Nashville Transit, where do we go from here?

The 64/36% margin by which the Nashville Transit Referendum failed was very surprising to me, including the fact that it passed in only 5 of 35 metro council districts. I overlaid the transit map with the Tennessean's voting results map here. Clearly one big factor was how far away a voter lived from a planned route. While the plan promoters emphasized that this system would be expanded to other areas later, there was no indication of when or how that expansion would be paid for. Promoters also believed that new development along the routes would increase the households benefitting but that is a hard sell to current voters.

Where we go from here will clearly depend on who becomes mayor and what his/her priorities are, including transit. It would be a shame to lose all the work done and data collected analyzing and designing transit in the area and the enthusiasm of the people who clearly want to see new and better transportation options.

From my perspective:
  • ·         This failure has negatively impacted many voters' confidence that their leaders are focused on the right things. It may be only a communication failure of a good plan, but the wisdom of the crowd (voters) should not be underestimated. City leadership must truly listen to what voters are saying and address those concerns, not just put forward a plan and say “trust us.”
  • ·         The next round should include clear disclosure of the degree to which alternatives were examined and evaluated to give confidence in the scope of options considered.
  • ·         The implementation of new transit options should begin with the new initiatives that reach the largest number of voters throughout the county, in controlled pilots, so that adoption rates can be measured and successes can be publicized.
  • ·         Some initiatives should include new technology options like Van Sharing, Urban Gondola, electronic toll lanes, and other innovative concepts, since there is likely no single transportation modality which is the answer to every part of Nashville.

I look forward to following next steps and participating wherever possible.

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