jice

lol... we're gonna end up crashing the UP server if we're not careful

lol... this is nuts

I can't imagine being able to see part of the skyline from freakin' Hermitage lol. All I can ever see is airplanes floating around the sky. But I guess ya never know? I'm curious... are there any other projects in other cities that are in the planning stages right now, which would top Sig? I'm talking about buildings proposed and about to start construction... outside of Chicago & NYC, of course.

Does 65 include the above ground parking?

That's a heck of a list! Stoney River's steaks are not just famous, they're legendary... apparently. I can't wait to try that place!

As was said before... I think the 'tallest tower in the southeast' argument could go over well for pushing Signature. This is all not researched at all... cuz I don't have time to right now. But think about this.... back when L&C was built, what was the tallest building in Nashville? I know it definitely stuck above everything else by quite a bit. So let's say the tallest was somewhere around 10 stories, and L&C is somewhere around 30. (Someone please correct me if they know the facts) The point is... that's an increase by 3x. BellSouth is what, 31 or 33? (Can't rem)... so the new 'tallest in the southeast' (or all of the south for that matter), could be upwards of 90 stories using that logic. Even if the numbers are way off, im sure L&C was at least twice as tall as everything else... so upwards of 70 stories, IMO, would not be crazy talk.

Interesting stuff metro. It gets me thinking... how is the commuter rail in Nash being funded? Is Wilson Cty kicking in anything for the line thats under construction?

lol... that's horrible! The way you put it was kinda funny though... It's too bad that streetcar system isn't in place anymore... now that it could actually be useful again!

There does appear to be a train leaving in the morning headed for the suburbs... actually 2 trains. Not to mention ones leaving the suburbs in the afternoon headed downtown. I think the idea of using the train for special events such as sports games is an excellent idea! That would be very convenient and would boost ridership. When I used to go to events in downtown St. Louis (I'm from IL)... many times we would park on the IL side of the river and ride the MetroLink into downtown. Parking is free... and the ride is fairly cheap ($1.25/ride I think)... and plus, no traffic to fight. I am not sure how great a turnout Nashville would get in the same situation... when the one-way ride costs $5/person. If there were a special event discount... it could work, though. The problem right now with providing more routes for the rail in Nashville is the fact that there is only 1 track being used for both directions. But... this is just the beginning. Down the road... once the ridership is high enough... and the demand for more routes is high... i'm sure another track would be laid, to go both directions at once.

The $143 was the monthly fee from Hermitage. The end of the line, Lebanon, is $168/mo.. which is about 30 miles from Nashville. I believe the next line is to Murfreesboro... according to smeagolsfree's old post:

lol.. its cool

I agree... all should be considered. Tires, I believe, was considered as part of the operating costs. I didn't mean to completely discredit the ownership costs either (insurance, mileage, etc.)... what I was getting at was the reports (from what I could tell) seemed to be considering the total cost of ownership, not just how much of that total relates to the actual commute to and from work. But all in all I have to agree... it would probably come out to be close to the same, at least if you have to pay for parking as well. If the company you work for provided parking for you, it would probably be a slightly different story. (I have never worked downtown full time, so I don't really know how it works) I, too, am a believer that this could work... I just hope the people take the opportunity to make it work. I have a feeling many are going to have a hard time getting out of their cars when the cost is basically the same. Most people probably won't factor in the less stress, more enjoyable commute part. EDIT: Oops.. I guess I got this in before Dave's edit, so now I'm replying to an imaginary post It's all good though lol

Those articles count the owning cost of vehicles, as well as the operating cost. Let's face it, nobody is going to be getting rid of their vehicles anytime soon.... and when you use 14.1 cents/mile for 20 miles round trip, its like $3/day to drive. But... I definitely agree about the stress factor. In my opinion... that in itself would be enough of a benefit to make me consider riding the commuter rail (along with the environmental benefits, etc.).... even if it was slightly more costly than driving. I have a feeling the general public will have trouble seeing this, though. Most people will look at $6/day and think that's pretty high. If some downtown employers get involved and provide for the cost to their employees, maybe it will get the ball rolling and increase general interest. As Dave said... education will be the key to making this thing work.

I hate to be negative... cuz i'm all in favor of the new commuter rail, but i'm not too sure about those rates I live in Hermitage... so if I worked downtown it would be $143/month... which if you only work weekdays (which I think is when it is supposed to run), it comes out to be over $6/day. Even if gas was $3/gal, I think I could match or beat that by driving... it's only like 10 miles or so... and I get pretty crappy gas mileage lol. I dunno.. maybe the cost of parking makes up for it... but if you worked downtown every day wouldn't the company you work for pay for parking? I don't work downtown very often... so I don't really know. I thought someone had said before that it was gonna be like $1 to ride? Maybe I was dreaming.

Went snooping around today... so here's an update on the DT station lol (This is inside the building... not a lot to see right now) Can someone tell me what this strange building is across from the train station? I also found some other strange structures on that side of the river...

That is pretty exciting for Nashville. I would love to see an actual subway in the downtown area. Personally, I don't think it's all that unreasonable either. It seems to me that if they are going to build a light rail system in the downtown area... it should be done right... even if that means taking a little longer to get it done. And doing it right would be making it a subway, at least in certain areas. There are parts of downtown that it just wouldn't really look right otherwise, in my opinion anyway.

Some type of light rail or subway would definitely be helpful between downtown & Vandy. I've walked from DT to as far as Music Row... and well... that's a purty far walk lol. Especially goin back Obviously most people would drive, take a bus, or a cab... but hey... I think a subway system would be so much more convenient & inexpensive. I don't see why they don't start planning & building it now. It seems like it would go over pretty well here. The MetroLink in St. Louis is a fairly recent example... which seems to do good. I don't even think they had commuter rail before it was put in... kindof backwards to Nash... but I could be wrong.