The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[markhollin]

According to Cincinnati Library and Museum:  "During the first forty years after its founding, Cincinnati experienced spectacular growth. By 1820, citizens, extremely proud of their city, were referring to it as The Queen City or The Queen of the West. On May 4, 1819."
 

Hence, you have things like Queen City Riverboats based there.  

[fieldmarshaldj]

2 hours ago, markhollin said:

According to Cincinnati Library and Museum:  "During the first forty years after its founding, Cincinnati experienced spectacular growth. By 1820, citizens, extremely proud of their city, were referring to it as The Queen City or The Queen of the West. On May 4, 1819."
 

Hence, you have things like Queen City Riverboats based there.  

I know they almost came close to renaming Cincinnati as "Porkopolis" because of the meatpacking industry. Good thing they dodged that bullet. Imagine the tourist jingles... "Come to Ohio and get porked !"

[PruneTracy]

19 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

Isn't US 27 interstate-quality now as far north as Soddy Daisy?  Actually, Hwy 111 which splits off at Soddy Daisy is interstate quality all the way to Dunlap. 

It has full access control and was probably designed to the same standards as Interstate highways. But not all freeways are or have to be Interstate highways; US Numbered Highways, state routes, and local roads are commonly freeways as well. In Nashville, some examples are Ellington Parkway (US Route 31E), Briley Parkway (State Route 155), Vietnam Veterans Parkway (State Route 386), etc. Whether a highway gets added to the Interstate highway system, US Numbered Highway system, or state, county, or local systems depends more on its relevance to national, regional, or local networks (and who's paying for it) more than its functional classification.

19 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

I remember seeing a map somewhere a while ago that showed I-59 extending from Chattanooga to Cookeville using the roads that are now US 27/Hwy 111.  While I don't think for a minute that the road between Cookeville and Chattanooga needs to be interstate grade, I'm curious if that's still the plan.  (That's actually one of my favorite drives; it's absolutely beautiful and has almost zero traffic, at least between Sparta and Dunlap.)

I think that was a proposal from an outside group, not a plan by TDOT or the feds. I could see an I-59 extension if it went all the way to Lexington or Louisville, not so much when it dead-ends in Sparta or even if it terminates at I-40. (In fact, if it did link up with either I-65 or I-75 in Kentucky it would make a really good alternate route for either. Call your Congressman! Tell them a random stranger on the Internet can make this happen for a reasonable fee!)

20 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

Anyway, if TDOT still refers to that road as I-124, couldn't it be "I-124" as far north as Soddy Daisy (or even Dunlap)?

Again I think the issue is that arbitrarily changing the designation of the roadway negates the benefits of having a route signed as an Interstate highway. Even though it's numbered as a spur, it still has to go somewhere. With apologies to Soddian-Daisites or whatever, you don't want to dump a bunch of people off of an Interstate unless there is a significant destination (populated area, military base, etc.) at the terminus.

TDOT and the feds kind of already went through this when they overlaid Interstate 26 on US Route 23. I-26 (not even a spur! A mainline Interstate!) drops off in the middle of Kingsport and if you don't pay enough attention to the signage you end up at the Food City in Weber, Virginia wondering what this has to do with driving to Columbus.

[LA_TN]

23 hours ago, tragenvol said:

I believe I've read that the "Queen City" moniker was given to a particular state's "second city." Examples are Buffalo to NYC, Cincy to Columbus or Cleveland, Charlotte to Raleigh, and Clarksville to Nashville (?).

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

"Second city"? Who wants to volunteer to tell Memphis their new nickname?!?!

[Binbin98]

This isn't really related to Nashville but more public transit in general, today I was on the tube (I live in London) and it suddenly stopped because two stations down from where I was a bomb exploded in a train. Luckily no one died but people were injured, and I now worry with this instance many Nashville people will vote against Megan Barry's transit referendum for safety reasons along with growth concerns. It sounds silly and stupid, but trust me there are enough people in Nashville that I have seen through Facebook and other means who may think this way, especially with all the safety concerns on public transit where I currently live. Sorry if this is off topic but its just a thought. 

[LA_TN]

1 hour ago, Binbin98 said:

This isn't really related to Nashville but more public transit in general, today I was on the tube (I live in London) and it suddenly stopped because two stations down from where I was a bomb exploded in a train. Luckily no one died but people were injured, and I now worry with this instance many Nashville people will vote against Megan Barry's transit referendum for safety reasons along with growth concerns. It sounds silly and stupid, but trust me there are enough people in Nashville that I have seen through Facebook and other means who may think this way, especially with all the safety concerns on public transit where I currently live. Sorry if this is off topic but its just a thought. 

That's one of the reasons people don't want to give up cars. From offensive  (stinky/loud/etc) people to theft to safety (wreck/shooting/terrorist/etc)

[timmay143]

Honestly, with the way people drive, I would be more worried about losing my life in a car accident.

[bigeasy]

I guess this is related to the thread, but what is going on with I65 construction? Why exactly did they repave the interstate in such a weird fashion? They did like lane 4 first, then lane 2, 3,1, etc. I would have thought it would have been more efficient to move inward or outward. Now they are repaving it again, or at least putting another layer on. What is the point of cutting up a layer, then putting a layer down in an odd way, and then adding another on top of that? I don't think I have ever seen it handled that way before.

[BnaBreaker]

2 hours ago, LA_TN said:

That's one of the reasons people don't want to give up cars. From offensive  (stinky/loud/etc) people to theft to safety (wreck/shooting/terrorist/etc)

You may be right about peoples' motivations, but theyre wrong, at least in regards to safety.  Taking mass transit is FAR, FAR safer than driving a tin can 80 mph down a highway just feet away from other 80 mph tin cans, and it isnt even close.  I mean, I understand peoples fears, especially after the events in London today, but if one is using that line of logic as a reason not to use mass transit, they might as well be making an argument against going out in to public, period.

[SoundScan]

26 minutes ago, timmay143 said:

Honestly, with the way people drive, I would be more worried about losing my life in a car accident.

You should be. You are statistically 17 times more likely to die in a automotive-related accident than on a train, 31 times more likely than on the subway, 66 times more likely than on a bus, and 130 times more likely than on a plane. The automobile in the United States is BY FAR the least-safe method of travel.

[fieldmarshaldj]

11 hours ago, Binbin98 said:

This isn't really related to Nashville but more public transit in general, today I was on the tube (I live in London) and it suddenly stopped because two stations down from where I was a bomb exploded in a train. Luckily no one died but people were injured, and I now worry with this instance many Nashville people will vote against Megan Barry's transit referendum for safety reasons along with growth concerns. It sounds silly and stupid, but trust me there are enough people in Nashville that I have seen through Facebook and other means who may think this way, especially with all the safety concerns on public transit where I currently live. Sorry if this is off topic but its just a thought. 

I'll vote against it for a much different reason: we don't need to be jacking up taxes to pay for a boondoggle. But, yes, terrorism is a serious concern.

[KJHburg]

I am trying to follow your light rail from afar but I guess I missed this. What is the proposed financing source for your plan? I know your sales tax is already fairly high (that was the main source here in Charlotte) you have no state income tax correct (last time I heard a proposal about that I think rocks were thrown at the Capitol windows) or property taxes ?  You are somewhat boxed in my opinion because your sales tax is already high (9% right?) and an even higher sales tax is very regressive.   

On highways has Tennessee thought of (don't shoot the messenger here) toll lanes and roads?  They are unpopular believe me in NC but it is not stopping NC DOT from building them all over Charlotte and Raleigh mainly as widening existing interstates but some all new toll expressways.  Atlanta has many of these Express Lanes where you pay to ride at a guaranteed speed. They are open 85 northeast of city and will soon be 75 NW of the city.  They are all over Texas as well. 

As I said before light rail will not solve your traffic problems but it will be an alternative and if you do it right and encourage lots of high density residential along the lines it even works better. That is what is happening in Charlotte.   And for your tourism centric downtown with all its festivals, special events and tourist attractions it could be a big help. 

On thing on the Queen City discussion Charlotte is no second fiddle to any city in either Carolina North or South. We were named as stated earlier for King George III wife Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg (that is the county name) 

Edited September 16, 2017 by KJHburg
Queen City explained

[nashwatcher]

Toll lanes and roads are a great idea to raise funds. There are plenty of people who will pay to have a Pass to save time in lanes with less traffic

Not sure how much money an increased sales tax would produce but I could see it being raised by .5% without being a huge problem

[markhollin]

A new coalition is being formed to counter some of the movement on the Transit Referendum. It is called People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing and Employment (also called PATHE) —  and will launch Sunday with events scheduled throughout the first half of the week, including a march from East Nashville to City Hall.

The group's mission is to make sure any funding plan includes specific provisions to insure affordable housing along transit lines — such as eminent domain requirements that prohibit the city from selling land along routes to private developers to then develop and sell at market rate, according to Austin Sauerbrei, an organizer with Nashville tenant organizing group Homes For All Nashville — one of the coalition's founding organizations.

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/09/15/coalition-forms-to-push-back-against-mayor-barrys.html

[Rockatansky]

On 9/15/2017 at 9:37 PM, KJHburg said:

What is the proposed financing source for your plan?

No specifics have been announced yet, but it will come from a combination of several sources including: property tax, sales tax, hotel tax and wheel tax. There is an online tool available that lets you set tax rates and calcs the resulting revenue. See: https://public.tableau.com/profile/boyd.center.for.business.and.economic.research#!/vizhome/NashvilleChamber-CountyRevenueForecastModel/Forecast

[Hey_Hey]

Sales taxes the city of Nashville can go up an additional 0.5%.  The state sales tax is 7% and the local option is anything up to a maximum of 2.75%.  That will likely not be an option for Williamson County, however.  WilCo is in the process of raising the sales tax to the max 9.75% (7% state, 2.25% county, 0.5% city) to fund schools.   That leaves a property tax increase as the only broad-based, large scale funding source for WilCo, which is really doubtful to pass for the degree of service I expect to see there. 

[Dale]

On 9/16/2017 at 8:44 AM, markhollin said:

A new coalition is being formed to counter some of the movement on the Transit Referendum. It is called People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing and Employment (also called PATHE) —  and will launch Sunday with events scheduled throughout the first half of the week, including a march from East Nashville to City Hall.

The group's mission is to make sure any funding plan includes specific provisions to insure affordable housing along transit lines — such as eminent domain requirements that prohibit the city from selling land along routes to private developers to then develop and sell at market rate, according to Austin Sauerbrei, an organizer with Nashville tenant organizing group Homes For All Nashville — one of the coalition's founding organizations.

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/09/15/coalition-forms-to-push-back-against-mayor-barrys.html

What is PATHE's position on eminent domain ? They want more of it ?

[SoundScan]

It reads like they don't want eminent domain powers used to handover land to private developers. I agree with them on that point.

[Dale]

5 minutes ago, SoundScan said:

It reads like they don't want eminent domain powers used to handover land to private developers. I agree with them on that point.

Gotcha, thanks.

[Pdt2f]

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/09/22/why-the-rta-might-hit-the-brakes-on-the-mt-juliets.html

Transit is going to be annoying if the cities involved don't pay their fair share. 

Edited September 22, 2017 by Pdt2f

[AronG]

Yeah this is why commuter rail to the suburbs isn't going anywhere for a decade or three, until density increases and/or the political winds shift. This is going to be all about Davidson county for now. 

[donNdonelson2]

The Star has been running at near full or full capacity most weeks in the last year or so. There is demand for additional runs. But Mount Juliet (like all the local governments) needs to pay up what they signed up for, if they expect to reap the rewards of the train service.

[Binbin98]

I'm very happy nashville is "ride-sharing app" friendly (such as uber and lyft) because where I live sure isn't :/ 

london outlawed uber recently and I can tell you even with transport for london being as good as it is, it doesn't look good in the international scheme of things. However, Nashville is very uber friendly which is a plus in all aspects, even in mass transportation terms.

[MidTenn1]

I have been intrigued by the possibility of part of the proposed light-rail system being run underground through downtown. I did a crude plan and profile to get an idea how this might work.

 

I have the Charlotte Ave. line connecting to the Gallatin Rd line at a station under the Public Library. The entrance to the station could be built in the pocket park across the street. For the west entrance, the line would have to be elevated over the CSX RR yard and enter a tunnel near 7th and immediately turn downward. I think there is only room for one station under the city. The line would head east and go over the Cumberland River on a bridge with sufficient clearance and head towards a Stadium Station. Then it would go up Gallatin Road.

The profile.....

Just some idle thinking...

 

 

Edited September 26, 2017 by PHofKS

[markhollin]

^ ^ ^ Terrific, Pete!  Thanks for your creative thought on this. 

Would LOVE to know the thinking of the  Metro folks working on all these lines as to where the terminal will be downtown, and how it would be accessed be all 5 spokes.