Mayor O'Connell Signs His First Executive Orders

Mayor Freddie O'Connell released his first slate of executive orders on Friday, reinforcing commitments to how Nashville moves, works and grows.

Altogether Mayor O'Connell signed 44 executive orders addressing Metro operations and various quality-of-life issues for Nashville residents, from infrastructure to inclusion, technology to transportation, and committees to criminal justice.

Twenty-three (23) executive orders from previous Nashville mayors were sustained, and 21 were updated with modifications.

Highlights include an expansion of Metro's Green and Complete Streets policy (Executive Order 45) and establishment of the Nashville Health and Well-being Leadership Council (Executive Order 32), which is a new collaboration between Metro Public Health Department and Metro Social Services that leverages the connection between health outcomes and social service needs to inform policy.

The updated Green and Complete Streets policy guides the development of a safe, connected, and equitable transportation network that promotes greater mobility for people of all ages and abilities. This includes integrating and prioritizing multimodal street improvements such as bicycle boulevards, protected bicycle lanes, high-capacity transit corridors, connected and accessible networks of sidewalks/walking paths, safe and convenient street crossings, and comfortable and inviting streetscapes.

"A complete street network is the backbone of a more livable and resilient city," Mayor O'Connell said. "Simply put, our streets should feel safe, comfortable, and convenient for all Nashvillians – pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and drivers. Complete streets provide opportunities to build Nashville's multimodal network and ensure that it is aligned with our land use policies, zoning recommendations, and urban design principles."

Mayor Karl Dean issued Nashville's first executive order for Complete Streets in 2009, later advanced by Mayor Megan Barry in 2016 to include green-street infrastructure elements.

Mayor O'Connell's updated executive order integrates evolving best practices around Complete Streets, with added emphasis on community engagement, equity, implementation, and transparency. It also responds to the need for a safer, more accessible, and better-connected transportation system for all residents of Davidson County, with around 4,500 miles of sidewalks still missing and over 100 roadway fatalities in both 2022 and 2023.

Current Complete Street projects include the Gallatin Pike and Main Street Vision Plan in East Nashville and the 31st Ave Vision Zero Safety Project. During Mayor O'Connell's first 100 days in office, NDOT has finished eight sidewalk projects (12,087 linear feet), started construction on four more (3,586 linear feet) and completed eight new bikeways.

"This executive order is more than just words—this is a guiding document for our department as we build and reconstruct streets across the county, and it aligns with national best practices. From the US Department of Transportation to Smart Growth America, complete streets are the industry standard for good reason," said NDOT's Director Diana Alarcon. "Ensuring that streets can safely accommodate all users is the most important work we do at NDOT. We strive for every street to be a complete street as we continue implementation of our Vision Zero plan to eliminate serious and fatal traffic crashes in Nashville."

The new Nashville Health and Well-being Leadership Council, formerly known as the Healthy Nashville Leadership Council, responds to a recommendation from Metro Social Services' annual community needs evaluation to establish a new collaboration between the Metro Public Health Department and Metro Social Services. The Council assesses health status and quality of life for Davidson County residents and is charged with mobilizing collaborative and effective community initiatives to achieve improvements in health, economic, and social well-being.

"By adding Metro Social Services as a second backbone agency to the Nashville Health and Well-being Leadership Council, the work of the council can be more inclusive of Nashvillians of diverse backgrounds," Director of Health Dr. Gill Wright said. "That inclusivity is paramount to the success of the Community Health Improvement Plan, an important part of the work done by the council to address health inequities and push for improvements to our community's health and well-being."

"It's the ideal partnership to protect and provide for our most vulnerable residents and their families," said Renee Pratt, executive director of Metro Social Services. "This pioneer effort will broaden the scope of needed resources while simultaneously zeroing in on critical and specific needs. The socio-economic consequences suffered by our families not only impacts their income but also their physical health. This partnership is long overdue and will offer a well-rounded network of support that I am most excited about."

For a full list of the executive orders and more details, please visit the executive orders webpages at Nashville.gov.