Tag: mass transit

Memphis Mayor Fires Entire Transit Board After Third-Party Report Exposed ‘Culture of Poor Accountability’

Tom Pappert
Memphis Mayor Paul Young

Memphis Mayor Paul Young on Friday fired all nine members of the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) Board of Commissioners following the release of a third-party report that claimed the members were responsible for creating a “culture of poor accountability” for the troubled transit service.

Young reportedly called his decision an effort to create “a clean-slate environment,” according to NewsChannel 3, who revealed the mayor directly cited the third-party report completed by TransPro and sent to the city last week.

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Ben Cunningham: Nashville Mayor’s Transit Referendum ‘Purely Illegal’ Under 2017 IMPROVE Act Despite Unanimous Metro Council Support

Kaitlin Housler
Freddie O'Connell

Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, is warning Nashvillians about Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s multi-billion dollar transit plan, which will be presented to voters this November via ballot referendum.

O’Connell’s transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” would be funded by a half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax to construct miles of new sidewalks, bus stops, transit centers, parking facilities, and upgraded traffic signals throughout Nashville.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Declares Transit Referendum ‘Great Opportunity’ After Council Approves November Vote

Tom Pappert
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Wednesday declared his controversial transit referendum a “great opportunity” for the city after it was unanimously approved by the Metro Council, with every lawmaker present voting to allow Nashvillians to vote in November on whether to fund the $6.93 billion transportation package called illegal by critics. 

After the transit referendum was approved by the Metro Nashville City Council with unanimous support from the lawmakers present, O’Connell declared his approval in a statement, noting the final decision will go to Nashville residents in November.

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Los Angeles’ Troubling Crime Stats Stemming from Public Transit Offers Glimpse into Nashville’s Future with Mayor O’Connell’s Transit Plan

Kaitlin Housler
Los Angeles Buses

A report out of Los Angeles regarding the city’s crime rates on its public transportation services is being flagged by a local watchdog in Nashville as a glimpse of what Music City’s future may look like if Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s multi-billion-dollar transit plan is implemented.

O’Connell’s transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” would be funded by a half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax to construct miles of new sidewalks, bus stops, transit centers, parking facilities, and upgraded traffic signals around Nashville.

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Nashville’s Legally Dubious $3.1 Billion Transportation Plan Sparks Debate over Future Tax Burden

Kaitlin Housler
Freddie O'Connell

Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said not only does Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s $3.1 billion transit referendum, which is expected to be presented to Davidson County voters on the November ballot, appear illegal under the 2017 IMPROVE Act, but its implementation would inevitably raise property taxes for residents.

O’Connell unveiled his transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” last month.

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Ben Cunningham Calls Nashville Mayor’s $3.1 Billion Transit Referendum ‘Absurd’

Kaitlin Housler
Freddie O'Connell

Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said not only does Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit referendum appear to be illegal under the IMPROVE Act, but the transit plan’s overall vision of commuters suddenly switching over to public transport is “absurd.”

O’Connell unveiled his $3.1 billion transit plan, called “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” last week, which would be funded through a half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Shares New Bus Lines Proposed in Transit Referendum

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Thursday provided details of how his proposed transit referendum would expand lines and services for the city’s bus system.

O’Connell posted the details to the social media platform X, where he wrote the bus transit improvements are “a key element” of his referendum. The mayor confirmed, “We’ll have local, frequent, new, and express service updates.”

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Ben Cunningham: Nashville Mayor’s Transit Plan Appears to be Illegal

Kaitlin Housler
Freddie O'Connell

Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan, which is expected to be on the November ballot, is likely illegal under the IMPROVE Act, which passed the Tennessee General Assembly in 2017.

The 2017 IMPROVE Act, signed by former Governor Bill Haslam, permits local governments to seek a dedicated funding source via surcharge to support mass transportation projects through local referendum.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Announces Date to Reveal Full Transit Referendum

Tom Pappert
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell will reportedly announce the full contents of his transit referendum, called “Choose How You Move,” on April 19.

O’Connell will outline his full plans for the future of transit in Nashville next week, with both the Nashville Post and the Nashville Business Journal confirming the April 19 unveiling will be held one week from Friday at the Southeast Community Center in Antioch.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Claims Transit Referendum Will Include Plans for 600 New Traffic Signals

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell claimed on Thursday that his transit referendum will include plans for approximately 600 new traffic signals, and that new technology will be used to streamline the flow of vehicle traffic in the Music City.

O’Connell addressed Nashville drivers in a series of posts to the social media platform X, writing, “one of the most important elements” to his “transportation improvement program” involves “how it improves how everyone moves, including people driving.”

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Mayor Freddie O’Connell Courts Nashville Business Leaders to Fund Mass Transit Campaign

Tom Pappert
Nashville Mayor

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell attended a Monday evening meeting with the city’s leading business leaders and lobbyists in a bid to secure their support for his mass transit referendum scheduled for November.

The meeting between O’Connell and Nashville community leaders took place at the offices of Ingraham Industries Inc., according to the Nashville Business Journal, which reported the mayor met with many of the groups and individuals who backed the failed transit plan pitched by disgraced Mayor Megan Barry in 2018.

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Poll Claiming Nashville Wants Public Transit Admits Oversampling Black, Hispanic Citizens for ‘Greater Insight’

Tom Pappert
Nashville Buses

A poll touted by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Wednesday, which claims the majority of the city’s residents want greater investments into public transits, admittedly over sampled black and Hispanic citizens in a bid to achieve “greater insight” into city’s mood.

The Imagine Nashville survey claimed that 74 percent of Nashville residents strongly agree with the city spending additional money on public transportation. The pollsters further claimed that 33 percent of respondents cited a lack of public transportation as an issue where the city needs to improve.

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Nashville Mayor O’Connell Announces November Transportation Referendum but Offers No Plan Details

Kaitlin Housler
Nashville Transit

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell officially announced Thursday that there will be a public transit referendum on the November 5 ballot, however, did not reveal any specifics to his awaited transportation plan.

“After getting the green light on both legal and financial aspects of the process, the administration is putting a referendum in front of the voters on November 5,” O’Connell’s office said in a press release.

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Reportedly Planning Mass Transit Referendum After ‘Car-Free Streets’ Executive Order

Tom Pappert
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell is reportedly planning to introduce a major mass transit project this year that will need to be approved by voters in November, and would likely require an increase to the city’s sales tax.

A report published Monday by Axios claims O’Connell is days away from announcing a “mass transit funding proposal” that will be “less downtown and tourist-focused than” the proposal previously defeated by voters in Metro Nashville in 2018.

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Pittsburgh Mass Transit Budget Still Treading Water

The Center Square

Amid declining ridership rates, Pittsburgh’s public transit system has become more dependent on federal funds to remain afloat. 

The Port Authority of Allegheny County, which serves Pittsburgh’s 300,000 residents, budgeted $95 million in federal emergency funding to prevent the system from going into debt in fiscal year 2023, according to budget documents. The transit agency received $502.5 million in federal stimulus funding.

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Young Man Fatally Shot on Nashville MTA Bus

Wendy Wilson

An 18-year-old has been charged in the fatal shooting Monday of another 18-year-old on a Nashville Metro Transit Authority (MTA) bus in Madison. Antonio S. Jones is charged with criminal homicide in the fatal shooting of his acquaintance, Tyvonceea Hayden. The shooting happened at noon as the bus was traveling on Gallatin Pike, according to a Metro Nashville Police Department news release. Jones and Hayden, who apparently had been dating someone in Jones’ family, had both boarded the bus a short time earlier outside the Madison Library. The two young men exchanged only a few words before the shooting, witnesses said. After the bus pulled over at MTA’s Gallatin Pike/Due West Avenue stop, Jones and his girlfriend, who was carrying an infant, fled the bus in opposite directions. The girlfriend was detained by officers on Due West Avenue. A relative drove Jones to the police department’s East Precinct, where he surrendered. He was taken to the Madison Precinct, where he declined to be interviewed. According to WKRN News 2, this has been “the deadliest year for teens, surpassing even 2015 when Metro police said Nashville had a youth violence problem. Twenty-three teens aged 19 and under have been murdered this year, while…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Defends Mass Transit Plan, Raises Cost

Wendy Wilson

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry defended her controversial mass transit plan Monday at a Rotary Club meeting, reports the Nashville Business Journal. And on Wednesday she raised the cost – from $5.2 billion to $5.4 billion. Barry’s plan has faced a growing chorus of critics who have questioned its costs and practicality. But in her speech to the Rotary Club’s Nashville chapter, Barry tried to dispel three myths she said critics have created about her proposal, which involves building a light rail network, improving and expanding bus service, and building an underground tunnel downtown. She wants Davidson County voters in May to approve four tax increases, including a sales tax hike, to help fund the project. The project’s price increase is the result of new plans to extend the Charlotte Avenue light rail corridor. Resources have already been found to cover the expense and the proposed tax increases won’t change, Barry said in a press release. Barry said Monday the three false ideas promoted by critics are that transit ridership is falling, Nashville doesn’t have the density to support light rail, and self-driving cars will eliminate the need for mass transit. Saying that it’s “disingenuous to dance on transit’s grave,” Barry pointed to…

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Global Economist Questions Mass Transit Plans as Criticism of Mayor Megan Barry’s Nashville Proposal Grows

Wendy Wilson

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s $5.2 billion mass transit plan continues to attract criticism, including from the senior economic adviser for a global real estate firm whose views on mass transit have been changing. Spencer Levy of CBRE was interviewed this week by the Nashville Business Journal while in Nashville  for a conference. CBRE is the largest commercial real estate services and investment firm in the world and the largest in Nashville. Levy used to think that when in came to transit, the more the better, and he was sure that cities with limited transportation networks would see only limited growth. But he told Nashville Business Journal that he recognizes that hasn’t happened in cities like Nashville and Austin, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina, which have all experienced tremendous growth. Levy said he has also changed his outlook because of changing technology. “Technology is moving so quickly, many places now are foregoing certain types of transit-oriented development — and even parking garages — because of the ability to get around town with Ubers and and where self-driving cars likely will be in 10 or 15 years,” he said. Levy said he still wants cities to invest in infrastructure, but think hard about…

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Mt. Juliet Takes Steps to Resolve Conflict with RTA Over Music City Star Commuter Rail

Wendy Wilson

Mt. Juliet city commissioners voted this week to pay $30,000 to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) if the RTA will improve the Music City Star light rail station. Mt. Juliet and the RTA have been feuding over finances for the Nashville area’s only light rail line. The problems come as Davidson County debates implementing a large-scale mass transit plan. The Music City Star offers service between downtown Nashville and Lebanon and has stops in Lebanon, Mt. Juliet, Martha, Hermitage, Donelson and Riverfront Station. NewsChannel 5 Nashville reports: The RTA said Mt. Juliet has not paid its $30,000 annual operations payment for the last four years. Mt. Juliet city leaders said they stopped making payments when the RTA wasn’t willing to make improvements to the station. City leaders maintained the $30,000 is an optional fee and not required by law. The city has maintained its roughly $2,500 yearly dues without any problem. City leaders said they felt the $30,000 was better spent on improvement projects within the city. Because it wasn’t getting the money it said it needed from Mt. Juliet, the RTA had been discussing reducing rail service, implementing parking fees and ticket surcharges, or discontinuing service to Mt. Juliet. Commissioners…

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Cato Institute Expert: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s Mass Transit Plan ‘A Bad Investment’

Wendy Wilson

A senior fellow with the Cato Institute is the latest expert to criticize Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s $5.2 billion mass transit plan. The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank based in Washington, D.C. Barry wants to raise taxes to pay for a light-rail network, improved and expanded bus service, and an underground tunnel downtown. Currently, the Music City Star connecting Lebanon and downtown Nashville is the only commuter rail service in the area. Randal O’Toole wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal last week in which he criticized Barry’s plan for Davidson County, as well as mass transit proposals in San Antonio and Tampa. O’Toole wrote: These proposals are questionable at best and reckless at worst, given that transit ridership—including bus and what little rail these regions have—is down in all three jurisdictions. This is a nationwide trend: Data released this week by the Federal Transit Administration shows that ridership is falling in nearly every major urban area (with Seattle as a notable exception)… The main reason for this drop-off is that low gas prices and ride-sharing services have given people better options. Census data show that 96% of American workers live in households with at least one car,…

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Eight Arrested After Fight at Music City Central Bus Station in Downtown Nashville

Wendy Wilson

Eight young people were arrested Tuesday afternoon outside the Music City Central bus station in downtown Nashville as a result of a physical altercation. Some resisted arrest when police arrived. Patricia Hill, 18, allegedly struck an officer in the face and continued to struggle with him until taken into custody, according to a Metro Nashville Police Department news release. The officer was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released for eye and knee injuries. Hill was charged with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, and was jailed on a $4,500 bond. Also arrested, and charged with disorderly conduct, were Kevin Haynes, 18, and James Scales Jr., 24. In addition, three males and two females ages 15-17, were arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and criminal trespassing. Some critics of Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s $5.2 billion mass transit plan have raised concerns about the potential for greater criminal activity if the project goes forward. They point to past problems at the Music City Central bus station and worry they could surface elsewhere on public transportation and at transit stations. Barry’s plan calls for expanded bus service and light rail. Last year, four teens were injured in a shooting at…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s Transit Plan Faces Criticism From Working Class

Wendy Wilson

Many critics of Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s mass transit proposal are conservatives and libertarians, but her plans have also prompted criticism from left-leaning advocates of the poor and working class. A group called People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing and Employment (PATHE) has formed to press the progressive Democratic mayor and other Metro leaders to make affordable housing, higher wages and immediate improvements to the bus system greater priorities. A key element of Barry’s proposal is light rail along five corridors, but PATHE maintains that “light rail is meaningless if most of us can no longer afford to live along the routes,” according to a statement on the group’s website describing its mission and purpose. The statement also says: While no one denies that our public transit system needs major expansion, we still have not been presented with a plan that addresses the most pressing crises facing our communities, mainly economically distressed neighborhoods and residents. The experience of other cities, including Denver and Atlanta, has shown that without explicit community benefits (or equivalent measures) legally written into or alongside major transit projects, there are unintended, devastating consequences for everyday people. These include dramatic cost of living hikes along new transit corridors, mass displacement…

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Some Nashville Entrepreneurs Question Mayor Megan Barry’s Mass Transit Plan

Wendy Wilson

While a number of Nashville entrepreneurs support Mayor Megan Barry’s $5.2 billion mass transit plan, some are saying the proposal is outdated for the needs of today. The Nashville chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization has surveyed members on the proposal for Davidson County, reports Nashville Business Journal. Forty-four of the chapter’s more than 200 members responded. Eighteen percent said they are “strongly against” the mass transit plan, 6 percent are “somewhat against” it and 3 percent “neither support nor oppose” the proposal. Forty-five percent “strongly support” the plan and 28 percent “somewhat support” it. However, even some in favor of the plan expressed reservations in comments. Those opposed said new technology is consigning light rail to a thing of the past and that Nashville should be part of the latest innovation in transportation. Other critics have voiced similar concerns, saying people today want customized door-to-door transportation offered by services such as Uber and Lyft. They say city officials need to take a closer look at those services, and at how self-driving cars could have an impact in the future, as well as how technology will soon allow even more people to work from home. Some also want the city to consider…

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Manhattan Institute Expert: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s Mass Transit Plan ‘Makes No Sense’

Wendy Wilson

A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute conservative think tank has criticized Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s $5.2 billion mass transit proposal for Davidson County. “Building a system like this makes no sense in a city like Nashville,” wrote Aaron Renn, who specializes in urban issues and economic development. Barry’s plan calls for a light rail system along five corridors, an underground tunnel downtown and upgraded buses. The project would be funded with federal grants, bonds, fare revenues and tax surcharges. Barry is asking Metro Council to place a referendum on the ballot in May to raise taxes. A half percent sales tax surcharge would start in July 2018, increasing to 1 percent in 2023. There also would be surcharges on the hotel/motel tax, local rental car tax, and business and excise tax. Renn says the “reasons are obvious” why the plan wouldn’t work. “Nashville is a very sprawling city with highly dispersed origins and destinations of traffic,” he said. “It lacks the gigantic downtown employment centers of New York or Chicago that are well-suited to transit.” Nashville is a city built around the car and is not among “a very limited quantity of districts designed in a transit oriented way,” Renn wrote,…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Unveils Plans for Huge $5.2 Billion Mass Transit Project

Wendy Wilson

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry released a detailed proposal Tuesday for a huge $5.2 billion mass transit project for the Nashville area that calls for four different types of tax increases. Barry will ask Metro Council to schedule a referendum for May 2018 to ask voters to approve the plan, called “Let’s Move Nashville: Metro’s Transportation Solution.” The mayor and her allies have been involved in efforts for some time to promote a tentative regional mass transit plan for Middle Tennessee they say would cost $6 billion. That plans for Metro Nashville alone now carry a $5.2 billion price tag reflects the ambitious nature of Barry’s vision, and will subject the progressive Democrat to even more criticism from those already skeptical of the project. The project would include light rail and electric buses, as well as improvements to existing transportation. In recent weeks, Barry has come up with a controversial idea for an underground tunnel in downtown Nashville for trains and buses. The tunnel would cost more than $900 million, which has significantly added to the overall cost. Barry presented her proposal at the Music City Center. The Nashville Tea Party later slammed her for saying during her speech that “there’s…

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Nashville Tea Party Asks Mayor Megan Barry to Provide More Details of Mass Transit Proposal

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

The Nashville Tea Party is calling on Nashville Mayor Megan Barry to release detailed plans for a tentative $6 billion regional mass transit project. Barry has said she will put a referendum on the ballot next year to raise taxes for the project, designed to be phased in over 25 years. The proposal she’s backing makes heavy use of light rail, as well as rapid buses. The Nashville Business Journal has reported that Barry is also considering underground transit downtown. “If approved, these new taxes will burden Middle Tennessee taxpayers for decades,” the Nashville Tea Party said in a press release Monday. “The mayor’s current petition campaign simply asks taxpayers to pledge they will ‘pay for it’”. “This amounts to the mayor asking taxpayers to sign a blank check,” Ben Cunningham, president of the Nashville Tea Party, said in the press release. The press release says that the Nashville Tea Party wants the public to have the complete details now and not “in bits and pieces over the coming months.” It notes that the IMPROVE Act passed by the state legislature earlier this year requires that the public be well informed before a referendum vote. The IMPROVE Act raised the gas tax…

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RTA: Mt. Juliet Not Paying for Music City Star Commuter Rail Service

Wendy Wilson

The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) and Mt. Juliet city officials are sparring over costs of operating the Music City Star commuter rail service. The RTA claims that Mt. Juliet has not paid its operating contribution since 2014. The Lebanon Democrat reports that RTA staff members plan to meet with Mt. Juliet officials to discuss how the shortfall could affect Music City Star service in the city. “We really don’t want to do anything punitive to Mt. Juliet, but it’s become an issue because this is an ongoing problem,” Sumner County executive Anthony Holt told the local paper. “We’re not asking them to pay more. We’re asking them to really contribute their fair share.” The problems in Mt. Juliet come as Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is pushing plans for a proposed $6 billion regional transit project to be phased in over 25 years. Plans call for adding commuter trains in Middle Tennessee. Currently, the Music City Star is the only commuter rail service in the area. Music City Star service runs from Lebanon to downtown Nashville and has stations in Mt. Juliet, Lebanon, Martha, Hermitage, Donelson and Riverfront Station. Holt said Mt. Juliet has the largest ridership but pays the least. Mt. Juliet…

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Mass Transit Opponents Draft Open Letter to Mayor Megan Barry Asking Her to Reconsider Plan

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Tea Party activist Ben Cunningham is leading an effort to collect signatures for an open letter to Nashville Mayor Megan Barry asking her to reconsider a proposed $6 billion regional mass transit plan. The letter asks Barry to move the Nashville area “forward toward 21st century transit technologies and away from obsolete, extremely costly commuter railroads which will burden Nashville taxpayers for decades. Riders nationwide are abandoning these out-dated commuter railroads because so many new transit technologies offer so much more.” The tentative mass transit plan for Middle Tennessee, designed to be phased in over 25 years, calls for light rail along Gallatin Pike, Charlotte Pike, Murfreesboro Pike and Nolensville Pike, and for light rail connecting Nashville and Clarksville, as well as for rapid buses. Barry is committed to putting a referendum on the ballot next year to raise taxes for mass transit, and pro-transit groups are stepping up efforts to win over the public. However, Cunningham is advocating for a referendum that would limit Metro Nashville’s debt level, which could impede the mass transit project. The open letter to Barry says: Transit technology is undergoing an amazing revolution. Riders are demanding solutions that deliver more privacy, more safety, and more convenience.…

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Promoters of Mass Transit Step Up Efforts to Push Plan for Middle Tennessee

Wendy Wilson

  A new pro-transit coalition will launch a campaign this weekend to get people on board with a proposed mass transit plan for Middle Tennessee, reports Nashville Business Journal. Called Transit for Nashville, the coalition will go door to door in Germantown on Saturday to collect petition signatures. Leaders expected to appear at Saturday’s event include Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Shelly Courington, advocacy director for AARP Tennessee; Clifton Harris, president and CEO of the Urban League of Middle Tennessee; and Ethan Link, program director for Southeast Laborers’ District Council. Barry, a progressive Democrat, is a big champion of the $6 billion regional transit plan and is committed to putting a referendum on the ballot next year to raise taxes for the project. The IMPROVE Act passed earlier this year by the state legislature allows local governments to raise taxes to fund mass transit. The tentative regional plan calls for light rail and rapid buses and would be phased in over 25 years. Mass transit critics say there are less costly and cumbersome ways to address traffic problems associated with growth. Tea Party activist Ben Cunningham is leading an effort to put a referendum on the ballot next year that would limit Metro Nashville’s debt…

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Nashville Tea Party and Vanderbilt Professor Find Fault With Mass Transit Plan

Wendy Wilson

  The Nashville Tea Party and a Vanderbilt University economics professor are raising concerns about the $6 billion regional mass transit plan for Middle Tennessee. Much of the plan is still tentative and designed to be phased in over 25 years. However, in her State of Metro address in April, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry committed to starting work on light rail along Gallatin Pike immediately. She also said she would have a referendum on the ballot in 2018 to raise taxes to help fund transit projects. The Gallatin Pike plan calls for putting train tracks in the middle of Gallatin Pike from Briley Parkway south to the downtown bus station. The Nashville Tea Party sees problems with that. “This will mean many years of construction noise, choking dust and major traffic disruption,” the tea party chapter said on its Facebook page last week. The regional transit plan also calls for light rail along Charlotte Pike, Nolensville Pike and Murfreesboro Pike and for light rail connecting Nashville and Clarksville. The Nashville Tea Party posted a study by Malcolm Getz, a Vanderbilt University economics professor who is critical of the regional transit plan primarily because of its heavy reliance on trains, though the plan…

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Nashville Chamber Coalition Pushes Ahead With Study Examining Tax Revenue For Transit

Wendy Wilson

  A pro-transit coalition of business and community leaders backed by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has begun the second phase of a project studying possible sources of tax revenue. In addition to raising the gax tax to fund road improvements, the IMPROVE Act recently passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Bill Haslam allows municipalities to hold referendums on raising local taxes for transit. Nashville Mayor Megan Barry plans to have a referendum on the ballot in 2018 to raise taxes to support a tentative $6 billion regional transit plan to be phased in over 25 years. The plan would include light rail and rapid buses. Barry announced last month that a light rail project along the Gallatin Pike corridor would begin immediately. The Moving Forward coalition will examine four potential local revenue sources: property tax, sales tax, hotel/motel tax and wheel tax, according to a news release issued May 11. The study will encompass the 10-county Middle Tennessee region. Property tax was not mentioned in the IMPROVE Act but local governments in Tennessee already have the authority to increase the property tax rate. The new release said that “the study will provide multiple scenarios…

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Governor Haslam’s IMPROVE Act Allows Local Non-User-Fee Funding of Mass Transit

Laura Baigert
Tennesse Star

The foundation of the case by Governor Haslam and other proponents of the IMPROVE Act gas tax increase was that it is a “user fee,” paid by those who use the roads.  In contrast, for the purpose of funding public transit system projects, the IMPROVE Act authorizes 16 local governments, through public referendum, to levy a surcharge on six existing taxes that aren’t remotely linked to a mass transportation user fee, otherwise known as passenger fares. The IMPROVE Act, passed by the legislature as HB 534, specifies a local government, for purposes of the surcharge, as any county in this state including a county with a metropolitan or consolidated form of government with a population in excess of 112,000, which is currently Blount, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Montgomery, Rutherford, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson, and any city in this state with a population in excess of 165,000, which is currently Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville. The six taxes eligible for surcharge are the local option sales tax, business tax, motor vehicle tax, local rental car tax, tourist accommodation/hotel occupancy tax, and residential development tax. Looking at other transit systems around the country, it’s obvious that these additional revenues will…

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Tea Party Activist Ben Cunningham Championing Charter Amendment to Limit Metro Nashville’s Debt

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  Tea Party activist Ben Cunningham is leading an effort for a 2018 referendum that would limit Metro Nashville’s debt level, setting up a possible clash with regional plans for a $6 billion transit project. His proposed amendment to the Metro Nashville charter, the Nashville Debt Limit Charter Amendment,  would also require Metro government to set aside money for the future payment of benefits for retired Metro employees. “The Metro Nashville Charter is the primary governing document for Metro Nashville Government. The charter may be amended by (1)the Metro Council voting to place a charter amendment on the ballot or (2) the citizens may propose an amendment by petition,” the site says. The petition itself, also found on the site, says “The undersigned residents and qualified voters of Davidson County, Tennessee, do hereby propose the following amendment to the Metropolitan Charter to be voted on by the people at the first appropriate county-wide election occurring after August 6, 2017 as selected by the Davidson County Election Commission.” “If we submit the petition after August 6, 2018, we will probably need 6,000 to 8,000 signatures to get the charter amendment on the November 2018 ballot,” Cunningham told The Tennessee Star. There’s already a…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Presents Plans for ‘Income Diversity Within Neighborhoods’ and Mass Transit in State of Metro Address

Wendy Wilson

In her second State of Metro address Wednesday morning, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry presented a laundry list of big-spending plans that liberals will love and make conservatives reach for their Tums. The Democratic mayor called for paid family leave for Metro employees and “income diversity within neighborhoods” that are “transit-oriented.” In addition, she wants environmental programs to make Nashville the “greenest city in the Southeast.” She also used progressive buzzwords about promoting racial and ethnic diversity and welcoming immigrants. “Nashville is a warm and welcoming place,” she said. “We build bridges, not walls, and we welcome and celebrate the diversity that makes us strong.” Barry delivered her State of Metro address outside Bridgestone Arena, where a stage and seating were set up to accommodate the public. The speech featured details of her $2.2 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2017-2018. The Metro Council will consider the proposal and hold public hearings. She said that Metro Nashville is expected to have the lowest combined property tax rate in its 54-year history of combined city-county government at less than $3.16 per $100 of assessed value following the 2017 property reappraisal. But new taxes are needed for roads and transit, she said. Barry praised passage of…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry To Give State of Metro Address Wednesday

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry will deliver her second State of Metro address Wednesday morning at Bridgestone Arena. The event is open to the public and will be streamed live. The Democratic mayor will present details of her budget proposal and is expected to mention the tentative $6 billion regional mass transit plan to be phased in over 25 years. Barry is a champion of Gov. Bill Haslam’s IMPROVE Act, which raises the tax on gas for road improvements. The legislation also allows Metro Nashville and other municipalities to hold a referendum on raising local taxes to fund transit projects. The IMPROVE Act has been passed by the state legislature and Haslam will soon sign it into law. While Barry is popular among the city’s Democrats, her progressive views on a wide range of issues are excoriated by many conservatives. Barry said in a statement that Nashville’s growth presents challenges. “With new economic opportunity and growth comes a responsibility to ensure we continue to support the long-time residents and businesses that make up the heart of Nashville,” she said. “At this year’s State of Metro, I look forward to sharing my vision for how we can harness this growth and ensure…

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Gov. Haslam Admits Up to $70 Million of Gas Taxes Can Be Spent on Mass Transit by Cities and Counties

Tennessee Star Staff

A spokesperson for Gov. Haslam has admitted that up to $70 million of highway user fees collected by the State of Tennessee, primarily from gas taxes, can be spent on mass transit in the FY 2017-2018 budget. In that budget, which he transmitted to the Tennessee General Assembly on January 30 of this year, Gov. Haslam estimates that $314.7 million of the $1.2 billion in highway user fees the State of Tennessee will collect in the upcoming fiscal year will be given to cities and counties. Those “Funds may be expended by municipalities receiving the funds for the purpose of funding mass transit systems,” Gov. Haslam’s top aide, Dave Smith, says in an email statement provided to The Tennessee Star by 99.7 FM WWTN’s Ralph Bristol, host of Nashville’s Morning News. “No more than 22.22% of the funds may be used for the purpose of funding mass transit,” Smith continues, citing Tennessee Code Annotated  § 54-4-203-204. “No more than 22.22% of county funds may be expended for the purpose of funding mass transit,” Smith adds, citing Tennessee Code Annotated § 54-4-103. The total amount cities and counties may expend “for the purpose of funding mass transit” in FY 2017-FY 2018 under the budget…

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