The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[Dale]

On 3/13/2019 at 8:29 PM, jkc2j said:

Looks like transit may be happening after all.

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville

Sounds like a yawner. Briley says he’s not pushing for transit. Just hopes to get a conversation started.

[Tennessine]

23 minutes ago, Dale said:

Sounds like a yawner. Briley says he’s not pushing for transit. Just hopes to get a conversation started.

When did he say that?

[Dale]

13 minutes ago, nativetenn said:

When did he say that?

Last week. It’s in the blurb. I posted this in response to a locked biz journal article that made it sound like there were plans for an airport rail link.

[Bos2Nash]

So I am going to have to withdraw some of my annoyance for the scooter industry. I have now used them on two separate occasions to move to or from my office and they have been awesome. One of my rides literally cost me $0.82 to go from 4th ave to Cummins Station and the other cut my lyft cost in half to go over to Music Row from Cummins.

I still have a strong hatred for those who ride on the sidewalks and park them improperly (I really want to close line one of them someday), but my ride over to Music Row did keep me on the sidewalk for the 8th ave stretch and bike lane the rest of the way. They are quick, convenient and cost effective. Plus it gets me in the open air, which I have not been enjoying enough.

Please do not all cast stones at me for my treason, but I can honestly say I am coming around to a certain extent. I just wish Nashville had better bike lane infrastructure so the police could ticket those riders on the sidewalk

[donNdonelson2]

Some improvements are planned for the Mount Juliet Music City Star Station as new residential developments are coming nearby.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/wilson/2019/03/22/mt-juliets-train-station-upgrades-join-hundreds-new-homes-nearby/3226564002/

[MidTenn1]

5 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

Please do not all cast stones at me for my treason, but I can honestly say I am coming around to a certain extent. I just wish Nashville had better bike lane infrastructure so the police could ticket those riders on the sidewalk

Agree. The scooters are not going away and they are here to stay. I'm all for new methods of transportation and welcome something as eco friendly as scooters. But, with their sudden and seemingly permanent appearance and presence in our city, it is incumbent on the city to provide safe travel ways to protect scooterers, pedestrians and, to some extent, all vehicles. 

In my recent encounter with scooters, I had to stop suddenly as a scooter rider hit a pole on the sidewalk and tumbled into the street just a few feet in front of me. I asked him if he was ok, twice, although he appeared somewhat shook up. He indicated he was fine, so I moved on. 

I don't like scooters on sidewalks any more than I like mixing them with fast, two-ton vehicles. This third form of transportation may need it's on right-of-way on a restricted road layout and soon.

[12Mouth]

Agreed! While not being anti-scooter, I have always viewed myself as someone who would never ride one. Tonight as I was trapped downtown with a 45 minute lyft and uber wait, I found myself downloading scooter apps desperately trying to find a way out. Alas, all scooters nearby were out of commission, but I totally see the need for them now!

[Nashvillain]

Metro needs to redesign the roads to slow down traffic so that scooters and cyclists don't have to be braver than Evil Knievel to ride on the roads like they're supposed to. Too many of our city streets are designed like highways and people reflexively (and selfishly, stupidly, ignorantly, cluelessly, with a sense of entitlement and outright meanness) treat them like drag strips in their two ton weapons. Municipalities all over the country need to be prioritizing everything except cars and, actually, begin making it harder to operate them within our cities. For our health and safety, our wallets and for our ability to keep living on this planet. Who's next on the soapbox? 

[Tennessine]

^ Agree with just about all of that. I also think Nashville needs a large pedestrian-only space, like Market Square in Knoxville

[volsfanwill]

Local news has picked up on the BNA plans. On the twitbook. The comments are as expected. 

[Jamie Hall]

Metro could rather easily (in theory) convert bike lanes into dedicated bike/scooter lanes and clearly mark them as such. Scooters and bicycles would co-exist well if given the space. 

My hope is that Metro has a secret plan already devised to deal with the scooter influx, but I won't be shocked if there isn't one.

[PaulChinetti]

40 minutes ago, volsfanwill said:

Local news has picked up on the BNA plans. On the twitbook. The comments are as expected. 

MOAR LANES!!! 

[AronG]

4 hours ago, Jamie Hall said:

My hope is that Metro has a secret plan already devised to deal with the scooter influx, but I won't be shocked if there isn't one.

Admit to having this same vague hope, but it's getting harder to believe. Based on the way sympathetic council members talk about this, it seems like our system relies on the mayor to provide initiative. If he doesn't announce a significant new effort we're apparently just going to keep doing what we've been doing, which is to throw a few hundred thousand dollars every year towards painting pretend death-trap bike lanes that everyone will ignore, then spend a bazillion $ widening some more interstates so we can solicit a few hundred more commuters from Spring Hill.

We need someone to map out a viable network downtown that would actually allow people to get from A to B, then start tackling it piece by piece. It will probably require giving up some on-street parking in places, but it will be worth it. We've managed to put together a few decent north-south routes over the years (1st Ave/riverfront greenway, 11th Ave, 16th/17th, etc.). If we just spruce them up and put in a protected east-west corridor to connect them, then put signs everywhere telling tourists where they lead ("---> POINT YOUR SCOOTER THIS WAY FOR GIANT WING MURAL SELFIES --->"), we could get at least a skeleton network up and running, then build from it based on ridership.

[OnePointEast]

What is happening on I-40 from mile marker 232 to 236?

[jmtunafish]

7 hours ago, OnePointEast said:

What is happening on I-40 from mile marker 232 to 236?

TDOT is finally widening I-40 all the way to 840.

https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/region-3/i-40-widening-wilson-co.html

[smeagolsfree]

The problem is that they think the traffic issue stops at 840 when in fact goes on into Lebanon and the widening needs to get through that area to really help more. Sort of what they did in Murfreesboro.

[titanhog]

8 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

The problem is that they think the traffic issue stops at 840 when in fact goes on into Lebanon and the widening needs to get through that area to really help more. Sort of what they did in Murfreesboro.

Just like they need to widen I-65 all the way to the Saturn Pkwy exit.  That's a total cluster down there.

[MLBrumby]

How about Ii-24 between Murfreesboro and Chattanooga. The Improve Act calls for widening the segment between I-59 and downtown, but that's so inadequate. The last two years, whenever I've driven back from Nashville, no matter when I've left, traffic backs up before I-59 now.

[titanhog]

9 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

How about Ii-24 between Murfreesboro and Chattanooga. The Improve Act calls for widening the segment between I-59 and downtown, but that's so inadequate. The last two years, whenever I've driven back from Nashville, no matter when I've left, traffic backs up before I-59 now.

I'm thinking a 12 lane elevated highway between Nashville and Atlanta is called for. 

[Salbato]

TDOT should widen I-24 from exit 1 in Clarksville to Nashville 4 lanes to 6.

[AronG]

As a Nashville resident, here's hoping TDOT does not widen interstates and dump more traffic from surrounding counties into the city.

[MLBrumby]

It's not just traffic from surrounding counties. These days, interstate trucking needs its own dedicated lane through Tennessee. I-24 has not changed since I was driving to/from college/Atlanta. Ok... it's a little better since he EB section at Monteagle has been completed. That was u/c for almost my whole time at Vandy. 

[12Mouth]

New design for 12th from 12South to the Gulch. Safe scooter passage!

https://www.nashville.gov/Portals/0/SiteContent/Planning/docs/Transportation/Bikeways/12th Ave S - Final Meeting Design.pdf

 

[AronG]

2 hours ago, 12Mouth said:

New design for 12th from 12South to the Gulch. Safe scooter passage!

https://www.nashville.gov/Portals/0/SiteContent/Planning/docs/Transportation/Bikeways/12th Ave S - Final Meeting Design.pdf

Wow, that's awesome. Looks like they kind of gave up after Hawkins, but this would be a huge, huge upgrade for the mile and a half stretch going south. What's the status of this? Is it actually gonna happen or is this just a proposal that will get neutered?

[KJHburg]

Here is what is happening in the Tar Heel state concerning scooters on the state level and in Charlotte.  Recently Charlotte designated some sidewalks especially in our downtown as NO scooter areas as they were endangering pedestrians.  

https://www.wfae.org/post/north-carolina-scooters-get-first-regulation-house-bill#stream/0