Should vehicle traffic be allowed on Main Street?

[mandrws1]

I wanted to see what you guys thought about this. I think Main Street should be open to vehicle traffic (one lane in each direction). I think it would help ground level retail et al. Do you think its feasible?

[jmduke]

No...BUT the trolley service needs to be replaced with real light rail that runs on a real schedule. The current setup isn't real transportation with 3 northbound trolleys within 5 minutes and 10-25 minutes between southbound trolleys.

I think the Main Street line needs modern light rail cars running on a reasonable schedule and should be connected to future lines running south of downtown and north near St. Jude (another thread, another day). Connecting Main Street to other commercial and residential areas will help foot traffic immensely.

[tennreb]

I'm not so sure allowing traffic would help. Front Street and Madison Avenue are worse off than Main, and they both have much more capacity for traffic. Also, traffic would slow the trolley down, and it's already too slow. Maybe they could just have a trial run by painting some lines on the street and watching how it goes for a couple of months.

[memphman]

I'm not so sure allowing traffic would help. Front Street and Madison Avenue are worse off than Main, and they both have much more capacity for traffic. Also, traffic would slow the trolley down, and it's already too slow. Maybe they could just have a trial run by painting some lines on the street and watching how it goes for a couple of months.

[tennreb]

But look at the South Main area though. Its doing really well with retail/residential.