Nashville Subway?

[Wild Style]

Downtown Nashville may soon need more parking, and I'm fine with that, as long as it doesn't come in the traditional package that parking has typically come in. We can no longer afford to devote entire parcels simply to letting your car sit there. In my opinion, there has to be some sort of mixed use package along with it, or at least street level retail at the bottom. It would also help the parking situation immensely if we could get people riding their bikes or riding the bus more often, but that's another story.

[franktown]

That would be awesome, but for a city built on pure limestone, the costs would be enormous and almost unfeasable....we'd best stick with above-ground options

[jice]

Jice,

where down town is this?

[Rural King]

^ It may be possible, but a subway system not economically or politically viable for a city the size of Nashville. The long-term development of a regional rail system along with light rail and/or high speed bus system would be much more economical and viable for Nashville's size and development patterns within it's metro over the coming decades.

Subway systems are amazing mass transit models for some highly urban centers, but better and more cost effective alternatives exist for most cities in the US.

[Wild Style]

Rural,

do you know of/heard of any studies on this subject?

[Rural King]

I don't think TDOT of USDOT has ever studied the feasbility of a subway in Nashville as an exclusive study or as part of broader study of mass transit options that I know of - simply due to economic costs in relative terms compared to the size of Nashville and its pontential user base. Regional commuter rail was studied for Nashville and led to the Nashville Star getting funding, and TDOT is looking at the potential of a high-speed rail corridor across the state -both of those examples are heavy rail though.

I would assume MTA has studied or is studying the potential for light rail in the city, as MATA in Memphis is currently looking at the potential of light rail along several proposed corridors. Here is a link to MTA's 5-yr plan, which from a quick scan does not mention light rail or high speed dedicated bus routes (Bus Rapid Transit -BRT- if you want to look it up), but does mention regional rail - MTA 5-year plan

Here is a link to Mass Transit Magazine on urban light rail systems in the US that you might find interesting - Rail System Update

Here is another link from Mass Transit that talks about BRT in the US - BRT Update

Hope you find those links on those modes of mass transit to be interesting.

Side note: Those links may not work - if not go to - www.masstransitmag.com - and do a search on those topics. Plenty of info on that site. I also started a new thread for this topic, since we were diverging from the other topic's primary subject of downtown parking.

[Wild Style]

rural thank you sir!!!

I heard of the bullet train I think they are saying from Nashville to Atlanta right? Nashville is the business!

[Plasticman]

rural thank you sir!!!

I heard of the bullet train I think they are saying from Nashville to Atlanta right? Nashville is the business!

[ATLBrain]

Not many cities qualify for the subway option. Heck, it's enough of a stretch to get a light rail, as unsightly as I think they are. Of course, they do serve a purpose as long as the demand is there (or potentially there). I think it's interesting to see how Dallas and Atlanta handled their respective rail systems in their downtowns. Dallas has its DART rail running at surface, and eliminates a street of vehicle traffic in the heart of downtown. Atlanta runs MARTA underground, and keeps that street (mostly P'tree) open for vehicles. The latter is optimal IMO.

[Wild Style]

Above ground is better. Even Atlanta has MARTA which in essense is an above ground subway system. It's cheaper, and much easier to maintain.

What Nashville needs to worry about before they get a transit system like Marta is to get rid of all those ugly above ground power lines and poles. Those make Nashville seem smaller than it is IMO.

[barakat]

If it becomes ridiculously inconvenient to get around in a car, more people will use a good public transit system. Perhaps that would be a reason to consider putting BRT on the existing streets.

[monsoon]

... Atlanta runs MARTA underground, and keeps that street (mostly P'tree) open for vehicles. The latter is optimal IMO.

[Midtown]

I would love to see a subway system integrated with a light rail system installed to the local bedroom communities.

The recent rail connection to Lebanon / Mt. Juliet is such a slow start, it makes so much sense, and I am sure the system will be developed over the years to come. BART and MARTA are two examples, BART being the best by a country mile in SF. It reduces the vehicular load on the infrastructure tremendously. In Nashville it would be no more difficult to tunnel that it would be anywhere else in the world with limestone. The good news here is, the limestone bore would support itself, and would need very little supportive structural shell.

I can see a light rail system approaching Nashville on grade, and then diving below the surface in order to avoid all the existing built environment. Someday it is bound to happen, but when?

MT

[BnaBreaker]

Like others have said, a city needs to be quite dense in order for a subway to be a feasible option. I personally though think that at-grade light rail would work quite well in Nashville in the urban center.

[Wild Style]

Like others have said, a city needs to be quite dense in order for a subway to be a feasible option. I personally though think that at-grade light rail would work quite well in Nashville in the urban center.

[nashvylle]

if my dreams come true and that Signature Tower is built, along with the Convention Center and CC Hotel, the Westin Hotel, the Sobro, West End Summit, 1201 & Demonbreun, The Predators remain in Nashville, a downtown minor league sounds ballpark, and the continuing developments of the Gulch and Music Row, then a light rail system in Downtown Nashville would be a necessity; if it already isn't one right now...

[Wild Style]

Right now, we need to do more work. Mainly at this time, parking lots and run-down buildings are the biggest target for developers. To me, the only really dense area that it could possibly work in is Midtown/ West End, mainly because of the university and such. Eventually something will happen, but the current economy and all that crap, it won't happen. The metro area needs to concentrate more so on expanding the Music City Star. They should've built the Boro line first instead of Lebanon, or Franklin, at least there is much more people that would use it, Wilson is too dependent on cars.

[ATLBrain]

I had heard of a plan to put a portion of "subway" underneath Vanderbilt's campus. This was about five years ago, and it was in response to the hard curve that 31st/Wedgewood has around the western part of the campus. It was apparently to connect the two prominent legs of the Light Rail plan out on West End and Hillsboro. It would have gone under Natchez Trace and cut over to Belmont University with a station at the Village. I can't remember if it was underground through the village, but I think it was b/c of the narrow street through there. If memory serves, it was because of that hard turn from Wedgewood/31st onto Hillsboro Rd. that was the reason they didn't plan to go under Wedgewood.

Also, there was something else kind of peculiar with the Hillsboro Rd. and Woodmont, but I don't remember what it was. Anybody, who remembers that plan know what it was. Of course, that far out the rail was on the street surface. Seems like it had to do with avoiding Woodmont b/c it too is narrow. But was that a route down Granny White as an alternative... sorry, I ramble.

[nashvillwill]

The metro area needs to concentrate more so on expanding the Music City Star. They should've built the Boro line first instead of Lebanon, or Franklin, at least there is much more people that would use it, Wilson is too dependent on cars.

[jice]

Regarding the Southeast Corridor (Mboro):

Once the LPA has been implemented gradually over the 25 year period, it is likely that

further transit improvements, potentially including commuter rail or light rail transit, could

be implemented in the corridor at some point after 2030. However, such improvements

will depend on the identification of a funding strategy and the implementation of transit

supportive land use policies to make the most efficient use of transit investments in the

corridor

From the Executive Summary

[Rural King]

Now that really pisses me off. They never should've built the Lebanon line at all, make that BRT, ITS STILL VEHICLES! I'm so pissed I can barely type. I wouldn't completely write-off commuter rail just yet, this whole system is still young and needs to show itsself. Just wasn't the smartest route to build first. They should've looked at population density, growth, traffic patterns and such. the CSX line runs right along side Murfreesboro RD to La Vergne, and is between I-24 and Boro Rd for its entire length, ugh!