The Tennessean
Bill Freeman

Two of the biggest challenges facing our great city, and its next mayor, are the same ones that will prevent Nashville from thriving if they are not addressed properly: affordable housing and mass transit.

Many in this race have plans to tackle these issues individually, but I believe we must tackle them in a comprehensive way that benefits the community as a whole and is fiscally responsible.

Currently, over 60 percent of Nashvillians are spending half — or more — of their annual income on housing and transportation costs alone — before they even think about buying groceries, paying the light bill or buying school supplies.

This leaves little for savings or the discretionary spending that supports our local businesses. This is the reason we need to address these issues in a coordinated way.

We can build all of the affordable housing we want, but if it’s at the edge of the county, without connected sidewalks or bike lanes, mass transit will remain more of a hassle than a help.

That will further burden residents and increase the congestion on our roads.

Conversely, if we focus solely on building a robust mass transit system around Nashville, but are still pricing residents out of their homes and forcing them into neighboring counties, is that worth it?

We need a comprehensive transportation plan that addresses short- and long-term expectations and takes into account the future development of affordable housing along major transit routes.

There are examples all over the country of how cities and the private sector are collaborating to create transit-oriented developments along major arteries with great success.

My plan to bring 10,000 affordable housing units to Nashville over the next four years will involve making sure that people can get from home to work, to school and the grocery store — without getting in a car.

What would this look like? Before we build the first new affordable home, we will implement short-term improvements to current mass transit, focusing on efficiency and convenience. These include:

Renovating bus shelters across the city and placing easy-to-read schedules and route maps at every stop

Adding BRT-lite lines throughout the city that can get you around your neighborhood to the grocery store, parks and business centers, and back home without needing a car

MTA “smart buses” that allow you to see their routes and track departure and arrival times in an app, and include free Wi-Fi.

These small improvements can make the transit system we have better, but they are just the beginning. We have to move toward an integrated regional transportation plan with neighboring counties that brings all modes of transportation into one connected network and provides relief to our overcrowded roadways.

Another example: Right now, many Nashvillians live within walking or biking distance of MTA stops, but lack sidewalks, greenways or bike lanes to safely get there. That must change.

This will require a great deal of input from every neighborhood in Nashville, so a system can be built that is not only effective but fiscally responsible, and fits the unique needs of various neighborhoods.

Those conversations will start on my first day as mayor, and a decision won’t be presented until every citizen and every neighborhood has had an opportunity to provide their input — along with some of the nation’s best mass-transit design experts.

As we recruit builders to place affordable housing throughout Davidson County, we will ensure those developments not only fit into the established makeup of the community, but that they are connected to mass transit.

These developments also will be great recruiting tools for businesses considering relocation to Davidson County.

If we can reduce housing costs and the cost of commuting, we can address the whole issue of affordability, not just some of it. This is what a comprehensive transportation plan must look like and it is precisely what I, Bill Freeman, plan to do when elected.

Bill Freeman is the former treasurer of the Tennessee Democratic Party and serves as chairman of Freeman Webb Inc. He is a candidate for the office of mayor of Nashville.