Emails continue to come in & council members continue to issue public statements urging WeGo to call a Board meeting. I thought it would be helpful to share my conversations with my colleagues, so I’ve started a thread on what my experience has been. publicsquare.nashville.gov/2023-2027-te... /1

WeGo: Call a special meeting of the board to update the public. Precedent for special called meetings is 5 days notice. Get it on the calendar. Journey Pass cannot enroll riders at-scale, and we’re pulling resources away from other priorities. Bag the box. nashvillebanner.com/2025/11/07/w...

We create so many unnecessary burdens for both the provider and recipient rather than doing the morally correct and bureaucratically efficient thing.

I'm not a proponent of Free Fare Transit. Right now is different. This is about people getting food in their stomachs. WeGo should go completely fare free until SNAP gets turned back on.

THEY ARE NOT ALLOWING ANY MORE PEOPLE IN LINE AT MAC TO RECEIVE JOURNEY PASSES. Tell your people so they don’t waste time and money trying to get there. This was entirely avoidable. We knew people were going to come out like crazy for these passes. Free bus access is life changing. #bagthefarebox

Updates from MAC journey pass distro event #2: -people are being denied passes for not having accepted documentation -they are accepting physical EBT cards as proof of snap -they are accepting homelessness affidavits our outreach workers brought with *just in case*

Heard from a volunteer with Dream Streets yesterday. They extended their food distribution hours bc people were choosing between getting a Journey Pass and getting food… exactly what advocates warned would happen. Bag. The. Box.

Bag the box!

Council just unanimously approved a bus fare suspension amendment to a SNAP resolution (left). WeGo announced new Journey Pass enrollment events earlier today (right) but council just sent a clear message that we must do more Share these events with SNAP recipients and service providers:

@johnwesssley.bsky.social dropping stats for the need for a fare freeze, and acknowledging that a sales tax is a regressive tax. Join his call for a fare freeze here. I did. bsky.app/profile/john...

With SNAP cut, transit should be a lifeline, not another financial hurdle. Tell WeGo and the mayor’s office to suspend fares as an emergency measure: tinyurl.com/FreezeFaresNash

Why does everything have to be a fight? Just let people who have a SNAP card on the bus.

There is a fare freeze resolution on the council’s agenda tomorrow. It is an amendment to @erinfor12.bsky.social’s SNAP resolution. Let your council members know:

We had free bus fares yesterday for a Titans home game. There was no outcry that we “took a benefit away”

CMs Suara, Porterfield, Vo, @rollinhorton.bsky.social and @brendagadd.bsky.social have joined the coalition calling for a fare freeze since Friday

Household budgets are already strained and they're about to get *much* tighter as the federal government fails to fund family nutrition. Suspending fares until this gets resolved would provide relief and I hope WeGo will do it.

Sign onto the form @johnwesssley.bsky.social linked and use the below template to email leadership at WeGo, CHYM and the Mayor! We have to do what we can to ease the crushing burden of SNAP cuts on our most vulnerable neighbors. We take care of each other ❤️ docs.google.com/document/d/1...

A growing coalition is calling on WeGo to freeze fares during the lapse in SNAP benefits. Riders shouldn’t have to choose between going to the food bank and going to a Metro agency to get a bus pass. Let’s make transit a lifeline, not a burden. Add your name or org: docs.google.com/forms/d/1sPu...

TN-7 TOTAL PRIMARY BALLOTS Republicans: 36,862 (54.3%) Democrats: 31,005 (45.7%) Difference: 5,857 (with > 95% in) In the 2024 primary, the gap was 59/41 and ~9,300 votes for the GOP

Decision desk, HQ has called the Democratic primary and congressional district 7 Rep. Aftyn Behn. Behn spent less money than any of the three other candidates.

Early vote is in. Bo Mitchell leads Aftyn Behn by < 100 votes. < 1000 votes separate first and fourth:

District 7 special election results by county: www.elections.tn.gov/categories/u... Early vote is in in 12/14 counties (Benton, Humphreys)

REMATCH! Bus with a dedicated lane beats walking!

Shortly after Dot Dobbins was killed crossing 3rd Ave, a traffic signal was installed at Van Buren and 3rd. The Vision Zero committee expressed concerns when this was presented during the fatal crash review in July, but it was installed anyway. Since, another pedestrian has been hit here 1/

Statement from WeGo does not dispute any info about the flaws in this process. There’s also a more fundamental issue here. When ridership and profitability are at odds for a public transit agency, they should choose ridership. I care about fairness too. So, let’s give more people a good deal.

TL:DR- WeGo is doubling Walk Bike's QuickTicket rate and gave three weeks notice to come up with $20,000 in additional renewal fees. This program should be celebrated and replicated but instead, we're having to pause it. The WeGo Ride program can be great but the current structure is not sustainable

This morning, officers blocking the Commerce Bike Lane told me they hoped I got hit by a car and threatened to "punch my teeth out" if I didn't move along.

Re: Tomato Fest Bike parking at S 12th St and Russell.

FYI. It should also be noted that WBN is not doing bike concierge at Tomato Fest either.

Tomato Fest Bike Parking Info: - Bike 🅿️ at Russell & 12th (not WBN valet, bring a lock) - Bikes prohibited on event footprint - No access to Five Points BCycle station Share with anyone biking to TF this weekend

WeGo now supports easy payments. That means you just pull out your debit or credit card or use a phone payment thing when you board. No account, no forms, no apps. Best part: fare capping in full effect

The Planning Commission was likely going to defer the Nations rezoning and UDO until Acting Chair Henley said this. It takes courage to support divisive topics but we mostly agree on this: we need more housing options to be a more inclusive city. The Nations took a big step in the right direction tn

NATIONS DUB. MORE NEIGHBORS. ON TO COUNCIL.

Dogs out during a public meeting? Not in my backyard

Y’all. Nashville just hosted its biggest ever open streets event — a 5 mile loop open to people and closed to cars for a Sunday afternoon @walkbikenashville.bsky.social and @nashvilledot.bsky.social made it happen and ALL Y’ALL made it great! Let’s do it again August 17!

The funny thing about induced demand is that everyone thinks they can plan the right roads to get around it, yet no one successfully does. I’ve yet to see a way EBB doesn’t become gridlock - the map apps will make it an alt route & it will just be that way. www.nashvillescene.com/news/metropo...

If the mayor endorses a four-lane design for East Bank Boulevard, it will be a home run. We have the data. The public overwhelmingly opposes the six-lane concept being proposed. Of the 881 responses to Metro's survey, 69% wrote a comment explicitly concerned with the number of lanes or width 1/

Here's a thread of my favorite walk/bike/transit related pictures from two weeks in the Netherlands 1. Loading van ~7 a.m. This is a bike/ped priority street. When cars drive on it, they have to go the speed of the bikers. These old narrow streets do a lot with a little by prioritizing people

Only gas today is for the Tour de Nash generator. Let’s have a day!

When Walk Bike surveyed council candidates (and the mayor) in 2023, they overwhelmingly supported the alternatives included in Imagine East Bank. I shared this with the project team as this round of public comment ends:

At the Nashville SC game, a giant flag for La Brigada de Oro, the Latino supporters section, which is not here tonight due to ICE activity. NSC officials tried to remove it, but were met with vehement objections by supporters clubs, who threatened a giant walkout if they did.

INBOX — Tomorrow in Nashville… the community will gather in response to the ongoing THP/ICE raids…

Talking East Bank Boulevard on IG live at 8. Come ask your questions! www.instagram.com/civicdesignc...

For immediate release

I shared my perspective on the East Bank Boulevard to The Tennessean. This project should be the crown jewel of our street network, but's it's on track to be the newest addition to the high injury network. Let's get it right!

Last night's East Bank Blvd meeting was a deceptive excuse for community engagement. Attendees were presented concepts that aren't going through the formal NEPA process and aren't on the public survey. This meeting intended to placate and check a box, not gather real feedback. We have to do better.

Here are the comments I sent to planning commissioners in support of the Woodbine/Glencliff rezoning. I cannot be there because of the East Bank Blvd. public meeting inexplicably scheduled for the same time. TL;DR- Build more housing and quit using "infrastructure" as a crutch

ACTION ALERT: Join us at the East Bank Boulevard Public Meeting and help us make sure it's built as a street for people! 🗓️Thursday, April 24 🕙4-7 p.m. drop-in hours 📍Cross Point Church (299 Cowan St.) www.walkbikenashville.org/east_bank_bo...

The most concerning part of this is that NDOT abdicated their decision-making authority about traffic lane striping and roadway safety to lobbyists behind closed doors. We're expecting public comment about this at BPAC tonight and look forward to discussing more.

Nashville has a Choose How You Move director, Sabrina Sussman from USDOT. Kendra Abkowitz named acting director till "early summer" start date www.nashville.gov/departments/...