The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[Tennessine]

4 hours ago, e-dub said:

The Skyway is fantastic. For pure driving insanity, tn32 is worth a look. My car (that I don't drive when given the option ) is a manual and having to constantly change between 1st and 2nd is exhilarating. 30 miles an hour on that road takes nerves of steel, as there's a full on drop off on one side of the twisty bits. The asphalt is brand new, too.

 

Even that adjacent stretch of I-40 turns my knuckles white, especially if you're up against the median in the left lane while semis are blocking your view to the right. That aside, it is one beautiful drive.

[Guest]

I can see how the Metro during rush hour to/from Virginia would be a benefit. I am  2 blocks from the Archives station and most of my trips are on the Red and Green lines... a very different set of variables.

 

57 minutes ago, Nathan_in_DC said:

As a morbid DC metro rider, if I'm coming or going into downtown any time during or near business hours, the metro is immensely more appealing, not to mention safer, than dealing with I66 or I395. 

 

Edited May 3, 2018 by Guest

[Dale]

I see where Austin may be forging ahead with a second and possibly a third leg to its commuter rail network, presumably to be paid for out of city coffers.

Has any consideration been given to expanding the Music City Star ? I mean, didn't they build the existing leg on a shoestring budget ?

 

[PruneTracy]

12 minutes ago, Dale said:

Has any consideration been given to expanding the Music City Star ? I mean, didn't they build the existing leg on a shoestring budget ?

Commuter rail to/from Clarksville is in the planning stages. This would be accomplished in a similar manner as the Star, on an existing short line railroad. It is the last short line in the area.

http://www.rtarelaxandride.com/PDF/NWCTS_Final_Report_Oct2017.pdf

[Dale]

1 minute ago, PruneTracy said:

Commuter rail to/from Clarksville is in the planning stages. This would be accomplished in a similar manner as the Star, on an existing short line railroad. It is the last short line in the area.

http://www.rtarelaxandride.com/PDF/NWCTS_Final_Report_Oct2017.pdf

Thanks, sounds like something.

[Guest]

This was illuminating - The No transit loyal opposition (presumed to be Koch / Beaman) was out-spent over 4 to 1 by the Yes transit groups (Metro/Chamber).

No = $1.12M (pr)
Yes = $3.3M (development and pr) + $2.4M (pr)

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/05/03/heres-a-glimpse-at-what-metro-transit-backers.html

[nashvylle]

11 minutes ago, nashville_bound said:

This was illuminating - The No transit loyal opposition (presumed to be Koch / Beaman) was out-spent over 4 to 1 by the Yes transit groups (Metro/Chamber).

No = $1.12M (pr)
Yes = $3.3M (development and pr) + $2.4M (pr)

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/05/03/heres-a-glimpse-at-what-metro-transit-backers.html

$ spent is one thing, effectiveness of the propaganda (and in a lot of cases intentionally misleading propaganda for notax4tracks) is another thing. 

Some of the stuff they were saying was ridiculous, they knew it, but it doesn’t matter if it sways voters to vote no. 

This coming from someone who had a lot of issues with the proposed plan. 

[Pdt2f]

I just know that as someone who lives in a heavy-transit using part of town (Madison), and as someone who is a registered and active Davidson county voter, I did not get one call, one visit, or one piece of mail from the pro transit side. I’m amazed how much they outspent the opposition considering how little I saw of them. I sw a few Facebook ads (but more anti transit) and heard a few radio ads and that’s really it, other than the late-appearing yard signs. 

[MLBrumby]

1 hour ago, nashville_bound said:

This was illuminating - The No transit loyal opposition (presumed to be Koch / Beaman) was out-spent over 4 to 1 by the Yes transit groups (Metro/Chamber).

No = $1.12M (pr)
Yes = $3.3M (development and pr) + $2.4M (pr)

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/05/03/heres-a-glimpse-at-what-metro-transit-backers.html

Safe to say the Pro group botched their message, and other things. 

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/05/02/nashville-transit-referendum-6-reasons-why-lost-big/571782002/

 

[PaulChinetti]

1 hour ago, nashville_bound said:

This was illuminating - The No transit loyal opposition (presumed to be Koch / Beaman) was out-spent over 4 to 1 by the Yes transit groups (Metro/Chamber).

No = $1.12M (pr)
Yes = $3.3M (development and pr) + $2.4M (pr)

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/05/03/heres-a-glimpse-at-what-metro-transit-backers.html

Ofcourse it’s gonna cost more to develop a plan...

Spewing questionable (at best) facts and not proposing anything else is cheap.

 

Not to say pro-transit didn’t blow their messaging but counting the development of a plan seems a little notax4ttax-y. 

I would definitely say whoever ran the pro side should probably sit the next few out. It would be interesting to read an article about what they hell they have been doing for the past 3 months. 

[e-dub]

Agreed on all counts, @PaulChinetti.

[Flatrock]

4 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

Safe to say the Pro group botched their message, and other things. 

I'd go so far as to say they botched everything. A close friend volunteered late last week to canvas neighborhoods for the pro-transit operations based out of Conexion America's. He said there was a room FULL of pro transit signs...unused as of last Friday. When he asked a person there why he himself had been unable to receive a sign , he got a shrug of shoulders and no response. Pretty dang pathetic.

[Guest]

Propaganda such as vote for the trans it plan because it will address already existing congestion.....fail?

 

1 hour ago, nashvylle said:

$ spent is one thing, effectiveness of the propaganda (and in a lot of cases intentionally misleading propaganda for notax4tracks) is another thing. 

Some of the stuff they were saying was ridiculous, they knew it, but it doesn’t matter if it sways voters to vote no. 

This coming from someone who had a lot of issues with the proposed plan. 

 

[Neigeville2]

10 hours ago, Dale said:

I know I sound like a broken record, but taken Austin. In 2014, light rail was crushed.

And Austin is the fastest growing city in the nation.

As I understand it, it's actually that Austin's suburbs are among the fastest growing in the nation

9 hours ago, urbanplanet17 said:

Atlanta's limited transit scope hasn't stopped its growth since MARTA was built in the 1970s, 5 million more people later and another 2.5 million expected over the next 2 decades (*without* Amazon HQ2).

Actually I think MARTA has pretty high ridership considering its limited scope, does anyone have any knowledge about this?

8 hours ago, Armacing said:

Can you provide an example of an "unreasonably large single family home"?  I don't need a picture, just an address so I can go look at it on Google Street View.  I'm curious to see what one looks like.... thanks in advance!

One of the commonest complaints from people looking to buy houses in the US is the lack of smaller homes.  As someone who lives alone, I think anything over 1000 sq ft is tedious to live in and while apartments in that range exist, no one is building single family homes nowadays that aren't large compared to "starter" homes of the past.  Even apartment builders are building "luxury" apartments with high vacancies even though most people don't want all that crap.  Like lots of people, all I want is a little roof over my head and a little space to garden, and the stupid market in its vast wisdom does not provide that.  

8 hours ago, nashville_bound said:

Anecdotal, but I know almost no one who actually 'loves' mass transit. That is actually a weird statement..

 

Are you nuts?  I lived in Chicago for 5 years using mass transit for all my needs and I LOVED it.  Driving is the most boring f-ing thing in the world.

[claya91]

Thought I'd look up some  good transit alternatives on NoTaxForTracks' website today. To my dismay, they had already taken down their website. 

[urbanplanet17]

2 hours ago, Neigeville2 said:

 

Actually I think MARTA has pretty high ridership considering its limited scope, does anyone have any knowledge about this?

Oh yes, you're absolutely correct. And don't get me wrong, MARTA does a very efficient job serving the locations it does.

But my point was relative to the sheee size of "Atlanta," it's not nearly extensive enough  to combat the sprawl and increasingly horrible traffic the region faces. The rapid growth continues, but it's getting to the point now in large parts of the metro area that traffic jams are happening on late weekend nights and "rush hours" lasts several hours in the morning and afternoon.

My hope is that Nashville doesn't end up like Atlanta and embrace infrastructure such as an extensive transit system sooner than later. Right now  Nashville's about where Atlanta was in the late 1970s.

[volsfanwill]

and that is exactly why I cringe when I hear people say they dont want to turn into Atlanta.  people seem to think that transit will make us like Atlanta. 

I try to explain to people all the time that we are Atlanta in 1975.  they built an insufficient metro system with only 2 lines when they should have built 5 or more.  and did not change zoning for decades to spur development around the 2 lines they did build.  Our way to avoid that is to not make those mistakes.  

[MagicPotato]

The question is, how long will the growth continue? 

Edited May 4, 2018 by MagicPotato

[e-dub]

You know, as long as Tennessee has a favorable tax burden compared to most of the country - for both individuals and business - I see growth continuing. Sometimes hotter, sometimes cooler, but I think the city is on a growth trajectory for some time.

[PaulChinetti]

1 minute ago, MagicPotato said:

The question is, how long will the growth continue? 

We with the new AB HQ on the way that seems to me like it would pique the curiosity of other companies thinking of moving to a state/city with no income tax. 

[MagicPotato]

5 minutes ago, PaulChinetti said:

We with the new AB HQ on the way that seems to me like it would pique the curiosity of other companies thinking of moving to a state/city with no income tax. 

True, also our education and healthcare sectors are expanding like crazy. We kind of have a mix of everything in Nashville. That might explain why we're experiencing so much growth. Having some kind of transit system would have definitely boost our growth. We should start small like how Charlotte did theirs. It might peak the interest of voters a little, instead of throwing everything at them all at once.

Edited May 4, 2018 by MagicPotato

[samsonh]

7 hours ago, nashville_bound said:

I can see how the Metro during rush hour to/from Virginia would be a benefit. I am  2 blocks from the Archives station and most of my trips are on the Red and Green lines... a very different set of variables.

 

 

As part of the swamp you enjoy government when you are there???  

 

In jest of course

Edited May 4, 2018 by samsonh

[LA_TN]

New transit option I saw today:

[smeagolsfree]

15 hours ago, PruneTracy said:

Commuter rail to/from Clarksville is in the planning stages. This would be accomplished in a similar manner as the Star, on an existing short line railroad. It is the last short line in the area.

http://www.rtarelaxandride.com/PDF/NWCTS_Final_Report_Oct2017.pdf

The problems here are coming up with the 4-7 hundred million for the line and the cost of land acquisition through Montgomery County could be more than figured on as there is no right of way through that county no. The rail has been pulled up and reverted to private ownership for the most part.

[Dale]

Where does Nashville go from here ? San Antonio mayor says "We're beyond light rail. The world is beyond light rail" ...

http://sanantoniofamilyassociation.com/2018/05/nirenberg-and-wolff-rail-wont-be-part-of-new-mass-transit-proposal/

 

 

14 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

The problems here are coming up with the 4-7 hundred million for the line and the cost of land acquisition through Montgomery County could be more than figured on as there is no right of way through that county no. The rail has been pulled up and reverted to private ownership for the most part.

Yeah, I had not realized the complexity of this. Somehow, Austin is planning new legs for a fraction of this cost. And with new trains.