I show this graph and include the brief info from a New York Times article below to argue that we need dedicated funding for active transportation infrastructure (walking, biking, public transportation) here in Nashville.
We don't currently have this: every year, the funding has to be asked for - there is no guarantee and this leads to instability and difficulty in setting long term plans. Hence, we haven't planned well and we now experience the situation where buses let you off on small concrete pads that connect to nothing on very busy streets and we have 1/8 of mile of sidewalk for every mile of roadways. Every complains of traffic. And yet, in our neighborhoods, we have major connector streets lacking sidewalks that could lead residents to walk to run errands, but are instead lined with dangerous ditches.
Nashville is experiencing a boom and yet are missing the opportunity to harvest some of this revenue to create a superior walking experience.
I'd argue that there is no great walking city in the South...why not make Nashville the first?
Nashville’s Skyline Being Reshaped by Building Boom
More than 100 new projects, together valued at more than $2 billion, are underway in Nashville or planned to start next year, according to city figures. Most of the big projects — four hotels, five office buildings and eight high-rise residential towers with a total value of $1.5 billion — are in the downtown core, a number of them rising on former parking lots, according to the Nashville Downtown Partnership, a business development group.
LINK:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/realestate/commercial/nashvilles-skyline-being-rebuilt-by-building-boom.html?_r=0
Now, is the time to write your mayor and call your councilperson...If they do not know your wishes for better walkability - they won't act.
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