Nashville voters overwhelmingly approved Mayor Freddie O'Connell's transportation plan on Tuesday. Early voting results show a big lead for the mayor's transit referendum.
The "Choose How You Move" plan would improve bus service, add more sidewalks, and create smarter traffic lights among other things. But it comes at a cost. The mayor's plan calls for a half-cent hike in the sales tax. The sales tax increase is expected to cost families an extra $70 a year.
Mayor Freddie O'Connell celebrated the victory tonight saying "We have hundreds of thousands of Nashvillans who did this together. We made this choice together."
The "Choose How You Move" plan calls for $3.1 billion and promises 86 miles of new sidewalks in the first 15 years, along with a dozen new transit centers, new crosstown bus routes, 24-hour bus service, and nearly 600 traffic lights upgraded to a connected, smart network.
If you want to see details on how the plan would change options in your neighborhood, you can check out an interactive map.
The Mayor told supporters on Tuesday night he thinks this plan was successful because it was more specific and clear. He said his plan adds lots of new sidewalks, improves bus services and incorporates 600 smart traffic lights whereas the 2018 plan would have dug a tunnel through downtown and put in light rail.
The Mayor says work on the new plan can start right away. He says we could see sidewalks under construction sometime this winter and improved bus service by the spring.
The sales tax hike will go into effect in April and the mayor says visitors and tourists will help cover much of the cost.
The half-cent sales tax increase would increase Nashville's combined state and local sales tax from 9.25 percent to 9.75 percent.
Several nearby counties already pay 9.75 percent in sales tax including Dickson, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson Counties.
