Metro Nashville officials want fewer automobiles clogging up the roads every morning and every evening, and they especially want fewer people driving to work solo.
They will spend at least $1.2 million in taxpayer money to try to make that happen.
Members of the Metro Planning Department this month launched what they call the Nashville Connector.
They say the program will inform city residents about other transportation options — including carpooling, among other things.
“Our initial focus is large employers in downtown Nashville,” said Nashville Connector spokesman Sean Braisted in an email to The Tennessee Star.
Braisted did not say how many, if any, employers have already contacted Nashville Connector. He did say the project is in its launch phase and will have a commuter challenge Oct. 22-28. According to a press release, the challenge encourages people who work downtown to try at least one new type of commute option at least once that week.
A $1.2 million Tennessee Department of Transportation grant funds the program, with the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority providing an additional $293,560, according to the resolution calling for this Transportation Demand Management program.
One alternative means of getting to work, according to a News Channel 5 report on the Nashville Connector, is riding a bicycle.
The Tennessee Star asked Braisted if that was practical, seeing as how people would likely show up to work covered in sweat.
“It may be convenient for some who live near work or close to a transit line to use biking as part of their daily commute,” Braisted said.
“Nashville Connector is working with major developments to encourage employers to include showers and lockers. Electric mobility devices are being used for short ‘sweat-free’ trips.”
Nashville Connector, Braisted went on to say, is voluntary.
Miranda Clements, the program manager for Nashville Connector, told The Nashville Business Journal that the traditional thought of “‘one person, one car’ can’t be the future for downtown Nashville.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Ride a bicycle to work?? Yeah right! Get run over maybe! The stupidity of our elected officials is overwhelming. Easy to throw away over a million dollars for nothing, Vote these imbeciles OUT!