The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[markhollin]

Smegolsfree and I attended the Let's Move Nashville Metro Transportation Solution open house at Farmers Market last night.  I estimate that at least a hundred were involved during the hour or so that I was there.  Mayor Barry was in attendance and chatting with folks who had questions.  Wish there had been more diagrams and renderings regarding the downtown tunnel.

A few things we leaned:

1) The Light Rail would run from Charlotte Ave and then turn onto James Robertson Parkway, then curve back south at 5th Ave. North and enter a tunnel that would begin just NE of Municipal Auditorium. 

2) The Light Rail tracks coming from Gallatin and Main would also travel westward and curve around a portion of James Robertson Parkway and then curve around the north side of Municipal Auditorium where they would intersect with the Charlotte line to enter the tunnel.

3) The Rapid Bus lines from the Dickerson corridor would also enter the tunnel on 5th Ave. North just NE of Municipal Auditorium, and then would split into two levels (one for train and the other for buses) inside the tunnel. 

4) All of the buses that would be utilized to go in the tunnel would be either electric or hybrid so they would not emit any fumes while underground.

5) There will be midway stop in the tunnel immediately under the intersection of Broadway and 5th Ave. where there would be escalators, elevators, and stairs leading up to a small entry point, most likely at the Bridgestone Arena Plaza.

6) The exit of the south end of the tunnel would be on 5th Ave. South. most likely just north of the intersection with Elm and Lafayette.  Indeed, the triangular lot that was purchased for MCC a few weeks ago at the SE corner of that intersection will become the southern Transit station for the tunnel. 

7) The Transit Station for the Charlotte Light Rail would most likely be at NW corner of  Charlotte and 31st Ave. North.  

8) Even though the Charlotte Light Rail would end at that point, there will be increased Charlotte Ave. bus routes running all the way out to Nashville West shopping center at least every 15 minutes during peak hours.  

9) The Light Rail spur route north off of Charlotte would be at the 21st Ave. intersection cutting north to about Herman St. where it would tie-in with the old Nashville and Eastern RR track bed. That line would end with a station at intersection of Ed Temple Blvd. and Buchanan St. just north of TSU.  Eventually, that line could be tied-in with the remainder of the Nashville & Eastern line that runs all the way to Clarksville for a commuter train line al la Music City Star.

10) The Light Rail Transit Station near the fairgrounds will be around the western side of the Polk Ave. intersection.

11) There will be a Rapid Bus Transit Station just to the west of the intersection of West End and Broadway. Probably on eastern side of 17th Ave. South.
 

We were told there would be at least 60 new buses added into the system, added to the current 180 or so in the fleet. Here is the large map showing the light rail, rapid bus, and new regular bus routes that would be implemented in the plan as it stands now:

 

Renderings of what transit stations would look like:
 

[Andrew_3289]

Happy to see the west Nashville council women voicing the concerns about how Charlotte Pike needs the light rail extended past 440. 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2017/10/24/nashville-transit-plan-charlotte-avenue-light-rail-sylvan-heights-the-nations/790204001/ 

[Flatrock]

New animated video of the Let's Move Nashville Transit plan.

 

 

[markhollin]

Not sure if this was posted in the past, but info/research on the proposed NW corridor transit train to Clarksville:

http://www.nwcorridorstudy.com/pdfs/2008_NW_Corridor_feasibility_study.pdf

 

[nashwatcher]

On the light rail lines have they decided where the stops will be? Any idea approx how many stops there will be on the Gallatin/Murfreesboro/Nolensville lines?

[Flatrock]

11 minutes ago, nashwatcher said:

On the light rail lines have they decided where the stops will be? Any idea approx how many stops there will be on the Gallatin/Murfreesboro/Nolensville lines?

I've been looking for the same thing on all the lines, but so far - no dice. I'm thinking it's just not out there yet.  Maybe when the individual neighborhood transit meetings occur we can find out...?

[smeagolsfree]

The Nashville Western line stops at the dump in Ashland City at Thompson Rd., and then I think there is unused track to TN Waltz Parkway.  It picks up again thru the State Water Heater plant and then discontinues again in town. Then track I believe has been pulled up. The old RR Bed picks up on Chapmansboro Rd. and continues as Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail to the Cheatham Dam. From there I am unsure of the status.

[nashvylle]

Has the idea of buying Radnor Yards fallen through?

[smeagolsfree]

Here is a link to the short lines in TN.

https://tn.gov/assets/entities/tdot/attachments/shortline_railroad.pdf

 

 

[bnacincy]

1 hour ago, nashvylle said:

Has the idea of buying Radnor Yards fallen through?

The city is apparently not paying any attention to what is happening with CSX....as I mentioned in an earlier post, CSX has gone through a major restructuring and has closed several "humpyards", including Radnor Yards. Someone in Metro needs to get back with them and see if any capacity has opened up. For the amount of money they are talking about spending they could have a serious regional commuter rail system which would carry a lot more people into downtown than street cars or buses. Not to mention a lot quicker as well. If they could come to terms with CSX perhaps Radnor Yards could be utilized as a massive commuter rail park and ride station so that West and South Nashvillians could hop on a train which takes them directly into downtown while avoiding the bottlenecks at I-440 and the inner loop.

Speaking of buses and streetcars, since we already have Music City Star and Music City Circuit, why not call the regular buses and any future streetcars "Music City Link"? Couple that with a new design and color scheme it would be a big improvement over the current sliced pie logo which is looking seriously out of date.

My two cents worth....

[nashwatcher]

So if Randor Yard was utilized we could have a large station at Harding Place and Sidco that took people quickly into downtown? Kind of like a large, efficient Park and Ride?

[PruneTracy]

On ‎2017‎-‎10‎-‎28 at 9:16 AM, smeagolsfree said:

The old RR Bed picks up on Chapmansboro Rd. and continues as Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail to the Cheatham Dam. From there I am unsure of the status.

The right-of-way and the subgrade remain for the most part, but in some areas it looks like the adjacent property owners have taken it over, either de jure or de facto. It stays pretty intact up to the Lowe's in Clarksville on Madison Street, then it drops off.

Ideally the rail line (if selected) would get all the way to a new Clarksville transit center, wherever that ends up being. But it's tough going once you get into Clarksville proper.

[NashvilleObserver]

8 hours ago, PruneTracy said:

The right-of-way and the subgrade remain for the most part, but in some areas it looks like the adjacent property owners have taken it over, either de jure or de facto. It stays pretty intact up to the Lowe's in Clarksville on Madison Street, then it drops off.

Ideally the rail line (if selected) would get all the way to a new Clarksville transit center, wherever that ends up being. But it's tough going once you get into Clarksville proper.

I know that many in Clarksville, especially important people at Ft. Campbell, have been pushing for a transit line to Nashville for many years, especially since the completion of the Music City Star from Lebanon. Several Lebanon officials met with the Clarksville mayor and county mayor years ago to "trade ideas" but it never came to fruition. From what I've heard, the Clarksville mayor, Kim McMillan, has been so stagnantly against development of any kind in Clarksville, that it took a meeting with several state senators urging her not to run for reelection to convince her otherwise. Now, several "big" (big for Clarksville) developments are in the works for downtown Clarksville, including FINALLY allowing Austin Peay State University to expand beyond it's borders. Maybe next up could be a transit line from Ft. Campbell right at the Kentucky border, to Nashville??

[PruneTracy]

11 hours ago, NashvilleObserver said:

Maybe next up could be a transit line from Ft. Campbell right at the Kentucky border, to Nashville??

From Clarksville to Fort Campbell is about as bad as heading into Clarksville from the Lowe's, and about three times as long to boot. There are a lot of residential subdivisions that have built on the original right-of-way. The Clarksville Greenway is also built over part of it, kind of like the Bicentennial Trail north of Ashland City.

The line (which I'm told was once part of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania (?) Railroad) is also really circuitous, I guess they were following the Red River west fork or whatever it's called.

In any case if you go to Fort Campbell you may as well head on to Hopkinsville, where apparently a lot of Nashville commuters live. The good news is, there's already a rail line that connects Hopkinsville and Fort Campbell, maintained and running through farms with no development in sight. Bad news is, it's owned by... CSX. Whomp whomp.

[smeagolsfree]

There is also an effort to create a trail along the path of the RR between Ashland City and Clarksville.

[AronG]

An interesting look (behind the Download the Blueprint link) at some considerations on how to take advantage of autonomous cars to make cities more pleasant and livable, instead of just using the increased capacity to sprawl even further.

https://nacto.org/publication/bau/blueprint-for-autonomous-urbanism/

[markhollin]

The estimated costs per mile of each leg of the light rail plan:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2017/10/31/by-the-numbers-what-nashvilles-light-rail-lines.html

 

[titanhog]

^^That's a lot of zeroes.  

[fieldmarshaldj]

2 hours ago, titanhog said:

^^That's a lot of zeroes.  

Wait 'til you see the ACTUAL costs.

[Pdt2f]

My primary concern about this plan is the finances. I can appreciate the boldness and ambition but I just have a feeling that this is going to cause some severe financial issues in the future. 

[nashwatcher]

Cost on the debt seems manageable to me, especially as Nashville continues to grow and the next million people move here (which will come to a halt if we do nothing. We've done nothing for too long out of fear. Time seems right now. Just IMO)

[Lexy]

It either happens now, or we stop the growth and it never gets done because of one reason or another.  Bottomline is it has to be done and now is as good a time as any.  When it's too late, it will be impossible to implement and the growth numbers will not justify it.

[Neigeville2]

It will never be cheaper than it is now.

Edited November 1, 2017 by Neigeville2

[NashvilleObserver]

We should put a 200% tax on every pedal-tavern ride, and every bacherolette-party-goer's hotel room.

[tragenvol]

18 hours ago, Neigeville2 said:

It will never be cheaper than it is now.

Even tomorrow a dollar costs more than today.