NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — “Today I am excited to announce my intention to have a transportation improvement program on the ballot in November," Mayor Freddie O'Connell said.
On Feb. 15, O'Connell shared a plan for Nashville and neighboring areas that he intends for all voters to be a part of — improving city transportation resources. He plans to use federal tax dollars to help fund the plan.
“Today we are not releasing a map or unveiling a plan, we are pressing the go button on a process to give voters the best choice. For the next 6 weeks we will be sharing WeGo and NDOT updates on their progress with and seeking input from the public and Metro Council members. We will be working with two advisory committees — one technical and one community based — to finalize a plan that works for Nashville,” O'Connell said.
So, it's been announced.
But how will it become a reality?
Here's the timeline.
End of March: Financial plan ready for audit, then it goes to Metro Council for approval on the ballot
Summer and Fall: If Metro Council approves, the conversation about how to make the city easier to move around will continue — with opportunities for community input.
November: Nov. 5 is O'Connell's goal for the referendum. The plan will be on the ballot in November, when it will be up to voters to decide whether or not to adopt it.
Making Nashville's streets safer for everyone is something that has been talked about and researched for at least a decade. It's a conversation we've seen before.
So much so that the question becomes:
What makes this time different, and why is it important to you?
O'Connell talked about this in his announcement quite a bit.
He says transit is popular.
"74 percent of us strongly agree that investing in city-wide public transportation is an important priority for our future," O'Connell said.
He backed this up with data from Imagine Nashville, who talked to more than 10,000 Nashvillians over the past few months about key issues like this one.
Here's what he thinks it has to offer.
With the program, O'Connell says there would be more community transit centers that connect to each other, more traffic control with updated traffic signals, and 24/7 access to buses.
This means if you are thinking about using the bus system, you don't have to go all the way downtown just to get to another area of the city. It means less waiting at red lights when there's no other cars around. It means less restrictions on travel methods if you don't work a 9 to 5 job.
Metro Council still has to approve the program before we have a chance to continue the conversation — you can call your district council member to share with them how you feel about it if you want to start getting involved now.
We've been paying close attention to the potential changes coming for Nashville's pedestrians, bus routes and all around road safety. Here are a few of our other stories, if you want to catch up:
