Nashville’s “Choose How You Move” $3.1 billion transit plan is moving forward.
Voters on Tuesday gave the overwhelming green light for a major overhaul of the city’s bus systems, sidewalks and traffic signals.
The approval means Davidson County’s sales tax will increase by half a cent , which will go directly to funding the transit plan. The increase will 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.
Passage marks 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.
The mayor’s office called the victory minutes before 8 p.m. at a watch party at the historic Voorhees building in the Gulch neighborhood, where O’Connell stood before an energetic crowd of supporters donning shirts with slogans like “Ask me about transit,” “Vote for Nashville” and “Immigrants Vote.”
O’Connell said the effort was “something that’s been in progress for more than 20 years.”