An Open Letter to Councilmembers and Mayor O’Connell during the pre-budget period

Hello Councilmembers & Mayor O’Connell,

I was unable to attend yesterday’s pre-budget public comment period, but I wanted to take the opportunity to write you about the importance of cycling infrastructure and multimodal transportation options.

I am a lifelong cyclist and have ridden my bicycle throughout all of Davidson County during the last twenty years that I have lived here. I have ridden countless miles in every single district over the years. In 2023, I rode over 4000 miles around Nashville and the surrounding area. During my time here, I have seen friends hospitalized and experienced the shared pain of the deaths of members of the cycling community. I have been verbally assaulted, run off the road, and made to feel like a worthless citizen, rather than one who is trying to be an active participant in the vitalization of our community. This may be largely based on the fact that drivers have been taught that cyclists are hazards, rather than equals on the road. Proper infrastructure and education mitigate these problems, transforming the ways that all road users interact and their attitudes in these often-shared spaces.

This last fall, Schuster, et al released a scientific study examining the “orientation towards the common good in cities.” Their research found that “Cycling was the only variable that was a significant positive predictor for all four facets of orientation towards the common good” and that “these findings are significant for policy and planning because the benefits of cycling over driving are more profound and sustainable than previously thought.” I have attached an author’s copy of the study. I would encourage you to read it and learn more about how important and compounding impactful funding of cycling infrastructure can be for Metro Nashville.

Metro Nashville and Davidson County claim to have become a Vision Zero city in 2022, as it proudly says so on the website. As a reminder, “the Vision Zero movement is a worldwide strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries and at the same time, increasing safety, equity, and mobility for all users.” The proposed funding reduction for Vision Zero infrastructure projects implicitly states that Metro Nashville has already begun to lose sight of these goals and prefers lip service over quantifiable action. That is heartbreaking for me to see, and will truly turn multimodal transit problems into larger, more difficult, and costly issues if you do not commit to outpacing the growth of them. I charge you to act on these, rather than shirk the problems. They will become insurmountable for all of us, and the next person in your position.

I know that balancing strategic budgets and goals is a tremendous task. But I also know that a reduction in funding for cycling infrastructure is certainly the wrong road to go down. As discussed in the aforementioned study, I confidently believe that cycling infrastructure is the best “bang for your buck” investment in continuing to develop Nashville into a city that’s inclusive, thriving, and works for everyone. Specifically, amongst a great many needs, I would like to voice my support for the proposed pedestrian bridge between the Stones River Greenway and EN Peeler Park in Madison.

I hope that you consider all of this with clear, open minds, and understand the impactful ways that better cycling infrastructure can affect the lives of all constituents in Metro Nashville. I also ask that you find the opportunity to get out on a nice day and ride a bicycle through your district. We live in a beautiful county and there’s no better way than to experience it than on a bicycle.

Thank you for your time,

MiddleTNCycling