Mayor Freddie O'Connell is jockeying to include his proposed $3.1 billion transportation improvement plan on the November ballot, with a Metro Council vote the next step toward that effort, his office announced Friday.
Pending council approval, the Choose How You Move initiative, which O'Connell announced in April, would add an additional half-cent sales tax charge to give dedicated funding for the city's transportation system. The ordinance's first reading is set for the June 18 Metro Council meeting.
Initial cost would fund new transit centers, bus service improvements and traffic signal upgrades
The proposed sales tax increase is expected to cover about 40 percent of the plan's total cost, with the differential to be funded via fares, bonds and state and federal grant programs. O'Connell has said having a dedicated transit funding source will render Nashville more competitive for limited federal grant funds.
Recurring costs may total an estimated $111 million.
Formally called Choose How You Move, An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety, the plan includes bus rapid transit, 86 miles of new or improved sidewalks, high-tech intersections to improve traffic flow, expanded bus service times, additional community transit centers and added security.
“Nashvillians told us in the Imagine Nashville survey that their top vision was for a more connected city, and today we take another step toward that goal,” says O’Connell in Friday's release. “I appreciate the council’s consideration of this program and look forward to voters choosing the transportation future they’d like to see.”
