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CSX Rail line DONATED TO Memphis for LRT!


BrandonTO416

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I am confused on how this could affect business for those on madison. I understand the whole point of construction blocking traffic and causing people to take a different route, but the return should be much greater now that it is done. For one thing a lot of the construction could potentially be done at night, it happens all the time in the state and I don't see why this should be any different. Also, the businesses should encourage things like rail because a person is more likely to walk in one of those businesses if they are on the trolley as opposed to being in their cars.

It seems to me that there are very few people in memphis that actually see the need for change. With out a true respect for the idea that the world is changing everyday and you have to keep up to survive, we will never be able to compete with the cities around us. How does Fed Ex stay so competitive in today's business world, I am pretty sure they have not kept the same business plan as they had when they started the company, they have changed as the world has changed.

From an engineering and environmental stand point, we really need to focus on the future, which very much includes light rail. If we don't, the roads are going to become more congested and more gas will be wasted. A fellow I work with used to work in an engineering firm in texas. He said when he came to work in Tennessee a couple of years back it was like he stepped back in time. The problems dallas and houston faced 20 years ago are the problems we are facing today. Why don

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What I keep wondering about is the business opposition to continuing the Trolley. That opposition keeps being mentioned but everything I've heard is anecdotal. Is there official opposition from business owners (if so, who?), or does someone just have a friend who has a friend and they're opposed?

Plus, even if the business opposition was measured and measurable, will we do the same with the citizens of Midtown and Memphis who might want the Trolley to be extended. Why do their wishes count less than business owners?

Whether it's correlated or causal, the stretch of Madison between I-240 and Cleveland has substantially improved since the completion of the Trolley. And I don't think it was the Trolley that caused it to decline in the first place.

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The problem with the Madison extension was they tore up the entire length of the line at once, blocked entrances to businesses, and generally messed things up for everyone but only inched their way down the street with the actual construction. So you had a massive amount of disruption in areas that didn't see any trackwork for a long time.

What they need to do is agree to do it in sections, and go to businesses in Overton and Cooper-Young and say "We're not going to do anything to your section of the street until we can actually devote enough time and resources to get it done quickly. Expect X number of weeks of disruption between Y and Z dates."

I'm sure something could be worked out if the effort was put into reaching out to the community, and it would likely produce much better results than a line few would feel safe enough to ride.

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For the sake of convenience, I wish MATA could start a rapid transit line using existing rails from perhaps Central Station or wherever and run a train from downtown to the airport with few, if any, stops between the two just to test how many riders would use such a line. Using this data, they could then reevaluate their choice of path...I'm sure Lamar could use the trolley for a chance to revitalize its image; however, Cooper Young and Overton Square are existing, bustling neighborhoods that are just much more attractive to riders.

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I've thought about it, and saw a real cool bus system down in South America (Brazil or something), as well as the improvements to the LA system, and it got me to thinking, what are the advantages of a LRT over a rapid bus system? Is it merely an image thing (in terms of prospective customers)? Because if it were, then it seems the Lamar route would hurt that argument. Are there logistics that make rapid bus less economical than LRT? Comfort issues?

Any chance MATA changes its mind with the Lamar line and sends it to the CY alternative?

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I'd like to again say that i think a route though Overton Square, past CBU, past the fairgrounds/Liberty Bowl/Childern's Museum, and past Cooper Young would be more ideal than Lamar. Those are destination spots for riders. Think of those heavy hitting spots and how much ridership is possible. I understand how people want to develop Lamar. But you don't build it hoping businesses will locate there. You build your base by going to places people want to go. Once the idea of light rail is established, then I think you can make a spur to Lamar if it is warrented. But if you start there and it languishes because no one wants to ride because what is the point if there are no reasons to stop, the whole project will be deemed a failure and never recieve additional funding or development. Anyone else agree or have comments?

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I'd like to again say that i think a route though Overton Square, past CBU, past the fairgrounds/Liberty Bowl/Childern's Museum, and past Cooper Young would be more ideal than Lamar. Those are destination spots for riders. Think of those heavy hitting spots and how much ridership is possible. I understand how people want to develop Lamar. But you don't build it hoping businesses will locate there. You build your base by going to places people want to go. Once the idea of light rail is established, then I think you can make a spur to Lamar if it is warrented. But if you start there and it languishes because no one wants to ride because what is the point if there are no reasons to stop, the whole project will be deemed a failure and never recieve additional funding or development. Anyone else agree or have comments?
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  • 3 weeks later...

I've attended several MATA committee meetings on LRT in Memphis. Maybe I can clear up a few things.

After the Madsion extension fiasco that devasted many businesses, many business owners on the Cooper-Young route voiced strong opposition to having the LRT routed thru Cooper-Young.

The Cooper-Young intersection would have needed to have been extensively rebuilt to handle the longer, modern LRT cars and thus changing the flavor of the area. Also, the vibration from the LRT would have severely affected several recording studios along or near the proposed route.

Despite all that, it appeared that the committee was ready to vote for Alternate 1 when Will Hudson (CEO of MATA) suggested that Alternate 2 be selected ... which it then was.

BTW, MATA has redesigned it website and no longer posts the meetings for MATATrac ...

The current plans for LRT are absurd for many reasons.

Yes, the most congested corrider which deserves priorty is the Poplar Ave. corridor. However, the freight line refuses to share the ROW that paralles much of Poplar. There is no room to build a grade separated LRT line and to put LRT in the street with traffic on Poplar would be sheer stupidity. In fact, putting LRT in any street with traffic isn't very bright but it would be a really bad idea on Poplar.

The only viable option for the Poplar Corridor is elevation. If you elevate, then the cheaper route is a monorail. One way to minimize that cost are private partnerships.

For example, I'm sure the Oak Court Mall would like to be a stop on a Poplar Corridor Monorail. Since a monorail is much quieter than light rail, it could actually pull into a stop on the second story inside of the mall. This would eliminate the need for MATA to pay for a elevators, etc. because they are already a part of the mall.

Labor is a huge portion of the operating costs. A monorail can show significant savings in operating costs by automation.

Elevate and automate.

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Why does the extension to C-Y have to be LRT -- why can't it be the trolley line, which is smaller and lighter? I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that the curve you see on the SW corner of Overton Square and used to be on the NE corner of Cooper Young were built for trolleys.

The trolley is slow, unless you're on foot, in which case it's great. And even the slowness -- how much of that is MATA not fixing the problem and how much is the nature of trolleys?

The Lamer/Airways and C-Y routes are presented as alternates (and are I suppose from a funding perspective) but they seem complementary rather than competitive.

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Agreed tnse, going through midtown destination spots like the fairgrounds and CY is more appropriate IMO for some of the reasons you mentioned. But if ridership is low on the Lamar route or if it proves unsuccessful, Memphians will blame the path. Not to conclude that the Lamar route is doomed to fail, but I would be more likely to accept the position that Memphis simply isn't ready for LRT if a route through midtown hotspots was not a success; as opposed to crying 'what if' should the Lamar route not become a success.
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  • 2 weeks later...

I have posted Tom Fox's, MATA's Director of Planning, reply to questions brought up by readers of my blog. I thought those following in this forum would be interested in seeing the questions asked of Mr. Fox and his answers. Some of the questions brought up in this forum were addressed by his answers so its worth checking out. I would post it on this forum but I think it would be too long, plus I'm trying to get more readers to my blog. Enjoy!

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I really thin Linden is valuable for the line. you can run it from Main to Lamar and will not disrupt many business at all. this would also serve many places of interest: MLGW, Orpheum, FEDEXFORUM, only a block from Beale, Danny Thomas BLVD, STCC, and close enough to the medical distric specificly UT-Memphis. there are also several empty lots along the way that would be quickly developed. Not much housing around there, but definately a doorway to downtown with several destinations located right off the track.

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  • 8 months later...

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