NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Voters will decide Tuesday whether Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Transportation Improvement Plan will get the green light.

The “Choose How You Move” proposal would increase sales tax to pay for some important changes that help people get around Davidson County.

The biggest part of the plan is the construction of 12 new community transit centers, like the North Nashville bus center that opened this summer. The WeGo bus network would also be expanded to 24/7 service and use newly built bus lanes on major roads.

Passenger Betty McClure said she would vote in favor of the proposal because the bus system has been a great help to her and her husband since their car broke down.

“Let’s get to where we’re going and back: to the grocery store and to the doctors,” McClure said. “They have to travel by bus if they don’t have a car. “You never know when your car is going to break down and it is very convenient.”

Emily Evans does not support the proposal because it creates a regressive tax that she says does not benefit people throughout the county.

Evans helped organize the Committee to Stop Unfair Taxes and said the city should have paid for traffic light and sidewalk improvements instead of trying to build a regional transportation network.

“This is a Tennessee problem,” Evans said. “This is not a Nashville problem. The fact that people have to get to downtown Nashville or Midtown from Maury County every day will not be solved by this solution. All this is going to do is move the people who are already here on buses, assuming they use them. Less than 6% of the population relies on public transportation in Nashville to get to work.”

Evans said people already pay enough to live in Nashville because there are much higher property taxes than surrounding counties.

What it promises

The program is divided into four categories: sidewalks, signs, service and safety.

Sidewalks:

• Address the nearly 2,000 miles of missing sidewalk segments in areas with the greatest need by installing sidewalks
• Safety improvements at 35 high-injury intersections highlighted in Vision Zero implementation plan
• 35 miles of new or improved bike facilities

Signs:

• 60 smart signs to replace current traffic lights along highways and transit routes
• The signals use technology designed to observe traffic, understand the flow of the area and adapt based on demand.
• The upgrades will also include push-to-cross buttons and audible “walk” and “don’t walk” signals to increase safety.

Service:

• New or improved bus stops
• 12 new transit centers with 2/3 in historically underrepresented communities
• 17 Parks and attractions
• Add more buses to decrease wait times and establish later service times
• New routes to connect more destinations
• 2 bus garages (one new and one renovated)

Security:

• Improvements to follow Nashville’s “Complete Green Streets,” which is an executive order requiring streets to consider all users, whether they walk, bike, or drive.
• Use designs that reduce speeding and separate uses on some of Nashville’s most dangerous streets highlighted in the city’s Vision Zero plan.
• Updates to Nashville Traffic Management Center to improve signal synchronization with traffic vehicles and each other

The cost

The program is It is estimated to cost $3.1 billion. and would be paid for with federal grants, revenue from transit system fares and a half-cent sales tax increase.

Evans said studies on the proposal have found that it will end up costing about $6.9 billion when interest and inflation are taken into account.

The plan would be paid for with a 0.5% sales tax increase that would remain in effect until the debt is paid in full and the Metro Council determines it is no longer necessary to support the program’s operating costs.

The sales tax increase is projected to cost most people in Nashville about $70 per year.

How it affects MNPS students and schools

According to Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, nearly 75 percent of MNPS schools are “within a quarter mile of transit, walking and biking improvements” in the plan.

• 95 schools will get enhanced WeGo Transit service.
• 24 schools will now have access to WeGo services.
• 16 schools will receive complete street improvements to assist students who walk and bike.

What’s next?

Nashville residents will ultimately decide whether this plan will become “momentum” as the transportation referendum will be on the November ballot. The plan needs a simple majority to be approved.

If approved, the increase would take effect on February 1, 2025.

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