Riley Strain may be gone, but questions remain — chief among them how can Nashville prevent something like this from happening again? Strain's death sparked conversations about the safety of its citizens and tourists. Music City has a thriving night scene, but environmental hazards like the Cumberland River pose risks.
Speaking with WKRN, a Metro Councilmember proposed new safety resolutions that would put safeguards downtown. Particularly, the resolution would transform the river area.
"A lot of people, including myself, saw ourselves and Riley, right, this was an individual who went downtown, to have a good time with some friends, ended up leaving a bar, walking down the streets trying to find their way home with a tragic outcome," said Metro Councilmember Jacob Kupin.
Kupin suggested a two-pronged safety approach to the area. For one, the resolution would require agencies that preside over the review walk to write a report for proposed safety changes. Likewise, these agencies would study the area for potential safety issues. They would suggest additional safety measures.
Nashville Wants Changes After Riley Strain's Death
Measures include more lighting as well as cameras, rails, and more fencing. The resolution would also help to clean up the area as well. "We have hundreds of thousands of people who come through our city regularly, have a safe experience, enjoy themselves, and go home totally fine. So I want to emphasize that point, but at the same time, to me, one death is one too many," Kupin said.
However, there are also potential challenges as well. For one, there are several organizations working in the space, so it would require cooperation on multiple people's parts. "The challenge with the riverfront is we have so many entities working in a small space. So if you take, for example, the area that Riley disappeared, a section of that is NDOT property...another section is Metro Parks,'" he explained.
Likewise, the resolution would also have immediate changes as well. For instance, it would add additional lighting, fencing, and also call for more frequent cleanup.
"We don't want to wait a year and have anything else happen along the riverfront," Kupin said.
The resolution comes after Strain's death. Strain went missing after leaving Luke Bryan's 32 Bridge Bar. The establishment asked Strain to leave for apparent intoxication. Strain reportedly wanted to go back to his hotel, but he ended up going in the wrong direction. Authorities found his body after an extensive search.
