The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[PaulChinetti]

8 minutes ago, Mr_Bond said:

Given the fact that my wife and I are now a one-car family (I just sold my car with no plans to replace it), I am thrilled that Lyft is available when I need them!

Lyft did a little promotion where they would give you 300 bucks in credit for Lyft. I got chosen and did it for a whole month, we were basically a one car family and it was great. 

The only time I didn't use it was to and from the gym, it felt inconsiderate for me to sweat all over someones car (I sweat a lot).

[Mr_Bond]

3 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

Lyft did a little promotion where they would give you 300 bucks in credit for Lyft. I got chosen and did it for a whole month, we were basically a one car family and it was great. 

The only time I didn't use it was to and from the gym, it felt inconsiderate for me to sweat all over someones car (I sweat a lot).

We are in our third week and loving it so far.  I use the fitness center in our building (currently being upgraded to more than twice its former size) so my heavy sweating is not an issue except for those who happen to share the elevator with me.

[smeagolsfree]

7 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

South Corridor Transportation Study will be hosting public input meetings for residents in Williamson, Maury and Davidson County. 

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2019/04/04/greater-nashville-regional-council-wego-public-transport-tdot-south-corridor-public-transit/3360680002/

Davidson County Meeting:  Monday, May 6, Adventure Science Center, 800 Fort Negley Blvd., Nashville 5:30pm to 8:00pm

Thats all well and good, but if there is no way to move all those folks around downtown once you bring them in via rail, bus or jet pack, the conversation is mute.

[Bos2Nash]

3 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

Thats all well and good, but if there is no way to move all those folks around downtown once you bring them in via rail, bus or jet pack, the conversation is mute.

Gotta start the conversation somehow. If that means moving people into the city (who knows, maybe a central part of it), it's a start. The critics said AMP was too little and the Transit Referendum was too much at once. Maybe this is a shot to take a swing at a multi county approach that could catalyze more for a larger regional transit plan in 5 to 10 years

[Mr_Bond]

2 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

Gotta start the conversation somehow.

We must keep talking with each other or we will end up in a little corner all alone with nothing good happening in our lives.  This is the foundation of UP.

This is why I am thrilled about the interstate cap park proposed by the NCDC and VU.  It starts the conversation.  Now, let's keep talking!

[PaulChinetti]

This has passed through the council and signed by Mayor Briley. Lowering speed limits in the Urban Services District to 20 or 25mph if I read it correctly. Looks like it will be rolling out over the next year or so as the signs get changed. 

https://www.nashville.gov/Metro-Clerk/Legislative/Ordinances/Details/9cb6360a-b0fc-4ba8-b05d-ad8276789f8f/2015-2019/BL2019-1492.aspx

http://maps.nashville.gov/webimages/MapGallery/PDFMaps/Urban Services District.pdf

[markhollin]

Geofencing being put into place to prohibit use of scooters in various parts of Nashville:

More at WSMV site here:

https://www.wsmv.com/news/geofencing-approved-for-parts-of-vanderbilt-other-portions-of-nashville/article_0877adc0-6634-11e9-94aa-2738b1da3f66.html?fbclid=IwAR10gcsQ_YtbGMZ4G17v4KPdORjgJqI9zmPoTObVYmpe_TPuomtSw5Ao32Y

[PruneTracy]

8 minutes ago, markhollin said:

Geofencing being put into place to prohibit use of scooters in various parts of Nashville:

Pretty cool. Do they have these for bachelorettes?

[rookzie]

On 4/17/2019 at 4:38 PM, smeagolsfree said:

One of the first things I would do with the sidewalks is if the road has a bus line on it, then it should have a sidewalk on it the entire length of the line. That is almost basic city planning 101.... 

I can only speak for places I have ridden the bus but northern cities seem to have had it under control a lot better. But it is the south.

 

On 4/18/2019 at 7:31 AM, L'burgnative said:

That's because most northern cities were built pre WWII and most southern cities have been built post WWII.  Even in the south the neighborhoods built pre WWII typically have sidewalks.  I'm willing to bet Pontiac or Troy don't have the sidewalk infrastructure Detroit does.  At least that's my observation; I could be wrong.

 

On 4/19/2019 at 1:07 PM, Vrtigo said:

Agreed, @smeagolsfree. Sidewalks would go a long way toward reducing the "second class" status of bus riding here in Nashville.

Unfortunately, anything outside of the core results in walking a half mile or more along a soggy ditch adjacent to a four lane highway. Nobody with any other option is going to willingly choose that.

 

On 4/19/2019 at 1:51 PM, nativetenn said:

Imagine if Davidson County had the same sidewalk quality as the hardly-used ones in Cool Springs. 

 

As old as I am and fortunately continue to amble around (while staying old), I continue to ride the city bus on occasion in places other than just Nashville.  Even “big-small” towns like my former hometown of Champaign-Urbana, IL, back in the early 1960s, had sidewalks in just about the entire corporation limit,  encompassing nearly 35 square miles.   As a child (when parents could trust kids riding alone),  I recall sidewalks everywhere that the then-modest-to-moderate bus system served, even to the extreme boundaries, where the city abruptly ended, and even houses on the frontal streets facing the county farmland had streetlights and sidewalks.

Of course, my recent trip to Detroit this month showed the typical presence of sidewalks throughout that old city, not just downtown and Midtown.   For riding DDOT, I did put on my “urban” appearance there, so I could feel “at home”.

Edited April 26, 2019 by rookzie

[nashvylle]

1 minute ago, rookzie said:

Thanks @rookzie for your posts in general and this post in particular. A HUGE issue for me in Nashville is I have no idea where the bus routes even are. Why can't Nashville do simple painting on the bus routes so people can know the routes without a map / app. Also, that 1 SF "Bus Stop" sign is what is typical in Nashville, too. 

Spend the small amount of money to paint the roads and give better signage. 

[Dale]

Sounds like the airport is serious ...

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/light-rail-at-nashville-international-airport-could-still-happen

[PaulChinetti]

58 minutes ago, Dale said:

Sounds like the airport is serious ...

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/light-rail-at-nashville-international-airport-could-still-happen

I mean it makes sense, where people get on/get off is the thing isn't it? If it comes up Murfreesboro Pike/ Lafayette St, where does it dump people? At the roundabout by the Music City Center? I mean I bet they would LOVE that (not sarcasm). You could land, ride to the MCC/hotels downtown and then leave back on the rail line, never leaving the inner core. Seems like a no brainer to me. 

[ruraljuror]

46 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

I mean it makes sense, where people get on/get off is the thing isn't it? If it comes up Murfreesboro Pike/ Lafayette St, where does it dump people? At the roundabout by the Music City Center? I mean I bet they would LOVE that (not sarcasm). You could land, ride to the MCC/hotels downtown and then leave back on the rail line, never leaving the inner core. Seems like a no brainer to me. 

I hope the MCC incorporates the rail station into whatever 'expansion space' they end up developing.

[smeagolsfree]

Thanks rookzie, if we cant see you at the meets, then this is the next best thing!

[BnaBreaker]

I love the idea, and it would be perfect as a starter line to warm people up to the idea of light rail.  If they do build it though I really hope they build it with a plan in mind for future expansion and connection on the western terminus of the line and don't just plop it some random place like they did with Music City Star.  

[Dale]

They keep mentioning a stop at Murfreesboro Pike. Is that currently a development node ?

[PaulChinetti]

2 minutes ago, Dale said:

They keep mentioning a stop at Murfreesboro Pike. Is that currently a development node ?

I took it to mean that the airport stop would be where the airport touches M. Pike. As it continues on down the road?

[MLBrumby]

Like Paul, I think it's a reference to the airport. M'boro Rd. is not currently considered a development node, although the fastest growth in the county is occurring just to the south of there at Hickory Hollow (aka Antioch, Cane Ridge). I could see how it may evolve to that, but I think the intent behind this proposal is to move people to/from BNA/downtown. 

[Dale]

1 minute ago, PaulChinetti said:

I took it to mean that the airport stop would be where the airport touches M. Pike. As it continues on down the road?

Oh, gotcha. So maybe this would be a true one-stop link to downtown ? The Vancouver SkyTrain was swish. But there were about ten stops before you got downtown.

[BnaBreaker]

Wow, I sincerely hope it's more than just a zero stop express tourist transporter, although at the risk of sounding cynical that does kind of sound like something Nashville would do!  If it's going to be headed through some neighborhoods anyway why wouldn't we add stops along the way so actual residents could make use of it too?  Three or four stops would add maybe a couple minutes to the trip at most, so it isn't like they would negate the convenience factor.

[LA_TN]

2 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

Wow, I sincerely hope it's more than just a zero stop express tourist transporter, although at the risk of sounding cynical that does kind of sound like something Nashville would do!  If it's going to be headed through some neighborhoods anyway why wouldn't we add stops along the way so actual residents could make use of it too?  Three or four stops would add maybe a couple minutes to the trip at most, so it isn't like they would negate the convenience factor.

Most likely, there would be an airport express with no local stops. Too early to say, there are a few factors around that decision

[Dale]

If it’s one stop ... I suppose that makes it cheaper to build.

[21jump]

44 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

Wow, I sincerely hope it's more than just a zero stop express tourist transporter, although at the risk of sounding cynical that does kind of sound like something Nashville would do!  If it's going to be headed through some neighborhoods anyway why wouldn't we add stops along the way so actual residents could make use of it too?  Three or four stops would add maybe a couple minutes to the trip at most, so it isn't like they would negate the convenience factor.

I was in Toronto at the beginning of the month and they have light rail between the airport and downtown called the Union-Pearson express.  The train departs every fifteen minutes and there are two stops in between. It's a 23 minute trip one way and cost $12 Canadian. The train ended at Union Station in the heart of downtown Toronto where there were connections to the local subway, light rail, buses, and heavy commuter rail. There were several people who got on and off at the two stops in between.  Something like that may work well in Nashville but the downtown terminus has to be convenient and central so people could walk to their hotel/office in minutes.

If light rail in Nashville begins with the airport link, it must be done right because it will be the either the catalyst or deterrent for future light rail in the city.

[BnaBreaker]

1 hour ago, Dale said:

If it’s one stop ... I suppose that makes it cheaper to build.

True... and I suppose stops could be added later if needed.

[BnaBreaker]

7 hours ago, 21jump said:

I was in Toronto at the beginning of the month and they have light rail between the airport and downtown called the Union-Pearson express.  The train departs every fifteen minutes and there are two stops in between. It's a 23 minute trip one way and cost $12 Canadian. The train ended at Union Station in the heart of downtown Toronto where there were connections to the local subway, light rail, buses, and heavy commuter rail. There were several people who got on and off at the two stops in between.  Something like that may work well in Nashville but the downtown terminus has to be convenient and central so people could walk to their hotel/office in minutes.

If light rail in Nashville begins with the airport link, it must be done right because it will be the either the catalyst or deterrent for future light rail in the city.

That sounds like an ideal scenario for an express line, for sure, especially with the couple stops peppered in there.  I certainly think express lines have a place, but I feel like they work better as a cog in an expansive already existing system rather than as a city's very first attempt at rapid transit of any kind.  As you so astutely noted, the city needs to get it right on their first attempt because that line will go a long way toward shaping the general public's collective opinion of light rail as a concept, and if we spend all these tax payer dollars and tear up the streets in all these neighborhoods to build a train line through them and the people in said neighborhoods can't even use it??  Well, I feel like that would be a massive strike in the 'against' column for most people, ya know what I mean?  The elevated Blue Line of the L here in Chicago cuts right through my neighborhood a few blocks from my place on it's way from The Loop to O'hare, and although I love it for the aesthetics and sound (it's an acquired taste lol) I know I'd be pretty sour if I couldn't even use the thing!

Edited April 27, 2019 by BnaBreaker