BRINGING SAFER LIGHTING TO A NASHVILLE COMMUNITY GREENWAY AFTER DARK

Project at a Glance

• Location: Nashville, TN

• Client: Metro Parks

• Purpose: Improve safety and visibility for community members using the greenway after dark. 

​

About the Project

The Rolling Mill Hill Greenway sits within a residential development just south of Downtown Nashville off 1st Avenue, offering scenic views of the city skyline and the Cumberland River and connecting to Riverfront Park and Ascend Amphitheater. It is a public space used by the community at all hours of the day. As sundown hours approached, inadequate lighting created safety concerns for visitors navigating the greenway, ramps, and stair areas. Metro Parks engaged Stansell Electric to re-lamp existing pole heads with new fixtures and replace six bollards with full poles to better illuminate the stair area, keeping the space safe and accessible after dark.

​

Challenges:

The most significant challenge on this project came from the terrain itself. Several poles were positioned along a ramp on a significant incline, making standard lift equipment unusable. Working on an angle with traditional ladders would have created unnecessary safety risk for the crew.

 

An additional challenge came in matching the finish of the new pole heads to existing poles that had weathered and faded from years of outdoor exposure, requiring careful color matching to maintain a consistent aesthetic throughout the greenway.

​

Solutions:

To address the incline, the team utilized a portable single-person lift with leveling capabilities, allowing crew members to work Injury Free and efficiently on the ramp without compromising the quality of the work or the safety of the crew. The leveling features eliminated the instability that a ladder on an uneven surface would have introduced.

 

For the color matching challenge, the team painted the new pole heads on site to blend seamlessly with the existing faded poles, preserving the visual consistency of the greenway

​

Community Impact:

This project is part of a broader ongoing effort by Stansell Electric and Metro Parks to bring LED lighting to public spaces across the community. For a greenway that connects neighbors to one of Nashville's most-visited corridors along the river and Ascend Amphitheater, reliable lighting after dark makes a real difference. Better illumination means safer greenways, trails, and gathering spaces for everyone who uses them. When public infrastructure is well lit, communities feel safer and people use the spaces more.

​

Outcome:

The Rolling Mill Hill Greenway is now better illuminated, safer after dark, and visually consistent throughout. The project was completed to the client's satisfaction, with Metro Parks expressing strong approval of both the quality of work and the finished result.

• 26 light heads swapped and painted to match existing poles

• 6 bollards replaced with full metal poles in the stair area

• Portable leveling lift utilized for safe work on inclined terrain

• LED upgrades extend Stansell's ongoing commitment to safer public spaces​​