NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Voters will decide Tuesday whether Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s plan to improve public transportation will get the green light.

The “Choose How You Move” proposal would raise the sales tax to pay for some major changes that help people move to Davidson County.

The biggest part of the plan is building 12 new community transit hubs, like the North Nashville Bus Hub, which opened this summer. The WeGo bus network would also expand to 24/7 service and use newly built bus lanes on main 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.

“Take where we go and back — grocery store and doctors,” McClure said. “They have to go by bus if they don’t have a car. You just never know when your car is going to break down and it’s very convenient.”

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

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

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

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

What it promises

The program is divided into four categories – pavements, signage, service and safety.

Sidewalks:

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

Signals:

• 60 smart signals to replace current traffic lights along pikes and transit routes
• The signals use technology designed to track traffic, learn the flow of the area and adjust based on demand.
• The updates will also include push-and-go buttons and “go” and “no-go” beeps to increase safety

Service:

• New or upgraded bus stations
• 12 new transit centers with 2/3 in historically underrepresented communities
• 17 Parking and walking
• Adding more buses to reduce wait times and establish later service hours
• New routes to connect more destinations
• 2 bus garages (one new and one renovated)

Safety:

• 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.
• Using speed-reducing designs and segregated uses on some of Nashville’s most dangerous streets highlighted in the city’s Vision Zero plan
• Updates to the Nashville Traffic Management Center to improve signal timing with and between transit vehicles

COST

The program is estimated cost at 3.1 billion dollars and would be paid for through federal grants, transit system fare revenue and a half-penny sales tax increase.

Evans said studies of the proposal found it would cost closer to $6.9 billion when interest and inflation are factored in.

The plan would be paid for by a 0.5 percent sales tax increase, which would remain in place until the debt is fully repaid and the Metro Council determines it is no longer needed to support the program’s operating costs.

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

How it affects MNPS students and schools

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

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

What’s next

Nashvillians will ultimately decide whether this plan turns into “leadership” as the transportation referendum is on the November ballot. The plan needs a simple majority to pass.

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

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