794 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

[Volanova]

Craft beer does make the world seem a better place!

Are you aware of any plans in the works to increase service rates with the summer tourist season beginning this weekend? Or do they just not have enough buses to do it?

[smeagolsfree]

I really do not see the Dean administration doing the BRT the right way. I hope I am wrong but I think they will short cut it and screw it up.  The only way Nashville is going to compete with larger cities and our peer cities for business is to get a LRT and or a much improved commuter rail line from all directions.

Just got back from Chicago and was very impressed with the transit system there.You are able to get real time just by texting the information listed at each bus stop and it gives you the exact time of the next bus. Very cool. Amazing thing is the trains were packed at 3 and 4 on the morning and at midnight and midday.


BTW, I am in no way comparing Chicago to Nashville. Will never happen. Its just they did it the right way

[BnaBreaker]

smeagolsfree, on 27 May 2012 - 06:37 AM, said:

I really do not see the Dean administration doing the BRT the right way. I hope I am wrong but I think they will short cut it and screw it up.  The only way Nashville is going to compete with larger cities and our peer cities for business is to get a LRT and or a much improved commuter rail line from all directions.

Just got back from Chicago and was very impressed with the transit system there.You are able to get real time just by texting the information listed at each bus stop and it gives you the exact time of the next bus. Very cool. Amazing thing is the trains were packed at 3 and 4 on the morning and at midnight and midday.


BTW, I am in no way comparing Chicago to Nashville. Will never happen. Its just they did it the right way

I couldn't agree more.  I love my hometown.  But every time I go back to Nashville I am just stunned at how infantile the mass transit system is.  I mean, it really is just a bare bones, bare minimum system, and it's pretty embarrassing how content Nashville is with never blazing any trails and never being the leader even amongst it's peers (much less the country) in anything.  It's always the slow car trailing the rest of the pack that puts together something half assed only after waiting as long as it possibly can to put it off and doing it for as cheap as it possibly can.

I'm all for saving money too.  Government waste (on all levels) is obviously an issue.  But at some point I fear that this overall level of cheapness is going to catch up with the city.  I do see signs that things may be starting to change slightly, but then I see the Dean Administration select BRT over the LRT that peer cities in direct competition with Nashville already have or are building (Charlotte, Raleigh, Austin, OKC etc.) and I just have to hang my head with disappointment.

I am trying to stay optimistic about the BRT system, but I have to think that eventually this rather lazy decision is going to catch up to Nashville and that we are going to start losing out to these other cities that have far more ambitious plans.  Even if the BRT system is absolutely top notch (which, like you smeagolsfree, I don't think it will be), and no matter how well it works, it will still just be a system of buses, and pure and simple, that just isn't as attractive.

My frustration is taken to a whole new level when I consider the fact that had we decided to build an LRT system, the city itself would finally be taking a major step at definitively vaulting ahead of the most direct of it's competitors, Williamson County, by doing something that they simply cannot do.  Anyway, I'm just rambling at this point.  I just wish this city had more ambitious goals, I guess is what I'm saying.

[MLBrumby]

True that.  Also, one big reason Nashville is behind its peers is because it has virtually no representation on the federal level.  Regardless of your political leanings, you have to admit that the one-party domination in Metro has been horrible for electing good reps to Congress.  Bill Boner, Bob Clement, and now Jim Cooper are not even respected by their party in the Congress.  Jim Cooper has stood proudly on not voting for earmarks, while at the same time voting for enormous trillion-dollar expansions of federal programs.  While being a reliable vote for the Democrats for their social programs, he basically removes any leverage he might have with the budget committee by refusing to vote for earmarks.  In essence, when his party is in charge of things they can take his vote for their big initiatives for granted, and needen't worry about the budgetary consequences.  Regardless of how you feel about reckless government spending, it's the Washington game... and Cooper is a bencher.