NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan, Choose How You Move, is an initiative to improve the transportation system in Music City.

A Nashville community group, Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH) is supporting this plan.

Mayor O’Connell says the city needs major transit upgrades to keep up with growth and he’s asking residents to vote themselves a small sales tax increase to pay for it.

In 2018, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry asked taxpayers to approve a $5 billion plan that included light rail and an underground tunnel for buses downtown.

“The last time it didn’t pass, and it took seven years for us to get another plan to vote on, “Corey Jenkins Sr. emphasized. “We cannot afford to wait another seven years.”
Corey Jenkins Sr. is the co-chair of NOAH, and he says Mayor O’Connell’s “Choose How You Move” plan is a lot more practical.

It would expand some major bus routes, upgrade accident-prone intersections, build 28 miles of new sidewalks, and expand access to reduced or free public transit fares.

This new plan would cost about $3.1 billion, and it would allow the city to take advantage of federal funding.

“Those federal dollars go away very soon, so if we’re going to access them and use them, we need to,” Jenkins Sr. said. “That’s why this referendum is so important.”
Critics don’t like the idea of raising the sales tax to pay for it, no matter how small it is.

Mayor O’Connell says the city needs a dedicated funding source and believes a sales tax is the best option.

Jenkins Sr. emphasizes this plan has something for everyone.

“It affects the most people in our county,” Jenkins Sr. said. “Nearly every single person can use this if they choose to.”
The mayor’s “Choose How You Move” plan will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.