The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[markhollin]

Who takes Barry's place as Mass Transit Plan's top advocate?

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/03/06/who-takes-barrys-place-as-mass-transits-top.html

[Rockatansky]

On 3/3/2018 at 11:31 AM, grilled_cheese said:

Does anyone ...... know where I can........get a pro transit sign?

I've been trying to get one for weeks. No luck.

[PaulChinetti]

Same here.

https://www.transitfornashville.com/yard_sign

The website is also impossibly slow. It's like they are trying to make people annoyed with it.

[Gracie]

5 hours ago, Rockatansky said:

I've been trying to get one for weeks. No luck.

I can probably get my hands on a couple - if you still need one. 

[Pdt2f]

Given we’ve had a few days for everyone to answer our unofficial transit poll, I’d say it’s safe to assume that the “yes” votes are an overwhelming majority. This is obviously to be expected from a forum that deals with urban development, but even with half the “yes” votes and double the “no” and “fence” vote, it’s still a plurality for the transit plan.

Some of my thoughts:

1. Hats off and kudos to the “no” and “fence” group, you’ve done a great job making your concerns heard. Given the nature of this forum “yes” was a foregone conclusion, but from what I’ve seen from discussion I would have thought there would be more of the fence crowd. 

2. I was mildly surprised that so many people wanted more rail than the plan envisions, considering I thought the high amount of rail was one of the more questionable aspects of it. 

3. The issues with the mayor seem to not have had any effect on the vote, even though we know how divisive the mayor issue has been on this board. Most of us, regardless of our feelings about the issue, don’t seem to connect transit with it. Hopefully the Nashville voters do the same, regardless of how they vote. 

[dmillsphoto]

9 hours ago, Pdt2f said:

3. The issues with the mayor seem to not have had any effect on the vote, even though we know how divisive the mayor issue has been on this board. Most of us, regardless of our feelings about the issue, don’t seem to connect transit with it. Hopefully the Nashville voters do the same, regardless of how they vote. 

As it should be. To try to tie the plan to the person, in such a way that a good (disregard opinions for this statement) plan cannot be disassociated from a bad person, is an act of borderline idiocy. There's nothing special about the person presenting the plan, especially considering this was in a public capacity. It's not owned by the person. We don't owe the person royalites for the plan. I think the mayor is a moot point, or should be treated as such, and that pursuance of transit options should outweigh the person at the podium. 

[grilled_cheese]

I can't wait to vote 'yes' on the May 1 transit referendum!

[markhollin]

Here's the first TV add for the Mass Transit initiative.  Will start airing today.
 

 

[PaulChinetti]

"Half the cost is gonna be paid from people who do not live here. And that's a good thing."

Smart to put cost in there as that's what the No people are always harping on.

[nashvylle]

I think they should have shown the interstates with a lot more traffic.

[NashvilleObserver]

I do hope this passes, but I also see other ways in which this money could have been spent for more immediate traffic relief. One of the MAIN areas of congestion downtown is the section below. There should be dedicated lanes from I-24 to I-65 South and I-40 West. Drivers are criss-crossing across several lanes of traffic in such a short span.

Edited March 7, 2018 by NashvilleObserver

[markhollin]

^ ^ ^ Unfortunately, that is a TDOT issue, and Metro cannot address that.  

[grilled_cheese]

Still waiting for someone to unveil their alternate plan.  If they want any shot to deter people that are going to vote yes they have to have an alternative to point to.  "uhh but I saw one of the buses at 10am on a Saturday AND IT WASNT FULL" or "just expand the current bus system" are not going to sway someone.  However, if you could point to another plan and say "hey, you should vote the lightrail transit plan down and vote for mine next time because it's better" then you have a shot.  Otherwise, I will just assume that you are just being negative to stop any and all attempts at transit expansion.

[nashvylle]

1 hour ago, grilled_cheese said:

Still waiting for someone to unveil their alternate plan.  If they want any shot to deter people that are going to vote yes they have to have an alternative to point to.  "uhh but I saw one of the buses at 10am on a Saturday AND IT WASNT FULL" or "just expand the current bus system" are not going to sway someone.  However, if you could point to another plan and say "hey, you should vote the lightrail transit plan down and vote for mine next time because it's better" then you have a shot.  Otherwise, I will just assume that you are just being negative to stop any and all attempts at transit expansion.

While I agree with you, a lot of people do believe that doing nothing is better than this plan. 

[MidTenn1]

For reference, here's a copy of the implementation schedule from the Lets Move Nashville report released last December...

 

[PaulChinetti]

"One-seat rides through Downtown to outer neighborhoods"

What does that mean?

[Dale]

Yikes! at the timeline. Of course I acknowledge that the whole thing is ambitious.

[Neigeville2]

2 hours ago, PaulChinetti said:

"One-seat rides through Downtown to outer neighborhoods"

What does that mean?

It means you don't have to change buses/trains.

50 minutes ago, Dale said:

Yikes! at the timeline. Of course I acknowledge that the whole thing is ambitious.

Agreed.  I wish we'd started earlier, but on the other hand now we can learn from what other cities have done right/wrong.  If this doesn't pass, it's over, at least for my lifetime.

[PaulChinetti]

With this timeline I assume it will give is some flexibility as time goes on. 

4 years of planning/development for the first rail line, seems like a lot. 

[Pdt2f]

Does anyone know where to get some more info on the neighborhood transit centers? 

14 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

With this timeline I assume it will give is some flexibility as time goes on. 

4 years of planning/development for the first rail line, seems like a lot. 

I suppose the 4 years makes sense though, considering how much work will have to be done acquiring land to widen the areas for the stops, building the stops, picking and purchasing the trains and getting them up and running and fixing glitches, etc. Plus building the park and ride center or local terminal, whatever they’ll build at Briley/Gallatin. I can’t wait, though. Like it sucks because I want to ride it like tomorrow haha. I just wish the Gallatin like extended all the way to Old Hickory and maybe even cut over somehow to the MTA offices on Myatt. Mainly because I live walking distance from there and I’ll gladly spend money that’s not mine so I could live a 5 min walk to a train station  

[fishsticks176]

Pdt2f, I forgot we were in the same neighborhood! I have a suspicion that by the time they actually lay the track, they'll extend it up to Old Hickory. That extension's been brought up before by our councilwoman (after announcement of the Charlotte Pike extension) but Barry shot it down claiming that Madison needed more redevelopment first to "make it somewhere that people want to go". I think that by 2026 Madison will be completely different with some great developments along Gallatin. Mayor Briley in his enthusiasm for the light rail may better our chances, too. I know from sheer observation that Madison's stretch of Gallatin Pike has the highest ridership in Nashville and I just can't imagine that with where we'll be in six years that they wouldn't push it further.

[Pdt2f]

1 hour ago, fishsticks176 said:

Pdt2f, I forgot we were in the same neighborhood! I have a suspicion that by the time they actually lay the track, they'll extend it up to Old Hickory. That extension's been brought up before by our councilwoman (after announcement of the Charlotte Pike extension) but Barry shot it down claiming that Madison needed more redevelopment first to "make it somewhere that people want to go". I think that by 2026 Madison will be completely different with some great developments along Gallatin. Mayor Briley in his enthusiasm for the light rail may better our chances, too. I know from sheer observation that Madison's stretch of Gallatin Pike has the highest ridership in Nashville and I just can't imagine that with where we'll be in six years that they wouldn't push it further.

That’s the funny thing about Madison, that unless they keep the express bus that goes from Rivergate to downtown (56x?), transit will actually become slightly less convenient from Madison, one of the highest transit ridership areas of the city. With the rail line we’d have to connect at Briley instead of just riding the same bus into town. Odd. I agree with you as I think extending the Gallatin route into Madison (either at OHB or even all the way to Rivergate) will be the first extension announced, either during or after construction. 

[MidTenn1]

There was a different, more detailed rendering of the tunnel system in the December 2017 report. I compared it to Seattle's underground rail line (not a subway). The similarities are striking!

[smeagolsfree]

18 hours ago, NashvilleObserver said:

I do hope this passes, but I also see other ways in which this money could have been spent for more immediate traffic relief. One of the MAIN areas of congestion downtown is the section below. There should be dedicated lanes from I-24 to I-65 South and I-40 West. Drivers are criss-crossing across several lanes of traffic in such a short span.

I have always said one way to fix this mess is to do a double decker freeway that we see in may of the larger cities. It would be complicated and expensive, but could work. They would have to start it from the I-24, I-40, and I-440 split east to clear that mess up first to keep folks from having to criss cross the lanes to continue on their respective interstates. All of the interchanges are sorely outdated into and out of downtown as well.

 

Just thoughts as I have seen this to certain degrees in other cities. This is why the congestion will never get better in the downtown area because the interstate was built for traffic of 60 years ago.

[markhollin]

1 hour ago, smeagolsfree said:

I have always said one way to fix this mess is to do a double decker freeway that we see in may of the larger cities. It would be complicated and expensive, but could work. They would have to start it from the I-24, I-40, and I-440 split east to clear that mess up first to keep folks from having to criss cross the lanes to continue on their respective interstates. All of the interchanges are sorely outdated into and out of downtown as well.

 

Just thoughts as I have seen this to certain degrees in other cities. This is why the congestion will never get better in the downtown area because the interstate was built for traffic of 60 years ago.

I agree that this would be a quality solution for the south loop.  But the cost (would probably take up a significant chunk of TDOT's annual budget for at least half of a decade) and time involved (I'm guessing 5-8 years) would drive certain people completely out of their ever-lovin' minds (remember all the construction to improve the freeways in Atlanta to prep for the Olympics in the early-mid 90s?). Everyone wants to complain, but many don't want to pay the price.