A new transit plan in Nashville, Choose How You Move, is an initiative to improve transportation that has been proposed by Mayor Freddie O’Connell.
The plan would expand major bus routes, upgrade accident prone intersections, build 28 miles of new sidewalks and expand access to reduced or free public transit fares.
The upgrades from the $3.1 billion plan will help the Music City keep up with growth. Mayor O’Connell is asking residents to vote themselves a sales tax to pay for it.
"It's not a new conversation, but it is a new opportunity," O'Connell said. "It is an opportunity to move after being stuck for so long, and it's an opportunity to invest in ourselves and the people who make our city go, and … invest in options for how to move around the city conveniently and safely."
Former Mayor Megan Barry asked taxpayers in 2018 to approve a $5 billion plan that included light rail and underground tunnels for buses. The co-chair of Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH), says the new plan is more practical.
The new plan would also allow Nashville to take advantage of federal funding.
The half-cent tax increase would cover around 40% of the total cost. The remainder would be funded through fares, bonds and state and federal programs.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Source: The Tennessean, FOX 17
