celebration of working people who keep our city moving and an opportunity to honor those workers who have fought for better wages, safer workplaces, and greater opportunity for all of us.  

This year, we also honored the legacy of Vonda McDaniel, who dedicated more than 30 years of her life to the labor movement and helped grow Nashville's Labor Day Parade into one of our city’s most important annual traditions. 

“I consider myself very fortunate that Vonda found joy in the spaces she and I shared—the pews, my porch, and of course the Labor Day Parade. That’s time I will always cherish,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell shared.  

The mayor also reaffirmed a pledge he made to Vonda when taking office: that Metro would fully support the Labor Day Parade for as long as he serves as mayor. 

That commitment to Nashville's working people continues throughout the year. We are working towards good wages, fully funded schools, good jobs with an unemployment rate that beats the national average, better transit, investing in infrastructure, childcare, and the largest investment in housing in our city’s history. 

Metro Nashville recently introduced legislation, creating the Innovative Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) partnership that would transform a longstanding waste challenge into a new revenue opportunity.  

Today, our city flares excess digester gas produced at the biosolids facility, gas that contains methane, a valuable potential energy source. Under an agreement with Burnham Nashville LLC, that waste gas will no longer be flared. Instead, it will be captured and converted into renewable natural gas, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions while creating a sustainable local energy product. 

In addition to environmental improvements, the project generates a new revenue stream for Nashville. Under the agreement, Metro will receive 70% of net revenue, while Burnham will receive 30% and take on full market risk. Metro is guaranteed minimum payment regardless of fluctuations in natural gas prices, ensuring predictable, long-term benefits from a resource that previously produced emissions rather than value.  

This project is under review by Council. 

Nashvillians contributed more than $152,000 to “Fill the Boot” last year, the Nashville Fire Department and IAFF Local 140 are once again partnering with the Muscular Dystrophy Association to support children and adults living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and other neuromuscular diseases.  

You can support this cause by donating to help drive research, strengthen critical care services, and spread awareness.