Mayor John Cooper's preliminary $1.5 billion transit plan is raising eyebrows among Metro Council members who recently met with his representatives to preview the ideas.
The primary concern: Where's the money?
Nashville is projecting a $200 million hit to its budget this fiscal year from the COVID-19 business shutdowns, and calls to reverse the recent 34% property tax increase are only growing louder. Meanwhile, Nashville's public transit system is hemorrhaging millions of dollars from reduced ridership.
"I have no idea how they’re going to implement a single thing from that plan for the remainder of this term," said downtown Council Member Freddie O'Connell, who has worked to enact prior transit expansions. "Right now I can’t get $75,000 for the Third Avenue North bike lane project and we've already cleared all the plans and designs."
Nashville voters shot down a $9 billion transit plan in 2018 that relied on a sales tax increase to build light rail and rapid bus transit connected by a tunnel.
Now, Cooper wants to focus on enhancing existing bus routes and stations, modernizing traffic signals and infrastructure, expanding sidewalks, and repairing potholes and damaged streets.
The funding will come from specialized new grants, creative budgeting and private contributions, Cooper's representatives said.
Projects popular, but funding a question
A final plan with specifics will be presented for support to the full Metro Council sometime before the end of the year, said Faye DiMassimo, the mayor's senior advisor for transportation and infrastructure.
"The draft plan proposes funding based upon individual project opportunities while preserving consideration of a possible dedicated funding source in the future," DiMassimo said. "The projects will be pursued based upon existing prioritizations in place for certain types, including neighborhood infrastructure such as sidewalks and traffic calming."
A show of support from the Metro Council will boost the city's grant requests, she said.
"I view it as them saying they're going to be opportunistic as funding sources become available," said At-large Council Member Bob Mendes. "As a direction, I think more focus on neighborhood infrastructure sounds great. But, without being tied to funding, I don't know what that would be but a statement of present intentions."
The plan's proposed projects have significant support. They include:
- Eleven new transit centers, including one anchoring bus rapid transit on Clarksville Pike connecting North Nashville with West End and East Nashville via Trinity Lane. A Green Hills/Hillsboro center is also mentioned.
- New bus rapid transit lines and faster system-wide service.
- Sixty-eight new bus shelters and 25 improved shelters.
Council Member Angie Henderson, chair of the Public Works Committee, said she would love to see the ideas come to fruition.
"I'm pleased with this draft plan's recognition that sidewalks and safe crossings and a better bus system are fundamental for an accessible and successful city," Henderson said. "In the near term, I'd like to see more robust deployment of shelters at bus stops and a more significant expansion of the bikeway network."
The proposal allocates $35 million for new bikeways over the next five years and $400 million for new sidewalks, bridges and street repairs.
But O'Connell said there are few options when it comes to producing new transportation funds.
"I don't know any other dedicated funding source that allows you to build a transit system other than sales tax," O'Connell said. "I'm in the fifth year of waiting for delivery of 900 linear feet of sidewalk on Herman Street.
"People are walking more and want more access to open space, so this is the best possible time to do low-cost, high-impact infrastructure. And we can't even do that. I hope that changes over the next three years, but I can't say I'm optimistic."
Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at smazza@tennessean.com, by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.
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Mayor Cooper's new $1.5B transit plan drawing more questions than answers - The Tennessean
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