Transition team recommends Nashville mayor consider proposing 2024 transit referendum
O’Connell plans to hire a Transportation Policy Director before the year’s end to determine the possibility of a transit referendum on the 2024 ballot.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transition committee recommended Tuesday he should quickly consider whether Nashville should vote on a dedicated, long-term funding plan for public transit.
If a referendum were to happen, the transition team suggested it be on the November 2024 ballot, when turnout is highest.
The last transit referendum, which proposed several light rail and rapid bus transit lines, failed in 2018.
O’Connell said Tuesday that he does not anticipate proposing an extensive light rail service but instead a dedicated buy system with a network of transit centers across the city.
“It means it doesn’t matter whether you’re in healthcare or hospitality, whether you’re a first responder or a teacher, you’re going to have access to something that helps you move more affordably, more easily around the city,” O’Connell said. “I’d love to see a high-capacity corridor connect the airport and the city. This is a common feature of most other major American cities.”
O’Connell said one of his priorities is building more sidewalks in Nashville neighborhoods, which could be paid for with Tennessee’s IMPROVE Act funds if the city votes to invest in public transportation.
“It’s going to be one of the only meaningful ways we have to build sidewalks as quickly as most neighborhoods know they need them,” O’Connell said.
O’Connell plans to hire a Transportation Policy Director before the year’s end to determine the possibility of a transit referendum on the 2024 ballot.
O’Connell’s transition committee also recommended the city maintain its focus on the Imagine East Bank Vision Plan, which prioritizes affordable housing, transit, green space, walkability, and bike-ability.
“If it was a surprise, it’s a pleasant surprise that the committee looked very closely at Mayor Cooper and Planning Director Lucy Kempf’s Imagine East Bank Plan and basically said, ‘There’s a lot of good material here, stick with this,’ so I’m not expecting a comprehensive reinvention there,” O’Connell said.
You can read the transition committee’s full report by clicking here.
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