Right-on-Red Bill Withdrawn; NDOT to Implement Ban at Select Intersections

After several months of debate, a Metro councilmember has withdrawn a bill to ban vehicles from turning right on red at nearly 60 Nashville intersections.

However, the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) will implement the ban at 14 intersections over the next two weeks.

Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda withdrew her proposed ordinance at the Metro Council's meeting Tuesday night. In addition to the 14 intersections, she said other intersections will be studied and added in the coming months.

During a meeting of the council’s transportation and infrastructure committee Monday, Sepulveda cited a “productive conversation” with NDOT.

“We have a concrete plan now,” Sepulveda said Tuesday. "And if it wasn't concrete, I wouldn't have withdrawn [the legislation]."

“And I know that I, along with some of my other colleagues, will be keeping that [implementation] timeline close, and we will be having this conversation again if that is not the case.”

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Sepulveda’s initial bill, which was filed in July, would have banned turning right on red throughout Nashville’s entire urban services district — an area that includes large swaths of city's busiest vehicular, cycling and pedestrian areas. The bill was then reduced to apply to only 59 designated intersections, many of which are located downtown.

As a part of the revised legislation, and had it passed, NDOT would have continued studying more than 700 intersections at which the policy could have been implemented in the future.

This comes after Councilmember Jacob Kupin — whose district includes much of downtown — proposed at the council’s Oct. 6 meeting an amendment to reduce the number of initial intersections to 18 from 59. Since 2021, these 18 intersections have seen multiple accidents involving pedestrians/cyclists and  motor vehicles during a right turn, according to the amendment’s text.

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Sepulveda filed the bill just before a fatal vehicle crash involving pedestrians on Broadway Aug 1. Advocates of banning right on red have cited concerns surrounding roadway safety, including numerous pedestrian deaths having occurred within the last year. Opponents of the prohibition have cited worries that restricting right turns at red lights could lead to increased traffic congestion.

“We are saving lives at the end of the day," Sepulveda said. "We are going to save pedestrians, we're going to save cyclists, and the city is going to be better off. And this is not a catch-all. We are going to implement other measures.”

In other business:

• The council deferred a vote on Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s $544.7 million capital spending plan, following concerns surrounding an allocation of $35 million to fund the design and construction of a new Davidson County Sheriff’s Office jail complex.

• Councilmemembers also approved a $6 million allocation from the Barnes Housing Trust fund to build 39 affordable housing units.

• The council deferred a resolution brought forth by Councilmember Jacob Kupin to request NDOT and Metro Parks to review safety measures related to crosswalks and street crossings on greenways.