There has been talk about reducing Cumberland to three lanes (two travel lanes and a turn lane) over the past few years. I think it started when merchants on the strip formed a coalition and started discussing how to improve the area.

The trick the road designers are going to have to pull off is directing much of the through traffic on Cumberland to other routes, whether Neyland Drive or Western Ave or surface streets. I trust the Fort Sanders Neighborhood Association is on top of this. The possibility of Clinch or Grand being widened is lurking in the shadows. Widening Clinch would be a disaster, since it would almost certainly include numerous demolitions and further deterioration of safety and quiet along that already too busy road. With so much of the produce business having abandoned Grand, there is a lot of open space to work with in the NW corner of the Fort, with possible linkages to Ailor and Western, but the rail line and Tyson Park present formidable obstacles. I'd say Clinch Ave as we know it is at risk.