🛣️ Will toll lanes be worth it?

🛣️ Will Toll Lanes Be Worth It?

Tennessee’s Choice Lanes project will add toll roads along 26 miles of I-24, from downtown Nashville to Murfreesboro. On today’s podcast, Nashville Business Journal senior reporter Adam Sichko shares more details about the $9.2 billion project, from the international group selected to build it, how much drivers might pay, and whether the lanes will actually ease traffic. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

• The Tennessee Department of Transportation estimates that 18 commercial and 33 residential properties will be torn down to make way for the toll lanes. While some homeowners have received letters from TDOT confirming their homes are in the Choice Lanes’ path, plans have yet to be finalized, leaving some South Nashville residents in limbo. [Nashville Banner]
• The companies chosen for the project, DriveTN, have a history of bankruptcies and price gouging. Tennessee House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) is calling for state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to investigate the project’s procurement process. But Skrmetti says his office doesn’t have that authority. [🔐 The Tennessean; Nashville Post]
• The state comptroller says it will review concerns raised about DriveTN and decide whether the procurement process should be included in its next audit of TDOT. [WSMV]

🗳️ Will These Programs Protect Nashville Voters?

The Tennessee Democratic Party has chosen Metro Councilmember Clay Capp (District 6) to lead a statewide voter protection program. The initiative aims to strengthen election infrastructure and safeguard voter access amid fears that federal interference will prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots. Mayor Freddie O’Connell has pledged $50,000 to the program through his Ready PAC. [Nashville Scene]

• The newly formed nonprofit group Nashville Guardians of Democracy has a similar mission. [Nashville Banner]
• Register by Oct. 5 to vote in the midterms. Check your voter registration status here. [Tennessee Secretary of State]

🚌 School Bus Drivers Ask for Better Conditions

Local public school bus drivers are speaking out about the challenges they face transporting 60 to 80 kids to and from school every day, which includes low pay, students misbehaving, and dangerously hot buses. “The one thing that Metro always says is, we haul precious cargo,” said bus driver John Turner. “Then treat us like we do.” [Nashville Banner]

🏗️ State Attempts To Rush Redevelopment

The state wants to turn 10 acres of state-owned land in downtown Nashville into mixed-use developments that would include housing, hotels, retail, and public space. However, state officials seek to bypass standard disclosure requirements to speed up the process. State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) worries this means the state has already chosen a private developer. [Tennessee Lookout]

• One of the lots the state is seeking to redevelop is where Elon Musk’s Music City Loop is being built. The Boring Company recently raised $3 billion from investors for its tunnel projects, and has increased hiring in Nashville. [🔐 Nashville Business Journal]

🎨 Where Kids Can Be Their Whole, Messy, Imaginative Selves

Karst Studio is a new East Nashville inclusive art space serving kids from 18 months to 12 years with classes, after-school programs, and full-day adventures. “Kids are so often met with ‘no’,” owner Nic Sommers told me. “While dreaming up my vision for Karst, I knew I wanted to build the opposite — a yes space. I founded Karst Studio to give every child a creative space filled with joy, freedom, and the safety to show up exactly as they are.” [Karst Studio]

• Karst has a drop-in childcare art program that lasts four to six hours for younger kids, plus an after-school option for big kids.
• Looking for more local places for your artsy kid? Check out Little Art House and The Department of Curious Things.