'For' votes in lead for Nashville transit referendum as returns start to come in
The early vote indicates Nashville's "Choose How You Move" $3.1 billion transit plan may be headed toward passage.
As of 7:50 p.m. the referendum was ahead with 131,608 for and just 69,221 against, signaling a green light for a major overhaul of the city's bus systems, sidewalks and traffic signals.
Under the plan, Davidson County's sales tax would increase by half a cent , which would go directly to funding the transit plan. The increase would go into effect Feb. 1 and put Davidson County in line with surrounding countries like Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford, Dickson and Maury, which all have a combined 9.75% sales tax.
That sales tax revenue would account for just under half of the plan's funding, according to the city's estimate, with the remaining funding coming other sources such as bond proceeds, fare revenue and federal grants, many of which are only available to cities with a dedicated source of transportation funding.
Passage would mark a major win for Mayor Freddie O'Connell, who has made the referendum a hallmark of his administration since he took the helm last year.
A "Choose How You Move" victory would be a shift from 2018, when voters derailed a similar referendum under then-Mayors Megan Barry and David Briley that included an ambitious light-rail project.
Keep up as polls close across the state
The transit plan would focus on mass improvements over the next several years, including 86 miles of new or upgraded sidewalks, hundreds of smart signals that can improve traffic flow, upgraded bus stops and transit centers, 24-hour bus service and 54 miles of high-capacity transit corridors.
The plan would mean big changes for dangerous roads like Dickerson Pike , which has seen high numbers of pedestrian deaths. Dickerson would get more funding for reconfigured streets, sidewalks, crosswalks and adaptive traffic signals.
O'Connell said the need for better public transit is critical as residents feel the growing strain of traffic congestion and rising housing and transportation costs.
Officials have noted that WeGo bus ridership levels have jumped past pre-pandemic numbers with ridership of more than 2.1 million people in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.
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But the plan isn't without its naysayers.
The Committee to Stop an UnFair Tax opposed the referendum saying low-income families would be unfairly burdened by paying a larger portion of their budgets in the sales tax hike.
Meanwhile, the Nashville Moves Action Fund, which poured more than $2.1 million into the "Choose How You Move" campaign, has faced scrutiny from the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. The state agency sent a letter last week demanding the group register with the state as a referendum committee by Election Day and disclose its donors.
