The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[CenterHill]

LOL    The only thing that could have made that photo better is if the guy in the bucket had a fishing rod in his hand.   

[markhollin]

 I-440 update.  

Looking east from Belmont Blvd. overpass:
 

Looking NW from Belmont Blvd. overpass:

[Hushpuppy321]

Hate to discourage but I was reading through the latest plancharlotte.org article about a new book comparing Mass Transit Systems across the Country.  Here’s excerpt about Nashville:

Nashville

Another dysfunctional system is the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro MTA  (metro population: 1,912,819). Its low status reflects a murky history of subpar funding and dubious compromises. 

Its sole commuter rail line, the Music City Star, is a project “born out of opportunity, not need.” Like Dallas’s DART, it runs on existing tracks that avoid the denser population zones. Frequency is at a mere four to six daily  trips in each direction. 

Opportunity for a huge breakthrough came in 2018, but voters rejected the $5.4 billion expansion plan by a distressing margin -- at a time when the system’s 18 weekday trips per 1000 metro residents was less than half that of Dallas’s DART. Regrettably, Nashville can’t seem to muster the political will power to fund major investment or attract passengers. 

Where I’m at here in Charlotte isnt too much better....

Edited February 12, 2020 by Hushpuppy321

[grilled_cheese]

I've voted for transit twice and watched as it was interfered with from the outside.  At this point I'm almost anti transit.  I'd rather the interstates back up for miles in every direction as outsiders try to get into our beautiful county.  I hope they enjoy the traffic they've caused. 

[Tennessine]

I can attest to the fact that much of exurban Atlanta has the same sentiment toward public transit that Nashville does.  In the outer suburbs, people are very hostile to any transit connections with Atlanta except the existing interstates. It's just like the people in Murfreesboro and Franklin. Even though so many of them commute downtown and add to the congestion, they would rather stick to their private vehicles than pay taxes for a commuter rail project.

If all else fails, maybe Nashville could plan a system of golf cart paths.

Okay, I'm joking, but here in Peachtree City, I commute to and from work in a golf cart. This is the golf cart capital of the world. This suburban city worked around its non-urban planning to solve traffic problems by designing a system of golf cart paths that network throughout the city. For a suburban place like this, it is a pretty neat feature. It's much safer than the roadways, cuts down on parking, and is certainly greener than conventional private vehicle commuting. 

https://visitpeachtreecity.com/

Anyway, enough about an Atlanta suburb and its Disney-like quasi-public transportation system, but I'd thought some of you may find this interesting.

[rookzie]

Regrettably, the recent plea for a consortium on Middle- Tennessee regional planning won't help urban Metro Nashville and Davidson County, in terms of garnering some kind of consensus on sustainable funding to address local transport alternatives.  At best that "might" effectuate some commitment among jurisdictions, with shared commuting paths.

But then that is not unique to Nashville, and it also becomes exacerbated by Metro GSD and USD coverage and the perceived vs. actually proportion of accountability among the population's sentiment.  As far as Atlanta is concerned, I'm thinking that a lot of the polarity among the exurbs also was a result of lingering distrust from mismanagement and scandals during past administrations.  That has made it even more difficult, particularly when the state itself has not contributed measurably to dedicated capital funding of the agency.

It was conceded from the start that the Nashville-to-Lebanon start-up of the Music City Star (MCS) was more opportunistic than needed, one reason that ridership never surged as what would have been expected with more densely traversed corridors.  For that same reason, the long proposed second commuter-rail initiative ─ the Northwest Corridor ─ would be in part "exploitive", since much of the proposed preferred alternative would have the alignment follow much of an existing right-of-way, owned by the same non-CSX-owned entity hosting the current MCS operation (R.J. Corman Group).  But that pales in comparison to the regional corridors which would need it the most.

I resolve to side with grilled_cheese, with his strong retort, and I have said all along from failure after failure, that it might have to end up as a blessing in disguise for congestion to turn into a total quagmire, before anything is done materially to offer transport options in the city or in the region.

[Bark At The Sun]

Photo Courtesy of J Houghton

With all of the rain we've had lately, potholes and sinkholes are showing up in roadways.   I noticed a bunch of potholes show up this week on I-40 between Nashville and Mt. Juliet.  This was from a co-worker who was travelling to Chattanooga 10 years ago who was stopped short of the sinkhole that appeared on I-24 in Grundy County.   It was well documented years ago, but thought i would share this photo.

[smeagolsfree]

Ouch! That would hurt to drive into.

[Nash_12South]

Regarding the 440 project, and pleading ignorance, will it reopen in segments of do we wait until the entire stretch is complete? Sometime this summer?

[PruneTracy]

1 hour ago, Nash_12South said:

Regarding the 440 project, and pleading ignorance, will it reopen in segments of do we wait until the entire stretch is complete? Sometime this summer?

We'll have to wait until the entire stretch is complete, unless the contractor finds a financial benefit to reopening in segments. There isn't a traffic control plan currently to shift traffic within the job limits and it was not required by TDOT.

And yes, it's still on track for July 2020 completion.

[jkc2j]

Not sure how true this rumor is but was at the bank this morning and was speaking to an owner of a trucking company that handles road construction.  Was informed that Nashville was slated by the federal and state government for a massive overhaul of the interstate highways around downtown. He said it would be similar to Minneapolis' interstate system where the highways are built "above the city" whatever that means. He stated it would be a 30-40 year build out.

Edited February 20, 2020 by jkc2j

[Bos2Nash]

6 minutes ago, jkc2j said:

Not sure how true this rumor is but was at the bank and was speaking to an owner of a trucking that handles road construction that Nashville was slated by the federal and state government and  for a massive overhaul of the interstate highways. He said it would be similar to Minneapolis' interstate system where the highways are built "above the city" whatever that means. He stated it would be a 30-40 year build out.

If there is even a whiff of "elevated highways/expressways" that should worry everyone. That would be taking massive steps BACKWARDS with regards to transportation design and implementation. 

Looking at Minneapolis on google maps shows a number of elevated portions of highway, but also a ton of spaghetti junction type interchanges. Hopefully whatever overhaul is coming would connect the city rather than divide.

 

[PaulChinetti]

OH GOD, PLEASE NO, we don't need more of this. What is that monstrosity???

[MLBrumby]

I really do not trust TDOT to do anything right. It is stuck in the 1970s.  The pic of Trinity Lane posted yesterday is a great example of how they've done that thing wrong right from the beginning to the present. They built I-440 out of concrete so that it couldn't be repaved over the years; so now it requires a complete overhaul requiring them to shut down the whole road.  We've posted here about the terrible, deadly design of the Silliman Evans bridge... the creaky, narrow, pothole-riddled I-40/24 corridor east of downtown... with no sound walls or anything to shield the eyesores around it. Folks, that's the first impression of tourists coming from the airport. Here in Hamilton County, they've dragged their feet on EVERY major road project they've started... and at least a dozen that have not even been started (delayed even), after the IMPROVE ACT promised to 'unclog' those projects. I'm really starting to feel sorry for the lady who gets on TV newscasts in the East TN markets (Jennifer Flynn) to give excuses why TDOT is so incompetent.  

[BnaBreaker]

It had better not be true that in the year 2020 we are planning to dump billions into an antiquated transportation philosophy that is at least fifty years past it's prime.  Minneapolis could be excused for jumping onto a trend in the 1960's, but if we do this today there is no excuse.  It would be an example of unadulterated incompetence, pure and simple.

Edited February 20, 2020 by BnaBreaker

[PruneTracy]

You guys are getting punk'd again. Don't you know who loves wearing trucker hats?

[donNdonelson2]

“We've posted here about the terrible, deadly design of the Silliman Evans bridge... the creaky, narrow, pothole-riddled I-40/24 corridor east of downtown... with no sound walls or anything to shield the eyesores around it. “

One bit of good news—the 24/40 stretch between downtown Spence Lane was repaved last summer and is smooth as a baby’s butt. (The scenery, however, has had no such improvement.) 

Edited February 20, 2020 by donNdonelson2

[Bark At The Sun]

1 hour ago, MLBrumby said:

I really do not trust TDOT to do anything right. It is stuck in the 1970s.  

The "Fast Fix" projects are innovative and forward thinking.   Saves quite a bit of time and money on bridge replacements.   ITS and TDOT Smartway are very useful and are expanding across the state.   I look at the cameras on the TDOT Smartway Traffic site every day before i leave to and from work.  Traffic sucks here sometimes, as it does half the time i drive through Chattanooga, but I will take Tennessee Roads, Highways and Interstates over the other 49 states any day.

[Jamie Hall]

I'd be happy in the short term if TDoT would just install correct signage and better lane markings on the interstates around downtown. Can we start with that?

[PaulChinetti]

NONSENSE! All at once or nothing!

[Mr_Bond]

25 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

NONSENSE! All at once or nothing!

Sounds a bit like one of the Bernie Bros, not to get off topic.

[PaulChinetti]

Should have put a sarcasm tag @Mr_Bond

[Mr_Bond]

39 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

Should have put a sarcasm tag @Mr_Bond

Me, too.

[Bos2Nash]

Sorry for the crummy picture but the Commerce Street bike lane has been striped for new traffic flow. 

This is at the corner of 2nd and Commerce

[Jarno]

This started a couple weeks ago and I have not seen a bike or scooter use this lane yet, but it certainly has had an effect on traffic.  Took an extra five minutes to exit the parking garage at CMT building which in turned added an extra 10 minutes to my commute.  (The reason being the cars turning left on 4th back up past the turn lane, so two or three cars turn left and the rest are stuck with no access to the straight lane. ) I also drive Uber on Saturday sometimes and saw cars still using the lane all night on Saturday. 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Jarno