Council to start dialogue on future of MTA

Special committee meeting set for early next month

Email | Print By Nate Rau

Metro Council's transportation and aviation committee will hold a special meeting Jan. 5 to discuss the Metro Transit Authority master plan and the future of mass transit in Nashville.

District 5 Councilwoman and committee chair Pam Murray has distributed a letter stating that the purpose of the meeting is to receive a summary of master plan study findings to date and to “gather input from Council members on developing a vision for MTA into the future, as well as identifying short-term needs and priorities.”

The coming year figures to be an important one for area mass transit. Mayor Karl Dean is among the leaders who have stated that Nashville and Middle Tennessee need dedicated funding to improve and grow mass transit options in the area. The Metropolitan Planning Organization will have its own master plan completed around October and the state legislature figures to address the issue of dedicated funding in the near future as well.

Council threw its support behind MTA last year by putting $1 million back into the department’s budget in order to stave off route reductions.