The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[rookzie]

http://www.wsmv.com/story/29205349/tune-airport-in-nashville-closing-for-renovation

 

Tune airport renovation. 

 

Some of you guys have been around long enough to remember the heyday of Cornelia Fort Airpark on the east-side.  (I do know a few of you who almost have to know).  It really hasn't been but about 4 years since it closed, and became incorporated with Metro Parks.

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[bigeasy]

Sounds like we have enough riders on here to do a group ride some Saturday. Maybe we could do an early morning ride on the way to a forum meeting.

Anyone game?

I would be down for a ride, well depending on what you mean by early morning haha. I usually am a tad lazy on Saturday mornings. 

[markhollin]

Some interesting transportation ideas here: Next mayor must be a hacker, think out of box

http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/06/01/nashville-mayor-hacker/28304477/

[rookzie]

The Hartline advocacy movement has maintained quite a vocal stance for a good while now, known for its "apolitical", grass-roots vantage points against traditional conformity.  It had been ostensibly in favor of abortion to the E-W Amp proposal, particularly in regard to the purported benefit to the midtown and western portions.  Robert Hartline is not a symbol of Lee Beaman, though some of their respective rationales may appear to have coincided.

 

Foreseeable time will tell whether or not any advanced concepts of mass transport/transit will be proposed to which Hartline would be amenable for integration into the central urban region.

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[markhollin]

Some interesting transportation concepts from mayoral candidate Linda Eskind Rebrovick's website:

http://www.lindafornashville.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Linda-Eskind-Rebrovick-Transit-Policy-Paper.pdf

Edited June 3, 2015 by markhollin

[Vrtigo]

Some interesting transportation concepts rom mayoral candidate Linda Eskind Rebrovick's website:

http://www.lindafornashville.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Linda-Eskind-Rebrovick-Transit-Policy-Paper.pdf

 

I heard her speak a few weeks ago to a small group downtown and thought it interesting that she spent as much time talking just about transportation as she spent on all of her other topics combined. Seems like she's making transportation a big priority and I can appreciate specific plans being outlined like this.

 

While not absolutely revolutionary in terms of what her ideas will accomplish, they seem very realistic--a very important factor in my opinion.

[CenterHill]

I heard her speak a few weeks ago to a small group downtown and thought it interesting that she spent as much time talking just about transportation as she spent on all of her other topics combined. Seems like she's making transportation a big priority and I can appreciate specific plans being outlined like this.

 

While not absolutely revolutionary in terms of what her ideas will accomplish, they seem very realistic--a very important factor in my opinion.

 

I think the polling shows that public transit/traffic is the #1 issue that voters want the next mayor to address.    More than jobs (which are doing fine), more than schools, more than police precincts, fire halls, affordable housing, flood control and on down the list.    The candidates are right to make it a focus of their campaigns.   The question is which candidate's transit proposals are going to resonate best with voters.    Rebrovick's seem to be getting some traction.    All are avoiding proposing big ticket solutions.    

[smeagolsfree]

From what I have seen of Eskind, she is a broken record thinking technology will solve everything.

I don't have a dog to walk in this parade, but in my book she would be my last choice.

[PruneTracy]

From what I have seen of Eskind, she is a broken record thinking technology will solve everything.

 

She's got a couple of right ideas but is falling short more often than not. Integrated signals would be nice but very, very expensive to implement, to say nothing of real-time adaptive processing. She also appears to espouse the idea of people using traffic apps on their smartphones while driving down the road. The mayor's not going to be able to do a thing about where airlines decide to offer service from BNA. And it bugs me that she doesn't know what HOT lanes are and refers to "grills" being an obstacle for cyclists.

 

Honestly sounds like she built a platform around what she read off of random comment cards from a TDOT public meeting. I'm surprised she hasn't said we should start building solar roads here (yet).

 

I'm all about raising the gas tax, though, as well as not building projects based on what is and is not covered by federal grants. [cough] AMP [cough] Sorry, dusty in here.

[Will]

The app suggestion is strange, not just for safety concerns but also since Google Maps offers customizable routing suggestions with travel times adjusted for traffic and TDOT's smartway system give a pretty good idea of what the highways look like. 

[smeagolsfree]

Not everyone has smart phones, especially the poor and seniors who use public transit at much higher rates than the rest of the population.

[rookzie]

Not everyone has smart phones, especially the poor and seniors who use public transit at much higher rates than the rest of the population.

 

... and speaking of apps, the badly needed real-time transit bus app effectively will target primarily choice riders.  It's hopeful and urgent that the shared data underlying the local agency's (Nashville MTA) native app would be utilized by vendors for integration in their all-in-one (multiple-system) smart-phone apps, long trusted in other regions.

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[markhollin]

"To avoid future gridlock, start planning now."  Opinion piece in today's Tennessean.  Details include this: "Cumberland Region Tomorrow, in collaboration with the Regional Transportation Authority, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Mayor's Caucus of Middle Tennessee, the Transit Alliance, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Department of Transportation, will present its 2015 Power of Ten Regional Summit from 1-4:30 p.m. June 18 in the TPAC Polk Theater, addressing mobility options for Middle Tennessee. The program is titled "Getting There from Here: More Transportation Choices and Connections for All of Us" and will feature both national and regional speakers. All are invited. There is no charge to attend, and you can register by going to www.10power.org."

 

I wish I could be there, but will be out of town on business.  Hope some from our forum can make it there and report back to us.

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/06/05/nashville-mobility/28554945/

[rookzie]

"To avoid future gridlock, start planning now."  Opinion piece in today's Tennessean.  Details include this: "Cumberland Region Tomorrow, in collaboration with the Regional Transportation Authority, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Mayor's Caucus of Middle Tennessee, the Transit Alliance, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Department of Transportation, will present its 2015 Power of Ten Regional Summit from 1-4:30 p.m. June 18 in the TPAC Polk Theater, addressing mobility options for Middle Tennessee. The program is titled "Getting There from Here: More Transportation Choices and Connections for All of Us" and will feature both national and regional speakers. All are invited. There is no charge to attend, and you can register by going to www.10power.org."

 

I wish I could be there, but will be out of town on business.  Hope some from our forum can make it there and report back to us.

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/06/05/nashville-mobility/28554945/

 

I work about 200 feet from there, so I'd have no excuse not to attend.

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[markhollin]

I work about 200 feet from there, so I'd have no excuse not to attend.

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Please do!  And give us a full report.  : )

[markhollin]

I so much like the way the Japanese do their mass transit...

https://www.facebook.com/HappyPeopleHappy/videos/859227964131267/?pnref=story

 

[rookzie]

...found this pic a friend had posted in FceBk.  It was so amusingly tacky that I just had to suggest its being deployed on some of our state and city roadways, although it likely would cause rear-enders (by those who don't get it).

 

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Edited June 8, 2015 by rookzie

[volsfanwill]

Just saw a commercial for a mayoral candidate that was transit centric. He said we need a regional transit plan that includes regional light rail. I know nothing else about him but at least one of them gets it.

[rookzie]

Just saw a commercial for a mayoral candidate that was transit centric. He said we need a regional transit plan that includes regional light rail. I know nothing else about him but at least one of them gets it.

 

Yes, he's been attracting attention as such for at least a week now, with that "device", and indeed it has been somewhat alluring.  Unfortunately, the ad agency shows a vignette of what appears to be high-speed intercity rail.  They could have been a bit more resourceful with a real-life example of regional or urban rail, without showing branded imagery (logos of an owning transit agency).  My guess is, either that the ad agency is banking on general naiveté of the targeted audience, or that the ad visual director simply lacks a sense of authenticity in choice of illustration to conceptualize the intent.  Otherwise, let's just hope it's not smoke, in the event he becomes a close contender.

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Edited June 13, 2015 by rookzie

[grilled_cheese]

Kinda like how Rebrovick (sp?) said she would bring a smart app with real time data to Nashville for the bus system.  Yeah, that was happening way before your candidacy....

[PruneTracy]

Just saw a commercial for a mayoral candidate that was transit centric. He said we need a regional transit plan that includes regional light rail. I know nothing else about him but at least one of them gets it.

 

Perhaps we could form an agency tasked with developing transportation plans for the greater Nashville area. We could call it... a metropolitan planning organization.

 

[barakat]

On that candidate's website, it says he will appoint a "transportation director" to oversee a transit plan. I thought that was Steve Bland's job.

Just saw a commercial for a mayoral candidate that was transit centric. He said we need a regional transit plan that includes regional light rail. I know nothing else about him but at least one of them gets it.

[donNdonelson2]

I have not been terribly impressed with the field of candidates for mayor this time, on transit issues...or other issues, to be honest. Perhaps somebody will shine in the final stretch of the campaign.

[Hey_Hey]

I think they are all afraid to commit to anything too big, and there really isn't a forum for them to expound upon their transit plans except for their websites.  The debates and forums are generally for soundbites only which makes a true discussion of a transit vision difficult to attain.  There's also a large contingent of voters that are opposed to any type of mass transit because they don't see the need for it. Proposing a comprehensive transit plan whose cost starts with a B will likely scare off those voters.

 

What I would like to see from the candidates is evidence that they known something about transit other than the fact that MTA provides bus rides for $1.70.  I want them to be able to discuss the pros and cons of BRT vs Light rail.  I want them to be able to differentiate between a street car and regional light rail. I would love it if they knew something about alternative mass transit like ferries and aerial trams/gondolas. I would be incredibly impressed if they could cogently discuss the differences between a hub and spoke bus system and one that prioritizes cross town routes. I would be even more impressed if they could tie together residential planning concepts and philosophies with increased transit utilization. 

 

My hope is that the MTA/RTA planning sessions that are ongoing now will provide the new mayor a very developed vision for what transit should look like in the region.  He or she could then take that plan and run with it in terms of obtaining funding and jumping through the regulatory political hurdles that are sure to arise.

[rookzie]

I think they are all afraid to commit to anything too big, and there really isn't a forum for them to expound upon their transit plans except for their websites.  The debates and forums are generally for soundbites only which makes a true discussion of a transit vision difficult to attain.  There's also a large contingent of voters that are opposed to any type of mass transit because they don't see the need for it. Proposing a comprehensive transit plan whose cost starts with a B will likely scare off those voters.

 

What I would like to see from the candidates is evidence that they known something about transit other than the fact that MTA provides bus rides for $1.70.  I want them to be able to discuss the pros and cons of BRT vs Light rail.  I want them to be able to differentiate between a street car and regional light rail. I would love it if they knew something about alternative mass transit like ferries and aerial trams/gondolas. I would be incredibly impressed if they could cogently discuss the differences between a hub and spoke bus system and one that prioritizes cross town routes. I would be even more impressed if they could tie together residential planning concepts and philosophies with increased transit utilization. 

 

My hope is that the MTA/RTA planning sessions that are ongoing now will provide the new mayor a very developed vision for what transit should look like in the region.  He or she could then take that plan and run with it in terms of obtaining funding and jumping through the regulatory political hurdles that are sure to arise.

 

As the current CEO of For Worth Transportation Authority (which just as at least two other transit agencies has adopted "The T" as its moniker), Nashville MTA's former director Paul Ballard, basically was appointed virtually as a "transportation director".  Ft. Worth Mayor Betsy Price managed to "lure" Ballard from Nashville in early 2014, allegedly in part because of "closed" lack of concurrence on MTA/RTA planning and and oversight between the agency and the administration (Dean), according to a credible source of information.  Basically it seemed to have boiled down to major internal, behind-the-scene discord concerning the E-W connector AMP proposal.

 

Ft.Worth's administration seemed to have been dead serious in enhancing its regional transportation system, even though not as aggressively as perhaps SLC's FrontRunner  or Miami's TriRail.  Ballard's previous track record with leadership experience in public transportation, emphasizing passenger rail, apparently was a resolute factor in his ultimate selection by a national search firm deployed to aid Ft. Worth in its quest.  Ballard may not have been popular in Nashville circles, but he does seem to have been allowed to shine his prowess in Ft. Worth, with the ongoing "Tex Rail" proposal-turned-project, connecting SW Ft. Worth with the DFW Airport.  What makes this a tenable undertaking (other than the funding, of course) is that this is part of a considerably larger planned regional system, most other segments or which have yet to be funded.

 

Ft. Worth already has been connected to Dallas with the Trinity Railway Express commuter line, which has ridership levels within the upper 85 percentile of US statistics (American Public Transportation Assn.).  This pre-existing viable component, along with the proposed connection to nearby Denton Co. "A-Train", a yet additional constituent of the greater Dallas-Ft. Worth regional.  These, along with the fact that Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) long ago purchased the railroad RoW, on part of which Ft Worth's current Tex Rail project is to operate, are all conducive to that region's enhancement of public transport service, admittedly far more so than current physical circumstances of the greater Nashville region.  And as emphasized in the past, much of this region's assets have been foregone or lost, within the last 2 decades, again a foresight overshadowed by nearly every other subject of civic agenda.

 

The current Nashville administration's cramp and clamp on Ballard therefore appeared to have been a primary "symptom" in the rift and loss of confidence with the Nashville MTA.  As far as the MCS is concerned, and as implied in earlier posts, the Nashville RTA could and still can do only so much with resources on-hand (basically a "life-support" provision).  Ultimately it takes driven leadership as a focused and sustained effort, rather than as an aside, a principle which seems to have been the case with the ill-fated E-W connector, as a purported "Good start".  After 8 years of the current administration, there's should be not much room to guess on what has not been of within the foremost of priorities, based on the results.  It takes delegation without self-serving micromanagement and a demonstration of coordinated commitment, in concert with the shared transportation needs of a region, to make a distinguishable difference in the next 8 years.  That does not require a mayor who knows how to do that her- or himself, but rather one who knows how to share the weighted process of selection of a transportation appointee and how to share discourse and engagement with all levels of concern.

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