The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[fishsticks176]

Can we rename this thread Transportation and Mass Transit/ Political Whataboutism Megathread? You know, just for accuracy’s sake.

[grilled_cheese]

35 minutes ago, fishsticks176 said:

Can we rename this thread Transportation and Mass Transit/ Political Whataboutism Megathread? You know, just for accuracy’s sake.

lets pray about it in tax sheltered venues

[BnaBreaker]

@grilled_cheese come on man, no need to go out of your way to enflame things, is there?

[e-dub]

I dunno, dude. Politics seem to get brought up in so many of these threads out of nowhere, I think it's hilarious when he chimes in.

[Guest]

^^ if he chimed in with anything other than lame insults I might agree.  As it is ...not so much.

[titanhog]

[Nathan_in_DC]

On 2/1/2019 at 11:54 PM, nashvylle said:

Best way is to have speed bumps 

Something I've noticed here is that the local road police do very little when it comes to enforcing speed limits. The speeding violations they go after are usually in conjunction with other dangerous driving or rules violations. They tend to let speed cameras do the speeding enforcement, and have started to make use of average speed cameras (they register your car at different locations and you get a fine in the mail if you averaged over the limit). The average cameras are nice because if you pass one and realize you were going a bit too fast, you just have to slow down until you pass the next one.  They also make lots of use of chicanes, one way passthroughs, and roundabouts as traffic calming solutions. Of course, they also have generally speaking much higher speed limits for comparable roads. Even so they have fewer accidents and fatalities per mile driven than the US does, largely because of more effective and difficult driver qualification processes.

[smeagolsfree]

I think some of it has to do with Metro Police and Fire being under maned. But I completely agree. Metro tends to pull people over in the northern sector of town around Bordeaux and also along Ashland City Hwy. I sometimes see the fat cops on motorcycles pulling people over in front of the Frist and it takes three of them to pull over one car. Dont know why they put the fat cops on motors, but it seems that s what I always see. These guys seem to be the ones to write parking tickets when they should just forget those and let Parking enforcement handle those. A total waste of manpower.

I also think it has to do with the current chief who in my opinion is an idiot, and needs to be replaced. It seems as if Metro hires ding dongs from within and from the out side, not only in the police like Ronal Surpas, who was one of the biggest walking mistakes on the planet, but going back to the last few supers of schools. They try to be too politicly correct and diverse instead of hiring the absolute best candidate for the job.

I have stories about Metro Fire too.

I am probably going to get flack for this post , so apologies in advance, but this is how I feel based on observations and discussions with Metro employees I know that really know what's going on and you would be shocked at the stories I hear.

 I think we can all agree there have been short falls in the Planning dept. in the past too. Metro seems unwilling to get into the 21st century on multiple levels. Some are trying and others try to hold back the clock. I have to unkind words for the new Planning director as she has not been on the job that long. But an overhaul of all zoning needs to be done to catch up with the growth that has occurred over the past 8 years and for the future. 

Sorry I got off the track, but Metro has many flaws on many levels, but most cities do and we see ours more because we are here.

[markhollin]

Nashville traffic ranks #20 in the nation according to a new study by Inrix, with an average of 87 hours  spent in cars due to congestion.  The good news is the time Nashvillians are spending in their cars is actually less than the national average. According to Inrix, Americans lost an average of 97 hours a year due to congestion, which translates to an average of $1,348 per driver.

Rankings of other peer cities:

10.  Portland, 116  hours

14. Austin, 104 hours

16. Charlotte, 95 ours

23. Orlando, 74 hours

C25. Columbus, 71 hours

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2019/02/13/heres-what-sitting-in-nashville-traffic-costs-you.html?iana=hpmvp_nsh_news_headline

The Nashville page of the study is here:

http://inrix.com/scorecard-city/?city=Nashville%2C TN&index=114

[Rockatansky]

 

15 hours ago, grilled_cheese said:

couple trillion

No.  $22 Billion for the Zumwalt Class.

[smeagolsfree]

They have been working on the Zumwalt Class for freaking ever.

[rookzie]

On 2/13/2019 at 6:58 AM, smeagolsfree said:

... I sometimes see the fat cops on motorcycles pulling people over in front of the Frist and it takes three of them to pull over one car. Dont know why they put the fat cops on motors, but it seems that s what I always see.

Well I never...!

I was told that I now must say "Portly" (or "Portleh" in regional dialect)
Maybe the mass helps to dampen the impulses of shock imparted by the often uneven, and rippled roadway surfaces..just a guess..

-=

Edited February 14, 2019 by rookzie

[smeagolsfree]

I am just not a politically correct individual I guess. I could have said robust I suppose.

[grilled_cheese]

thicc cops

[Rockatansky]

"Husky"

[Pdt2f]

Festively plump. 

[titanhog]

Big Boned

[nashvylle]

I’ll take it. 

 

[e-dub]

I'm with it 

[titanhog]

Basically a long bus...right?

[BnaBreaker]

35 minutes ago, titanhog said:

Basically a long bus...right?

Sort of, but from what it sounds like in the video the main differences are that it is electric and powered entirely by rechargeable batteries, has more advanced hydraulics for smoother rides, and it runs along a preset route somehow based on sensors placed into the road.

[titanhog]

2 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

Sort of, but from what it sounds like in the video the main differences are that it is electric and powered entirely by rechargeable batteries, has more advanced hydraulics for smoother rides, and it runs along a preset route somehow based on sensors placed into the road.

I guess that would be slightly better than a bus system...especially considering you can market it as different than a bus...which is important.

[nashvylle]

1/10th of the cost of rail. 

[Guest]

so $900,000,000 instead of $9,000,000,000...now you're cooking with gas

[nashvylle]

59 minutes ago, nashville_bound said:

so $900,000,000 instead of $9,000,000,000...now you're cooking with gas

No. The $9BN was inclusive of long-term operating costs and the unnecessary underground tunnel. 

Operating costs will be much, much cheaper than this sexy bus, no underground tunnel, etc. 

I bet we could do several legs to start out for under $100mm. 

Edited February 18, 2019 by nashvylle