Your ideas to improve Memphis

[hgupta]

You guys have some terrific ideas.

I especially agree with TennReb's idea of school being from 8 to 5. Although I think that school vouchers would be bad for the city school system because average test scores would drop if the best students left,unless you could somehow count them as part of the city school system. (just as the averages dropped as more priviliged students moved out to the county). We really need to get parents more involved somehow. Maybe kids who get straight A's should get $100 or a tax rebate or something. That would get parents involved.

We need to get the city looking beautiful again. Code enforcement needs to work 24/7 or become a division of the police department or sanitation department. Both of these departments visit almost every nook of the city regularly, whereas code enforecent does not patrol. Also code enforcement needs to investigate every complain, and cite offenders repeatedly until they are no longer offending. Too many absentee landowners/ investors are sitting on properties that could be nice, but are instead trying to get away with doing as little as possible. People in my old neighborhood park cars on their front lawn because they knew that code enforcement stops working at 4:30.

Also, we need to spend some money every year and get all the power lines buried. Currently we have too many blackouts, and pay too much in repairs to lines, tree "trimming".

And we need a new mayor and new councilmen who are responsive to our complaints and need to invest in e-government as much as possible.

[Clobber]

nm

[fieldmarshaldj]

Based on the latest polls, Junior may be headed to the Senate so you wouldn't have to worry about him as Mayor.

All I'm saying is that Junior, based on his past statements and positions, operates in a different fashion than what is typical of the Fords or many other black politicians in urban areas. Many derive their power by taking advantage of and even whipping up mistrust, resentment, jealousies, and feelings of victimhood that black communities harbor against whites. I cannot recall such tendencies from Junior's rhetoric during the past 10 years.

God help us if he becomes our Senator, although I'm equally angry and repulsed by his opponent, and I will not vote for that rich liberal RINO who hijacked the Republican nomination (so both choices are dreadful). Junior may not openly engage in race-baiting as the rest of his family has (of whom has perfected it to an art form), but it still doesn't change the fact that his voting record and ideas are almost every inch as statist, backwards, and wrong-headed. Those ideas will not move Memphis (or Tennessee) forward by any stretch of the imagination. We need real leaders with innovative solutions grounded in solid values, none of which are coming from the Democrat & RINO left.

I'd add if you want to see some real leaders for the future in the Black community, take a look at folks like Ken Blackwell, Herman Cain and Michael Steele. They offer the real hope and are the real deal.

[Rardy]

Did anyone watch today's coverage of Memphis on Good Morning America?

I didn't see a lot of it, but the parts I saw were complimentary and basically an advertisement for Beale Street and Justin Timberlake.

[Clobber]

God help us if he becomes our Senator, although I'm equally angry and repulsed by his opponent, and I will not vote for that rich liberal RINO who hijacked the Republican nomination (so both choices are dreadful). Junior may not openly engage in race-baiting as the rest of his family has (of whom has perfected it to an art form), but it still doesn't change the fact that his voting record and ideas are almost every inch as statist, backwards, and wrong-headed. Those ideas will not move Memphis (or Tennessee) forward by any stretch of the imagination. We need real leaders with innovative solutions grounded in solid values, none of which are coming from the Democrat & RINO left.

I'd add if you want to see some real leaders for the future in the Black community, take a look at folks like Ken Blackwell, Herman Cain and Michael Steele. They offer the real hope and are the real deal.

ARe those folks Memphians?

[fieldmarshaldj]

ARe those folks Memphians?

Sadly, no.

[Fellowmann20]

and I will not vote for that rich liberal RINO who hijacked the Republican nomination

I don't know where u came up with that crap, but you are very wrong. Bob Corker is good conservative and will keep moral values in our country and help to protect our country unlike the libs who would cut our defense. As for junior, he didn't know what he was going to support so hes lying about supporting conservative views on his dumb commercials when hes really a straight up lib.

This is also my 100th post!

[Clobber]

Sadly, no.

Then I'm more focused on who the best black reps are here that we can promote into influential positions in national politics. I'm not interested in giving reps from other places influence where they can deny our city and citizens services, resources, and share of the pork (that isn't going to be reduced just because our reps want it reduced; it only gets reduced if every state is equally committed to across the board pork reduction, rejecting pork for ourselves only gives Kennedy, Pelosi, Gephardt, etc the opportunity to pick it up and say, "Thank you Memphis (or Tennessee), you're so considerate; you should be right proud about that Southern Hospitality, it really helped us out"). I want to reduce taxes and spending, but there's no moral victory if we're the only district who pursues it. I kind of view pork like nuclear proliferation. I'm not just willing to stand down, I want to stand down. I realize that across the board cuts are attractive, but only if it's reciprocated.

I went off on a little tangent. I hate this pork system. I hate the collusion among the Dems, GOP, and lobbyists. And don't fool yourself, our GOPers are almost as bad as the Dems; there hasn't been any indication lately that they are more restrained in spending than the Dems were before them. The beltway corrupts period.

[Rardy]

Anyway... ...back in Memphis...

[watnow1425]

I think they could improve the area and make a greenbelt around the suburbs. With that density in encouraged and those poor planned suburbs don't continue to grow. And with "Global Warming" we don't develope over farms that could help make E-85 ethenol.

[Rural King]

Anyway... ...back in Memphis...

Yes, lets stay on Memphis please. Thanks.

[Clobber]

Sorry

[AmandaHugginkiss]

Fantasy:

2 new 500+ footers

1 new 400+ footer (to the right of the cranes)

1 700 footer (by the Sterick)

1 1,000 footer

Just for fun..

hope you guys like it.. (unfinished)

[fieldmarshaldj]

hope you guys like it.. (unfinished)

Great stuff ! Keep up the good work !

[watnow1425]

My vision of Memphis would include a second pyramid(same size as great pyramid) with plans for a contraversial third.

The skyline: 1 1250ft, 3 1000ft, 7 700-999ft, 14 500-699ft, 23 200-499ft.

City Population 4,815,162

Metro 6,847,954

Urban Area 6,101,390.

Transit: 2 subway lines(3 underconstruction), Historic Trolley Lightrail Downtown, Highspeed Rail to Atlanta,Houstan,Dallas,New Orleans,StLouis,andChicago. New and Interesting Intertower aboveground monorail(like mudisland) is opened(don't get too excited its only one line)

Sports: Tigers(basketball) win a national championship, Tigers(football) well not everything is perfect but the Tigers leave C-USA and go to Reformed Metro Conference. Grizzlies win a playoff game. Welcome the newest major leage sports teams for the 2NFL,2NHL,MLS,MLB, and a New NBA team.

Beale street grows in national stature and length.

5mile Greenbelt to keep density surrounds metro.

Stax 2nd leading recording company.

Tunica leapfrogs Atlantic city, now number2 gambling center of America.

Thats all I can think of right now but thats my vision.

[memville]

I'm with you, but I think this could actually happen in 10- 20 years.

Downtown

1. One Beale is completed

2. Trinity Tower is completed

3. Candy Factory is completed

4. Horizon Towers are Completed

5. Belz builds 650 ft office tower in Vues old location

6. Sherik is turned into a ritz carlton with a Nordstrom Department Store on the base floor

7. Pyramid is converted into a modern museum with unqiue attractions (rides, ect.)

8. AutoZone Park adds 10,000 seats and lands an expansion team

9. Beale Street Landing is finshed and offers cruise service going from New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis

also riverboat cruises to Tunica

10. Pinch District becomes home to New Football Stadium in hopes of landing expansion team

11. St. Jude adds another tower

12. Boyle starts construction on 500 ft. office building (2 cranes in skyline)

13. Old Brewery is converted into Condos and a bar

14. The University of Memphis Law school is a huge success, and many new law offices move to the are

Airport

1. Air France offers daily Service to Paris

2. NWA adds new bank of flights, and insures the city its going to stay

3. New Destinations via Northwest: London, Tokoyo, Mexico City, San Diego, JFK, ect.

4. Airport is in process of building new International Terminal which will serve NW for its new Carribean Connnection (Memphis becomes the Gateway to Latin and South America)

Rail

1. There is a downtown- airport line

2. Also high speed trains to Tunica and Nashville

Tunica

1. Number 2 gambling destination

2. Myraid is world attraction

3. MgM Grand is under construction

4. Nascar Track is home to the Tunica 250

5. The Disney Delta is underconstuction along with the sorrunding hotels ( Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Gaylord)

Desoto

1. Riverbend is on its Third Phase of construction, and is a big hit

University of Memphis

1. The Tigers are now part of the SEC

Population

1. City Limits 1.8

2. Metro 3.6

[Rardy]

I'm with you, but I think this could actually happen in 10- 20 years.

Downtown

1. One Beale is completed

2. Trinity Tower is completed

3. Candy Factory is completed

4. Horizon Towers are Completed

5. Belz builds 650 ft office tower in Vues old location

6. Sherik is turned into a ritz carlton with a Nordstrom Department Store on the base floor

7. Pyramid is converted into a modern museum with unqiue attractions (rides, ect.)

8. AutoZone Park adds 10,000 seats and lands an expansion team

9. Beale Street Landing is finshed and offers cruise service going from New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis

also riverboat cruises to Tunica

10. Pinch District becomes home to New Football Stadium in hopes of landing expansion team

11. St. Jude adds another tower

12. Boyle starts construction on 500 ft. office building (2 cranes in skyline)

13. Old Brewery is converted into Condos and a bar

14. The University of Memphis Law school is a huge success, and many new law offices move to the are

Airport

1. Air France offers daily Service to Paris

2. NWA adds new bank of flights, and insures the city its going to stay

3. New Destinations via Northwest: London, Tokoyo, Mexico City, San Diego, JFK, ect.

4. Airport is in process of building new International Terminal which will serve NW for its new Carribean Connnection (Memphis becomes the Gateway to Latin and South America)

Rail

1. There is a downtown- airport line

2. Also high speed trains to Tunica and Nashville

Tunica

1. Number 2 gambling destination

2. Myraid is world attraction

3. MgM Grand is under construction

4. Nascar Track is home to the Tunica 250

5. The Disney Delta is underconstuction along with the sorrunding hotels ( Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Gaylord)

Desoto

1. Riverbend is on its Third Phase of construction, and is a big hit

University of Memphis

1. The Tigers are now part of the SEC

Population

1. City Limits 1.8

2. Metro 3.6

I agree all of that would be great and would make Memphis a major competitor, but I don't see how new construction is going to help us...

Most people don't realize that the Memphis metro is growing at a faster rate than the metros of Oklahoma City, Birmingham, Louisville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, New Orleans (pre-Katrina), Cincinnati, Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston, and so on (Census.gov). I don't think growth and construction is what we need, unless, of course, our only goal is to become a second Nashville...

Memphis' problems IMO seem to be more fundamental, quality-of-life issues that new development won't help. And, unfortunately, those problems are the hardest ones to solve.

[AmandaHugginkiss]

I would love to see a majore, domed amusement park. Man, i bet it would cost no less than $500 million. But it would be nice. One the inside, the ceiling would be made out of this huge jumbo-tron enabling the amusement park to use light shows, sky-simulations (ie. enhanced sunset of alot of shooting stars shooting across the ceiling I am not sure but a casino has that feature in Las Vegas or something similar.. I have hard time expressing my mind which is why I often draw them out.

[Clobber]

I'm with you, but I think this could actually happen in 10- 20 years.

Downtown

1. One Beale is completed

2. Trinity Tower is completed

3. Candy Factory is completed

4. Horizon Towers are Completed

5. Belz builds 650 ft office tower in Vues old location

6. Sherik is turned into a ritz carlton with a Nordstrom Department Store on the base floor

7. Pyramid is converted into a modern museum with unqiue attractions (rides, ect.)

8. AutoZone Park adds 10,000 seats and lands an expansion team

9. Beale Street Landing is finshed and offers cruise service going from New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis

also riverboat cruises to Tunica

10. Pinch District becomes home to New Football Stadium in hopes of landing expansion team

11. St. Jude adds another tower

12. Boyle starts construction on 500 ft. office building (2 cranes in skyline)

13. Old Brewery is converted into Condos and a bar

14. The University of Memphis Law school is a huge success, and many new law offices move to the are

Airport

1. Air France offers daily Service to Paris

2. NWA adds new bank of flights, and insures the city its going to stay

3. New Destinations via Northwest: London, Tokoyo, Mexico City, San Diego, JFK, ect.

4. Airport is in process of building new International Terminal which will serve NW for its new Carribean Connnection (Memphis becomes the Gateway to Latin and South America)

Rail

1. There is a downtown- airport line

2. Also high speed trains to Tunica and Nashville

Tunica

1. Number 2 gambling destination

2. Myraid is world attraction

3. MgM Grand is under construction

4. Nascar Track is home to the Tunica 250

5. The Disney Delta is underconstuction along with the sorrunding hotels ( Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Gaylord)

Desoto

1. Riverbend is on its Third Phase of construction, and is a big hit

University of Memphis

1. The Tigers are now part of the SEC

Population

1. City Limits 1.8

2. Metro 3.6

I can see a 600-750 foot residential tower more than I can see a similar-height office building downtown; but we can get a combined multi-use tower and get something done. 10 stories parking; 10-15 stories hotel, 10-15 stories office, everything else condos.

Something needs to happen with the Chisca too. And develop the parking lot between the Gayoso and Orpheum into a tower with a theater at the base. Make Lightitup a reality sometime in this millenium . . . please?

I'd like to see Jetblue come here, and establish a focus city here. I'd like the airport to get a major facelift and see the cargo wing of the main airport relocated east to where ANG and UPS are, or south of the post office, and use that east wing for more gates. Maybe Pinnacle can stop being just a NWA feeder, and add some more business (I think ATA does that?).

I think I heard somewhere that the way AZP is designed, and its proximity to Union, it can't be expanded (unless you build over Union).

Is there a reason that the motorsports park can't be expanded seats-wise to accomodate NASCAR? I'd hate for it to be another casualty of Tunica.

Other things I'd like to see:

Ferry between downtown Memphis and Mississippi (and maybe Arkansas down the road)

Two bridges to assimilate Ark side of metro to Memphis more, incorporate the bridges into I269

Aggressively expand our auto, energy, and bio industries -- at least one auto plant, become a center in the South for alternative fuels. Aggressively recruit businesses to relocate here, whether they be F1000 or up and comers.

Bartlett and other communities (Millington, Marion, area by the U of M) focus on smart town planning, with tight, pedestrian-friendly developments that shirk the vehicular-driven developments that are plaguing G'town, Collierville, and especially Wolfchase. Look to suburbs of other communities such as Kirkwood near St. Louis for inspiration. Maybe Riverbend will resemble something like this.

Dreams -- new private research university on par with Wash U's, Emory's of the world; U of M and Ole Miss become top 50 public universities; Rhodes and CBU are perennial top 20-40 for small universities; former hometown companies 6 Continents (former Holiday Inn); Schering Plough return home. First Data goes bankrupt. First Tennessee builds a second tower, shrugs off acquisition/relocation bids, and expands. Amusement park between Memphis and Jackson along I40. High speed rail connects it with downtown and Tunica.

[UptownNewOrleans]

Hmmmmmmmm, all of you covered just about everything I wanted to say. A large portion of Memphis crime goes down in North & South Memphis, so much like the National Guard came to clean house in New Orleans, the same should be done in Memphis.

[fearlessvk]

It seems like this thread kinda died a week ago, but as a Memphis newbie (been here 6 weeks) I wanted to add some random thoughts. As many of you know I moved here from San Francisco and was pretty apprehensive. I loved SF, I love dense, walkable cities, I'm ridiculously, off-the-charts liberal, I never owned a car in my entire life until I moved here, and I spent half my life in SF in art museums, bookstores, and revival movie theaters. Hence my concerns about Memphis...

And I do think Memphis suffers from serious problems, in particular from the simple standpoint of the organization of urban space. But I will get to that - first, I did want to say, that this city has a certain quality, that I don't even know how to put into words, that redeems many of the flaws and makes it a fascinating place it to live. It's one of America's *mythological* cities, a city with a fascinating and troubled history that blends into myth to give it a real soul. I love that - I'll take that over pristine new developments any day. I love wandering around downtown, outside the rapidly deveoping area, and taking pictures of all the old decaying storefronts, shattered windows, and dilapidated warehouses - Memphis has history. Not a lot of American cities do.

It also seems to have a burgeoning arts scene - I checked out the Arts Trolley Tour last month (unfortunately have other plans this Friday so probably can't do it this month) and it was like a mini-snapshot of everything one could Memphis could one day be - tons of people out and about, WALKING, going to art galleries, stopping for coffee/drinks in local establishments, etc etc. For just those few hours, it felt like a different city - and that potential is there, it's there in South Main, it's there in the Edge, in Cooper Young, etc. It's just potential right now, but rather than salivate over the prospect of big department stores and corporations coming here (not that I don't understand what that kind of thing has to offer to a city trying to transform itslef) we can also focus on cultivating the arts scene that is already here.

That said, however - here is what Memphis lacks, based upon my totally clueless 6 weeks here:

- an *intellectual* culture - though the arts culture is related to an intellectual culture, it's not quite the same thing, and even the arts culture has a long way to go before it realizes its potential. One thing I noticed immediately upon arriving here - where are the bookstores??? I know, I know - there's Deliberate Liberate and Burke's (which I gather is in trouble) and, hooray, a bookstore opened downtown right after I moved here - I'm not saying there's literally no bookstores. But there's NOTHING like what I'm used to it SF, Boston, Portland, Seattle, and other cities I've spent a lot of time. Every single neighborhood in those cities had a great, eclectic, independent bookstore, with loads of cafes nearby, so you'd browse the bookstore, pick up a book, and hit up the local cafe immediately afterwards. That's very difficult to do in Memphis. And I understand the problem relates to the crappy educational system here - an undereducated population doesn't produce a demand for bookstores (and I'm just using bookstores as an example, there's more to it than this - revival movie houses are another essential part of an intellectual culture, imho)

- pedestrian-friendly neighorhoods - far and away my biggest gripe. related to car-dependency and the lack of decent public transportation. oftentimes i'll walk from my apartment to cafe francisco and will hardly pass another soul, even though i'm walking down main street on a nice saturday in the afternoon - and downtown is supposedly the walkers' part of town! without walkers, you miss out on a fundamental part of the urban experience - the aimless stroll. memphis is not conducive to aimless strolling, popping into random shops and cafes, people-watching, chatting with street vendors, window-browsing, and just taking in the street life of a city. i walked around the other day and took pictures of sidewalks that were so narrow, with almost completely eroded curbsides, that you couldn't be a pedestrian even if you wanted to. and as i was walking toward south main a few days ago, a man offered me a ride and responded as if i was completely out of my mind insane when i told him that i WANTED to walk across downtown. i realize this is a long-term project, and it doesn't happen overnight, but if memphis is ever going to be a great city, it needs to get people OUT of cars, ONTO sidewalks, and it needs to provide diverse urban neighborhoods that make the strolling experience worthwhile.

- finally, plant some frickin' trees!!!! i know this isn't the most brilliant comment, and it ain't rocket science, but when it's overbearingly hot and humid, trees really help. and they're pretty. and along the lines of being pretty, some public art would also be nice. there are beautiful buildings here for sure, but apart from the buildings themselves, the city feels so utilitarian and functional. i know - it's a poor struggling city, and there are more pressing concerns than public art. but i would hope it's not a zero-sum game where you can't even begin to address these kinds of public space issues before you solve the big doozies like crime and poverty. cause that sure isn't gonna happen overnight....!

ok. sorry for the extended and probably completely clueless rant. i know little about memphis and nothing about urban planning, so forgive my naivete...

s

[mandrws1]

- finally, plant some frickin' trees!!!! i know this isn't the most brilliant comment, and it ain't rocket science, but when it's overbearingly hot and humid, trees really help. and they're pretty.

Although there aren't many tree lined streets downtown, Memphis has more trees per square mile than any other city in the country. I myself just learned of this last week from the city's website and it also says it on St. Jude's website.

[fearlessvk]

Although there aren't many tree lined streets downtown, Memphis has more trees per square mile than any other city in the country. I myself just learned of this last week from the city's website and it also says it on St. Jude's website.

really?? huh. well, plant some trees downtown, in that case!

[bluff2085]

That said, however - here is what Memphis lacks, based upon my totally clueless 6 weeks here:

- an *intellectual* culture - though the arts culture is related to an intellectual culture, it's not quite the same thing, and even the arts culture has a long way to go before it realizes its potential. One thing I noticed immediately upon arriving here - where are the bookstores??? I know, I know - there's Deliberate Liberate and Burke's (which I gather is in trouble) and, hooray, a bookstore opened downtown right after I moved here - I'm not saying there's literally no bookstores. But there's NOTHING like what I'm used to it SF, Boston, Portland, Seattle, and other cities I've spent a lot of time. Every single neighborhood in those cities had a great, eclectic, independent bookstore, with loads of cafes nearby, so you'd browse the bookstore, pick up a book, and hit up the local cafe immediately afterwards. That's very difficult to do in Memphis. And I understand the problem relates to the crappy educational system here - an undereducated population doesn't produce a demand for bookstores (and I'm just using bookstores as an example, there's more to it than this - revival movie houses are another essential part of an intellectual culture, imho)

Coming from San Francisco and the Pac-NW region, your comments weren't too harsh. I agree that Memphis is lacking any substantial intellectual culture. A quick trip to cities in the pacific northwest and the east coast should make any Memphian immediately aware of that shortcoming. My friend just spent a year living in Portland and was amazed at the number of "smart" friends she made. But Memphis is a distribution center, and the economy relies heavily on blue collar jobs. And while much of our "intellectual crop" continues to flee the city for bigger and better things, the employment opportunities for low-wage laborers abound and further contribute to the "non-intellectualsim" of Memphis. Education has to improve from kindergarten to college before we can start to reverse this trend. Attracting outside "intellectuals" like yourself to our fine city helps too, and in that respect I think Memphis is doing all right. Local leaders are finally starting to transform the "Memphis vibe" into a marketable product. Not saying that Memphis is selling its soul, but then again, you might notice not too many cities around here have a soul to sell. What I'm getting at is the genuine sense of place Memphis provides. The intellectual spaces may begin to expand with transplants, but they won't really solidify until our educational infrastructure is significantly upgraded.

[bluff2085]

- pedestrian-friendly neighorhoods - far and away my biggest gripe. related to car-dependency and the lack of decent public transportation. oftentimes i'll walk from my apartment to cafe francisco and will hardly pass another soul, even though i'm walking down main street on a nice saturday in the afternoon - and downtown is supposedly the walkers' part of town! without walkers, you miss out on a fundamental part of the urban experience - the aimless stroll. memphis is not conducive to aimless strolling, popping into random shops and cafes, people-watching, chatting with street vendors, window-browsing, and just taking in the street life of a city. i walked around the other day and took pictures of sidewalks that were so narrow, with almost completely eroded curbsides, that you couldn't be a pedestrian even if you wanted to. and as i was walking toward south main a few days ago, a man offered me a ride and responded as if i was completely out of my mind insane when i told him that i WANTED to walk across downtown. i realize this is a long-term project, and it doesn't happen overnight, but if memphis is ever going to be a great city, it needs to get people OUT of cars, ONTO sidewalks, and it needs to provide diverse urban neighborhoods that make the strolling experience worthwhile.

Downtown and Midtown are about as walkable as it gets--overall not very walkable compared to cities up north. The north and south sides of town hold a large portion of Memphis' "walkable" communities; but no surprise here--naive transplants are quickly painted a picture of these neighborhoods M. Night Shyamalan style. Still, the foundation for a walkable urban core is pretty much in place--Memphis just needs to build upon that foundation, continue to densify it, and reinvigorate the numerous neglected communities scattered throughout the urban core--which it is in process of doing; ex. Binghamton. Still many,many decades away from a continuous flow of pedestrian-friendly communities stretching from DT to East Memphis. Transportation is a big issue; and other than the future installment of a LTR system, there are few things I can think of that would combat sprawled development and Memphians' addiction to cars.

Edit: Crime also has a lot to do with it. A lot of people [some rational, some irrational] just take comfort in the safety of their cars. I'm sure things are different in SF, but most Memphians consider local crime as a legitimate reason [though not the only reason] to drive a mile rather than walk it. Heavily reducing crime rates might help eliminate the fear factor involved with walking, not to mention how it could bring more residents into the central city rather than eastern Shelby County or Desoto.