The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[markhollin]

Jan 6, 1989, I-65/440 interchange: 

[Sean blackdog]

Breaking News from Baltimore. 
 

Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge collapses with spanned the Patapsco River by large container ship.

 

 

Do u remember tug boat hit bridge on Cumberland River downtown in Nashville few years ago?

Edited March 26 by Sean blackdog

[markhollin]

Current rankings of Transportainment businesses in Nashville courtesy of NBJ:
 

[PaulChinetti]

I've used Joyride quite a few times, love those little things. 

[markhollin]

84% of respondents in Vanderbilt University's latest Nashville poll support moving forward with a citywide transit funding vote in November.

The poll's results show support for the transit referendum across political parties: 92% support from Democrats, 86% from independents and 70% from Republicans.

The poll, released Thursday, surveyed 1,014 people from Nashville between March 1 and March 21. Nearly half of commuters who responded to the poll said they spend between 30 to 90 minutes in traffic every day (20% reported longer than 90 minutes).

More at NBJ here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2024/04/04/vanderbilt-poll-transit-vote-mayor-freddie-oconnell-see-majority-support/73196249007/

[markhollin]

Mayor O'Connell will unveil final transit expansion map on April 19th at a  public event at the Southeast Community Center, in Antioch.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2024/04/05/transit-metro-expansion-plan-vote-ballot-sales-tax.html

[Predsboy18]

On 4/5/2024 at 2:27 PM, markhollin said:

Mayor O'Connell will unveil final transit expansion map on April 19th at a  public event at the Southeast Community Center, in Antioch.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2024/04/05/transit-metro-expansion-plan-vote-ballot-sales-tax.html

I'll probably be there since it's right in my backyard, and it would be interesting to see it fleshed out and broken down.

[markhollin]

[volsfanwill]

On 3/25/2024 at 7:06 AM, markhollin said:

Jan 6, 1989, I-65/440 interchange: 

When I was little my family would comw from west TN to visit my grandparents in Brentwood. These bright yellow bridges were my sign that we were almost there. 

Also that I could pee soon, because my dad would refuse to stop the entire 3 hour drive. 

[markhollin]

The Metro Nashville Youtube Channel will have the Mass Transit development launch at this link starting at 10:30 this morning:
 

 

[markhollin]

Here is the full new Transportation Improvement Program plan:

https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/Nashvilles_Transportation_Improvement_Program_Choose_How_You_Move_opt.pdf?ct=1713540365

 

 

 

[AsianintheNations]

Thanks!
Some things I liked:
- Better airport access, via the 55 bus extension to the new airport transit center and potentially a new bus route 70-something from the airport to Opry Mills (maybe will offload some tourist traffic?). The route 18 schedule (every ~45 mins) right now is a joke for anyone actually trying to catch a flight, so having a "real" bus line like the 55 access the airport will be great and create some needed redundancy in case of traffic snags.
- 15 minute intervals on major bus routes. This is the threshold where I am willing to go to a bus stop without checking a transit app beforehand.
- The transit centers in general.
- A reasonable effort to show that the financial impact on residents won't be as bad as it seems, and the substantial contribution from tourists/visitors (pages 85-88 of the PDF).

Things I didn't like:
- Nothing about trying to re-optimize existing bus line routes so they don't needlessly snake around narrow streets, adding tons of time to commutes.
- Nothing about improving connections to surrounding counties or buy-in/reciprocal plans from surrounding counties, despite opening with a graphic showing that this is a major contributor to traffic.
- Lack of details about how the BRT/All-Access corridors will look for the selected routes. There's only so much space. Are all of these roads (e.g. Main St., Charlotte Pike, etc.) going to now have only one lane of car traffic in each direction for certain segments? - that's not going to sit well with a lot of people. Or will turn lanes/bike lanes be sacrificed instead? Will any of this facilitate upgrade to light rail in the distant future?
- The sidewalk map really hammered home how tiny the sidewalk network is for the city, and the additions will barely make a dent. Feel like there needs to be some kind of system in place where whenever certain maintenance happens (e.g. repaving a major road), then a sidewalk is added on one side unless it is absolutely impossible to do so.

Edited April 19 by AsianintheNations

[volsfanwill]

I finally did it! 

After spending a week in Boston and taking every mode of public transportation, literally everywhere I went (I'll post about that in the appropriate thread soon) I finally used the bus in Nashville. 

I was inspired by my trip, the transit plan announcement, and the fact that it was free today. 

I took it from my apartmentish on 8th Ave all the way downtown for a show (Lewis Black) at TPAC. 

It was right on time. Google maps was a great help. Just like in Boston. And I was able to enjoy a couple beers before I left home with worrying about driving.  Next time I'll add about 5 minutes on the front end to make sure I get to the stop in time. Inbound, the closest stop is actually .5 miles from my apartment. Going home its directly in front. For safety reasons. Also, no sidewalk under 44o for that walk. 

On previous attempts to take the bus, this was 5ish years ago, I couldndt figure out the sched5. And at that time I think Google maps only knew when a bus left each end of the route. Now it tracked live. So I gave up. 

Now. On the way home it seems they will be 1 hour apart so that might be a issue. 

All this to say. I'll do it again. Our fare system is very fair even when it's not free. And the improvements under the referendum look very promising. Increased frequency means not having to worry about looking at the schedule or Google maps. You just know.

I will say the current website for the referendum SUCKS. The one in 2018 was great. We need that again. 

[markhollin]

Mayor Freddie O'Connell's vision for better transit in Nashville includes purchasing land for housing or other community benefits near some of the dozen new transit centers proposed in the "Choose How You Move" plan.

Beyond creating "mobility hubs" with amenities for bus users, pedestrians, cyclists and others, the transit centers would open up possibilities for Metro to secure about 26 acres of adjacent land and partner with developers to provide housing or other community spaces with easy access to the bus system. That's a scenario favored by federal housing grants, as housing and transit are typically a household's largest expenses.

"Living close to transit allows households to save on the cost of transportation," O'Connell said Friday. "Already today, Nashville households close to transit lines spend $200 less per year. So when we talk about building transit centers and park and ride facilities, we're not just talking about transportation infrastructure, we're talking about affordable housing, too."

"Choose How You Move" includes $130 million to construct 12 new transit centers of varying sizes, including centers in the following areas:

SoBro

East Bank

Antioch

West Nashville

Madison

Nolensville

Donelson

TSU

Skyline

Vanderbilt Center

Bellevue

Airport Station upgrades

In most cases, specific locations have yet to be selected, though public land is available for centers envisioned on the East Bank, South Broadway and at the Southeast Community Center in Antioch.

The transit improvement program estimates $33.6 million could be used for 10 additional land acquisitions to support "transit-connected community needs such as thoughtfully designed affordable housing."

The plan would seek to purchase land near the following transit centers:

SoBro

East Bank

Antioch

West Nashville

TSU

Skyline

Madison

Donelson

Nolensville

Bellevue

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2024/04/22/nashville-mayor-freddie-oconnell-transit-includes-buying-land-housing-parks/73388162007/

[smeagolsfree]

The question needs to be asked and that is, is a transit center a park and ride center as well???? We sort of touched on this at the UP meet-up and if this is not the case then it will be a bit of a short coming of the program.

[Bos2Nash]

3 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

The question needs to be asked and that is, is a transit center a park and ride center as well???? We sort of touched on this at the UP meet-up and if this is not the case then it will be a bit of a short coming of the program.

If the Transit Center is outside of the Inner Loop or really the Briley Parkway/440 loop, then yes, we should be looking to include a park and Ride concepts. Once inside those loops we are working counter intuitively.

[PaulChinetti]

Hopefully there will be some included up zoning around all the transit centers as well. 

The Donelson stop drives me crazy, there are like 2 apartments within walking distance. Everything else is zoned poorly. 

[Bos2Nash]

1 minute ago, PaulChinetti said:

Hopefully there will be some included up zoning around all the transit centers as well. 

The Donelson stop drives me crazy, there are like 2 apartments within walking distance. Everything else is zoned poorly. 

If I recall correctly, the Donelson Center area has a UDO over it that allows for density. Property owners have chosen not to build it yet.

I believe HG Hill still has development control of the train station parking lots in which they supposedly have plans to redevelop. 

[AsianintheNations]

On 4/22/2024 at 7:40 AM, smeagolsfree said:

The question needs to be asked and that is, is a transit center a park and ride center as well???? We sort of touched on this at the UP meet-up and if this is not the case then it will be a bit of a short coming of the program.

This map from page 52 seems to suggest that a subset of the transit centers would be park and rides. There are also park and rides that they aren't calling transit centers for whatever reason.

For the one marked basically at the intersection of Charlotte and White Bridge/Briley (closest to my home), I really hope they take over the former White Castle empty lot for the transit center/park and ride. Back in the old proposal, I had imagined that would also be where the light rail station would've been.

I am not sure what the dark red vs. light red park and ride difference is supposed to be. I'm with @Bos2Nash that it makes little sense to have park and rides in downtown (2 are marked on this map).

Edited April 25 by AsianintheNations

[downtownresident]

4 minutes ago, AsianintheNations said:

This map from page 52 seems to suggest that a subset of the transit centers would be park and rides. There are also park and rides that they aren't calling transit centers for whatever reason.

For the one marked basically at the intersection of Charlotte and White Bridge/Briley (closest to my home), I really hope they take over the former White Castle empty lot for the transit center/park and ride. Back in the old proposal, I had imagined that would also be where the light rail station would've been.

I wonder if the transit stations will include bus bays for transfers, etc while standard park and rides are just a bus stop with a parking lot 

[AsianintheNations]

4 minutes ago, downtownresident said:

I wonder if the transit stations will include bus bays for transfers, etc while standard park and rides are just a bus stop with a parking lot 

Makes sense. I guess it mostly makes sense to build transit centers when there's more than one bus line, while some park and rides can serve just one bus line.

Edited April 25 by AsianintheNations

[smeagolsfree]

If this is phase one let's say, what would you all think phase two would be of the transit plan? (OR) What would you want Phase two to look like or be?

I think this is a start for transit, but it is not a catch all or a full plan for Nashville. It touches on some areas of Nashville but not others.

So, what do you think or want?????

[downtownresident]

37 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

If this is phase one let's say, what would you all think phase two would be of the transit plan? (OR) What would you want Phase two to look like or be?

I think this is a start for transit, but it is not a catch all or a full plan for Nashville. It touches on some areas of Nashville but not others.

So, what do you think or want?????

I'd like to see the Charlotte line extend out to Nashville West, and a spur of BRT down White Bridge Road to the AJ Capital development/Hill Center. I'm sure the Woodmont neighborhood wouldn't like this, but it would be nice to extend the rapid line past Harding and connect in with Thompson Lane through to Murfreesboro Road.  I don't know if it would be possible to run dedicated lane BRT along 70S through Belle Meade or not, but that would be nice to give access to Bellevue. 

[Luvemtall]

Full intercity connection for sure , including sidewalks and bike lanes throughout. But to further expand the true meaning of a complete Metropolitan Transit system, then I think it’s necessary to expand and extend into a regional network and connect with the ring communities. Only then can the true benefits of reduced traffic and congestion become a reality, don’t matter how much in city transit exist if you keep dumping tens of thousands of commuters into the mix. I know that a lot people have a hard time thinking outside of the Davidson County Line, but in reality Metro encompasses a broad swath of Counties that feed into the whole picture and a full regional economy depends on it . So it needs to include those municipalities and create a better solution to gridlock,then just adding more asphalt! If people are willing to pay for the use of Choice Lanes, they probably will pay for a fare to have the option to use a transit alternative.

[PaulChinetti]

Dropped the kiddos off at the in-laws today and driving back. Something that would help traffic A LOT is lights that are more reactive to traffic. I sat at multiple lights where the main road was backed up because the lights where cycling like there was actual cross traffic. 

Shorten those timings during rush hour or use cameras or in ground sensors. SOMETHING!