Nashville expands downtown area prohibiting street vendors

Street vendors will now be barred from a larger area of Nashville's downtown entertainment district.

Metro Nashville's Transportation and Parking Commission approved an expanded map of restricted streets Monday, adding approximately 15 blocks to the vending exclusion zone after business owners complained that vendors had set up on too-narrow sidewalks outside of their establishments.

The new map prohibits street vending between Union Street and Peabody Street, along the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge and from Ninth Avenue to the Cumberland River.

Downtown Council member Jacob Kupin said before the commission's vote that the ultimate goal is "not to get rid of vendors in the downtown core."

"There's a potential plan long-term to define specific vending areas for people, but that is far down the pipe at this point," Kupin said. "So given that it will take some time, and given that this (restricted) area already exists and looking at the disruption to the sidewalks as they currently exist, we felt this was the best way to address it."

Kupin said he included his contact information on notices for Monday's meeting in hopes of connecting with vendors about the proposed changes. He heard from only one woman, who moved her vending operation to the Gulch after restrictions rolled out in downtown in 2022, and plans to meet with her soon, he said.

No street vendors spoke during the public comment period at Monday's meeting.

At-large Council member Quin Evans Segall, who also sits on the Traffic and Parking Commission, said there needs to be continued conversation about a long-term solution.

"This may be the Band-Aid we need for now, but it's still a Band-Aid," she said.

The commission first barred street vending from the majority of Nashville's downtown entertainment district in July 2022 as a temporary measure to support easier enforcement.

Former Mayor John Cooper signed an ordinance in February 2023 prohibiting vending on public sidewalks within the downtown entertainment district, paving the way for Nashville Department of Transportation enforcement officers to issue citations for noncompliance. Continued violations can lead to removal and impounded equipment.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville expands downtown area prohibiting street vendors