Murfreesboro mayor discusses city projects and improvements in annual ‘State of the City’ address
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — The mayor of Murfreesboro said the city is “in the best financial shape” it’s ever been in, but he said that doesn’t mean every project residents want to see completed will happen as quickly as they hope.
In his annual “State of the City” address, Mayor Shane McFarland laid out his vision for the future of Murfreesboro’s downtown, how it will manage solid waste, traffic concerns, and other projects of interest.
“My one wish that I could say for the City of Murfreesboro,” said McFarland “It would be to snap your finger and all the road projects be done at one time.”
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McFarland said one of the top concerns he hears about is traffic and congestion and about 80% of their capital improvement plans are spent on transportation projects and there are about 54 road projects currently happening in Murfreesboro.
“All the easy road projects in Murfreesboro…we’ve done all those road projects now,” said McFarland.
He explained that many of the major roads that run through the city are operated by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), so improvements require their approval and support.
In his nearly hour-long recorded message, McFarland also doubled down on one of his biggest objectives: building up downtown Murfreesboro.
McFarland said bringing more housing to downtown will also increase the area’s foot traffic, creating more opportunities for people and businesses.
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“I think it’s proven that activity breeds activity,” he said.
In particular, he stressed he wants to see more affordable housing downtown, which can also be used to help keep emergency responders and teachers who work in the area living in the same city where they work.
“What I’m really hoping is that it’ll be a generational transition that you can see that downtown area, even across this Broad Street from where the City Hall is now you’re going to see people invest in that area and that just hasn’t happened over the last since I’ve been here,” McFarland said.
Regarding solid waste disposal, McFarland stressed it is one of the most expensive issues he deals with on the day-to-day.
While the city is still in the midst of a federal lawsuit with their landfill, Middle Point Landfill, McFarland said no matter the outcome of those court battles they will continue working to build waste transfer stations.
Transfer stations are enclosed buildings where dump trucks can offload their trash. Once filled, a semi-truck comes by the waste stations to bring the waste to a landfill. McFarland said having these transfer stations allows trucks to spend more time collecting trash from people’s homes and less time commuting to and from a landfill.
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“They’re all over the country where there’s no smell issues, there’s no waste issues, there’s no runoff issues. And then we put all that into a semi truck and then we take it to the landfill. So it saves money overall for the taxpayer,” he said.
A spokesperson for the city said stations are expected to be built within the next two years.
Other topics the mayor discussed included the relocation of the Murfreesboro Water Resources Department, improvements to Murfreesboro Airport, and public safety.
The mayor’s full address is available on the city’s YouTube page.
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