790 replies to this topic

[MTSUBlueraider86]

I cannot wait to move to East Nashville!  I would love Main Street to be the connector! Right in front of my building!

[nashvylle]

Good question, but I'm more concerned with the funding. Does anyone have any inside info on this? We need to move ahead on this asap, and have the BRT be as identical to rail as possible (i.e. dedicated lanes, very modern buses, etc.)

[franktown]

^ Agreed. I mentioned the forthcoming BRT to people that I took my "field trip" to East Nashville with and the second I said "bus" they got less excited. It really is so much more practical than other modes of transport though...

[timmay143]

 nashvylle, on 16 May 2012 - 11:43 AM, said:

Good question, but I'm more concerned with the funding. Does anyone have any inside info on this? We need to move ahead on this asap, and have the BRT be as identical to rail as possible (i.e. dedicated lanes, very modern buses, etc.)

From http://www.eastwestconnector.org/

Quote

The multi-year project now enters its second phase where it will be further refined with more detailed cost and ridership analysis. This phase includes preliminary engineering and an environmental assessment that must be completed before the project can be eligible for potential federal funding.

 franktown, on 16 May 2012 - 02:15 PM, said:

^ Agreed. I mentioned the forthcoming BRT to people that I took my "field trip" to East Nashville with and the second I said "bus" they got less excited. It really is so much more practical than other modes of transport though...

I think once people see how effective this is and try it out, it won't matter what the vehicle is.

 franktown, on 16 May 2012 - 10:33 AM, said:

I visited East Nashville for the first time yesterday, and was totally blown away by how cool it was. It got me thinking though, should the E-W Connector go Woodland or Main for the best redevelopment potential? I was taking a look at the plans this morning and was trying to visualize which street would be better suited for it. Thoughts?

EDIT: Here's a link with the possible alignments in case you've forgotten - http://eastwestconne...or_map_0811.pdf

How about both!

[timmay143]

It's about damn time!!

Commuting to be made easier with real-time information about buses

http://www.tennessea...ion-about-buses

Holy, omg!  Smart decisions!?

Quote

The MPO made a point earlier this year of allotting some money for innovative travel ideas other than construction of roadways.

Quote

MTA Director of Planning James McAteer said the bus app will take some of the stress out of commuting.

“You can know if you’ve got time to grab that cup of coffee,” McAteer said. “We’re just trying to make it more attractive to ride.”

Slowly catching up, but there is a wait time for this...next April.

Quote

It’s an idea already in use in hundreds of cities, and one that hit home recently when a board member with Transit Now Nashville

tried to ride a bus downtown.

Dave Keiser said he hustled down from the 18th floor where he works and barely missed a bus.

“If I had an app, whether it was on my computer or on my phone, I would have known,” he said.

Now Keiser’s nonprofit is partnered with MTA to make that app.

“The goal is to take time out of the equation,” he said. “With everything we do with our daily tasks, there is always an issue of time … Do we have enough time to work out? Do we have enough time to wait for the bus?"

The bus schedule provides ideal arrival times.

“But it’s not perfect,” Keiser said.

“If you have that app, it’s going to take away that anxiety of using public transportation,” he said.

Transit Now Nashville will raise $14,000 to contribute to the overall project, which

could go live by next April

, and the group is already planning to promote the app, including with college freshmen.

Keiser said the app could also increase ridership, which was recently shown in a study of Chicago’s bus system, where real-time arrival apps attracted new bus riders and increased overall ridership by about 2 percent, according to news reports.

A nice effort to reduce congestion and increase mass transit in car and vanpools for WillCo.

Quote

Meanwhile, the largest grant went to Williamson County and the TMA Group, a nonprofit that manages more than 90 vanpools with 1,300 riders in the region.

That project will bring together all carpool, vanpool and transit information for commuters. TMA wants large employers to put up screens that show real-time ride availability, similar to flight screens at airports, and also provide the same information via computer and phone applications.

The system will also create a “social marketplace” where drivers can let others know about open seats and where riders can search for a one-time ride, even with short notice.

“The goal for us with this pilot project is overall to reduce commuter growth in single-occupancy vehicles,” said Debbie Henry, executive director of TMA Group. “People do want to get out of their (cars) but they just don’t know how.”

Henry said TMA Group wants to double rideshare participation in the next three years.

One miss though.

Quote

The only proposal that did not receive funds suggested building a short commuter rail siding line for the Music City Star, which would have taken up a majority of the available money.

[bwithers1]

MTSUBlueraider86, on 16 May 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

I cannot wait to move to East Nashville!  I would love Main Street to be the connector! Right in front of my building!

I am pretty sure that Main Street is planned for the BRT route, unless something has drastically changed since the last presentation that I saw.  Woodland Street is already relatively narrow, and effectively serves as an overflow church parking lot on Sundays for First Nazarene.  Even without that, removing one lane of traffic on Woodland would make it a nightmare, and would pretty much literally force bicycles onto sidewalks.

I'm not sure about a 5th/Main stop, though.  The existing BRT stops at 7th/Main and the stop is labeled for Meigs Magnet School one block north of that intersection.   And frankly there is more happening near 7th and Main than at 5th and main.  I'm thinking of the Paro South Creative office suites building and some of the small retailers.  7th/Main is also relatively close to the East Park Community Center.  Whereas 5th and Main is so dominated by church parking lots (which also serve as Titans parking lots) and gas stations that it is pretty over/underwhelming for pedestrians.

I'm still hoping that the city will somehow merge the new and the existing BRT lines on Main Street.

Edited by bwithers1, 21 May 2012 - 09:59 AM.

[BnaBreaker]

MTA bus tracking smartphone App coming:

http://nashvillecity...ession-mtas-app

[nashvylle]

Is there any timetable for when we will have a decision on dedicated funding / vote on dedicated funding for the BRT?

[timmay143]

nashvylle, on 24 May 2012 - 08:40 AM, said:

Is there any timetable for when we will have a decision on dedicated funding / vote on dedicated funding for the BRT?

Good question.  I couldn't find any definite timetables.  There may not be one, but I'll leave a question on their FB page.

[Volanova]

I mentioned this in the forum meet thread, but I wanted to bring it up over here.  A couple of weekends ago when I was in town, I wanted to catch a bus on 21st in Hillsboro Village to downtown.  Unfortunately, on a Saturday in the middle of the day in a section of town with one of the highest levels of pedestrian activity, not to mention tourists, the bus only ran once an hour.  The freaking suburban commuter trains in Philadelphia run more often than that, and the transit agency running those, SEPTA, is renowned as one of the worst in any major city in the US.  On top of this, had I decided to try and get one, I would have been completely ripped off.  I could not locate a ticket counter or machine anywhere near where I was, and was going to get screwed over if I paid with the $20 in my pocket due to the fact that change was given on a transit card.  Frankly, I could have called a cab and been downtown and back for $20.

No wonder ridership is so terrible in Nashville.  What do you expect when it's so inconvenient?

[East Side Urbanite]

Volanova,

Very good points you make. I've taken the bus from H-Village to downtown and it was great. But I was lucky and basically caught the bus immediately after I left Bosco's (with some quality craft beer in my system, no less).

WW