The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[MontanaGuy]

20 hours ago, PaulChinetti said:

What’s more important for light rail, density or population?

It seems like density would be the most important because light rail is ridiculously expensive to build and the cost of setting up many miles of track to distant suburbs with low populations would never make any economic sense.  

[PaulChinetti]

3 hours ago, MontanaGuy said:

It seems like density would be the most important because light rail is ridiculously expensive to build and the cost of setting up many miles of track to distant suburbs with low populations would never make any economic sense.  

Well we’ve established public transportation makes little economic sense for the cities. But it seems for the benefits it would bring the resident of those distant suburbs it sure would.

I think this is the video I’m thinking about, can’t watch it now to verify. This city seems to be doing it great, at a similar density, with a smaller population. 

[MontanaGuy]

15 hours ago, PaulChinetti said:

I think this is the video I’m thinking about, can’t watch it now to verify. This city seems to be doing it great, at a similar density, with a smaller population. 

That was an inspiring video!  As he pointed out, our problems in most modern cities are a result of planning around cars and American cities are the worst designed in the world, and the farther west you go the worse they get!  Our situation here in Tennessee is made more difficult because our state is run by bumpkins who will likely oppose any form of mass transit.  I think we'll just have to start with small scale plans such as the downtown to the airport route and hope that people will see that it can work.

[Luvemtall]

I’m telling you , transit in Tennessee State language = a 6 lane highway from Obion to Troy! What’s that you never heard of those towns, don’t worry either has anyone else on the planet. But them good ole boys up there need to get to the fishing hole quickly, so let’s build them a new highway!

[smeagolsfree]

43 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

I’m telling you , transit in Tennessee State language = a 6 lane highway from Obion to Troy! What’s that you never heard of those towns, don’t worry either has anyone else on the planet. But them good ole boys up there need to get to the fishing hole quickly, so let’s build them a new highway!

I have heard of Troy Al. but never Troy TN. And you are right about fishing holes as it is close to Reelfoot Lake. More population in Spring Hill TN than in the entire County there. 

[markhollin]

Mayor O'Connell at crowd of more than 400 businesspeople at Thursday's Nashville Business Breakfast:

"This is, in many ways, one of our last best chances to accelerate not just the ability for transit to work in this city — this is going to be the best way to deliver sidewalks into the communities that don't have them, when we are literally a billion dollars behind," O'Connell said.

"I would actually say transit is the easiest issue of our challenges," the mayor replied.

The thorniest? Education, he said. "Parenting puts incredible pressure on anyone to make the right choices for their family. That means anything that involves public policy in those choices is incredibly challenging," O'Connell said.

He also pointed to housing. "The difficulty of land values, permits and inspections, construction, financing — all of those things make housing far more complicated than transit," he said.

"Demand for transit in Nashville far outpaces most of our peer cities," O'Connell said, noting that ridership on the busiest WeGo Public Transit routes has surpassed pre-pandemic highs. "It is incredibly popular. If you try to cut a transit route, you will hear from a Metro Council member, the wails and laments of their constituents."

The anticipated transit referendum in November will ask voters to approve one or more tax increases, creating new revenue that will be earmarked specifically for transit.

Nashville is one of four of the nation's 50 largest metro areas without that kind of dedicated and recurring transit revenue, according to an analysis by public-policy research organization Think Tennessee.

State law approved in 2017 gives Nashville a menu of six tax increases to pick from.

By far the biggest revenue generator is the sales tax, currently 9.25% in Davidson County. Raising that rate by half a percentage point, for example, would generate $162 million per year at current spending levels. That revenue would enable the city to borrow a much larger sum, repaid over many years.

O'Connell was asked how he would make the case to voters who still face the repercussions of 2023's soaring inflation, which drove up the prices for groceries and gasoline at a time when other household expenses, such as child care, also continue to climb.

"I think one of the things we're going to show is literally what your Kroger receipt would look like, before and after. The reality is, for most households, with the plan we're going to pursue, the Kroger receipt version of this plan is going to have negligible impact on your costs but provide a measurable benefit to thousands upon thousands of families in Nashville," O'Connell said. "We will try very hard to demonstrate that we are asking Nashvillians to make an investment that has an incredible return."

O'Connell called a faster and more reliable transit network "one of the quickest tools we have to help people drive down their cost of living, because for most households in Nashville, the cost of transportation is on par with the raw cost of housing."

"We make investments all the time in the city that don't benefit all of us every day, but they benefit the entire city," he said. "That is what our transit plan is going to try to demonstrate."

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2024/02/08/metro-transit-referendum-sales-tax-business.html

[BnaBreaker]

1 hour ago, markhollin said:

Mayor O'Connell at crowd of more than 400 businesspeople at Thursday's Nashville Business Breakfast:

"This is, in many ways, one of our last best chances to accelerate not just the ability for transit to work in this city — this is going to be the best way to deliver sidewalks into the communities that don't have them, when we are literally a billion dollars behind," O'Connell said.

"I would actually say transit is the easiest issue of our challenges," the mayor replied.

The thorniest? Education, he said. "Parenting puts incredible pressure on anyone to make the right choices for their family. That means anything that involves public policy in those choices is incredibly challenging," O'Connell said.

He also pointed to housing. "The difficulty of land values, permits and inspections, construction, financing — all of those things make housing far more complicated than transit," he said.

"Demand for transit in Nashville far outpaces most of our peer cities," O'Connell said, noting that ridership on the busiest WeGo Public Transit routes has surpassed pre-pandemic highs. "It is incredibly popular. If you try to cut a transit route, you will hear from a Metro Council member, the wails and laments of their constituents."

The anticipated transit referendum in November will ask voters to approve one or more tax increases, creating new revenue that will be earmarked specifically for transit.

Nashville is one of four of the nation's 50 largest metro areas without that kind of dedicated and recurring transit revenue, according to an analysis by public-policy research organization Think Tennessee.

State law approved in 2017 gives Nashville a menu of six tax increases to pick from.

By far the biggest revenue generator is the sales tax, currently 9.25% in Davidson County. Raising that rate by half a percentage point, for example, would generate $162 million per year at current spending levels. That revenue would enable the city to borrow a much larger sum, repaid over many years.

O'Connell was asked how he would make the case to voters who still face the repercussions of 2023's soaring inflation, which drove up the prices for groceries and gasoline at a time when other household expenses, such as child care, also continue to climb.

"I think one of the things we're going to show is literally what your Kroger receipt would look like, before and after. The reality is, for most households, with the plan we're going to pursue, the Kroger receipt version of this plan is going to have negligible impact on your costs but provide a measurable benefit to thousands upon thousands of families in Nashville," O'Connell said. "We will try very hard to demonstrate that we are asking Nashvillians to make an investment that has an incredible return."

O'Connell called a faster and more reliable transit network "one of the quickest tools we have to help people drive down their cost of living, because for most households in Nashville, the cost of transportation is on par with the raw cost of housing."

"We make investments all the time in the city that don't benefit all of us every day, but they benefit the entire city," he said. "That is what our transit plan is going to try to demonstrate."

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2024/02/08/metro-transit-referendum-sales-tax-business.html

Freddie, I like the cut of your jib, good sir!

Edited February 8 by BnaBreaker

[Bos2Nash]

Does anybody know the other five tax increase options beyond sales tax? IIRC the sales tax increase was one of the big attack points of the last referendum (anyone else remember "No Tax for Tracks"?) and it had two separate increases that went up to 10% (?) total?

[PaulChinetti]

No Tax for Tracks, UGH, don't remind me. 

I wonder what dark money BS will come out for this attempt. 

[subkyle]

2 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

Does anybody know the other five tax increase options beyond sales tax? IIRC the sales tax increase was one of the big attack points of the last referendum (anyone else remember "No Tax for Tracks"?) and it had two separate increases that went up to 10% (?) total?

I’m wondering the same. Maybe impact fees for business, gas tax, property tax. Maybe they could hit on the corporate tax. I think I’d prefer sales tax as the way to generate $$ for transit, maybe the gas tax also.

[Luvemtall]

Sales tax, gas tax, corporate tax, hotel tax, tourist tax. Something that’s evenly distributed across all the spectrum of potential users.

[PaulChinetti]

• The IMPROVE Act proposes boosting transportation funding in FY 2017-2018 and beyond by increasing the revenue sources for the Highway Fund. These revenue sources include taxes and fees on gas, diesel, motor vehicle registrations, electric cars, and rental vehicles.
• The IMPROVE Act pairs Highway Fund revenue increases with reductions to revenue sources for the General Fund – which funds nearly all the non-transportation activities of the state. The impacted revenue sources include the sales tax on groceries, the franchise and excise taxes on manufacturers, and the Hall Income Tax on investment income. Most of these Highway and General Fund taxes are also shared with cities and counties.

https://www.sycamoreinstitutetn.org/2017-tennessee-budget-proposal/

Perhaps these, they all seem Highway Fund related. 

[Nicholson]

3 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

Does anybody know the other five tax increase options beyond sales tax? IIRC the sales tax increase was one of the big attack points of the last referendum (anyone else remember "No Tax for Tracks"?) and it had two separate increases that went up to 10% (?) total?

The 'Local' options for funding transit are on this slide from the 2020 Metro Nashille Transportation Plan:

 

[Bos2Nash]

Thanks!

Here are my thoughts on which taxes should go toward dedicated transit funding.

• Rental Tax and/or Surcharge is looking at tourists and companies who are continually renting cars. Of course we could also cut off our nose if we were to get a solid enough transit system this funding could get smaller as we improve the system more and more.
• Alcohol Tax - This could be a perfect time to re-raise the conversation about the Special Tax District for the Convention Center. I believe Mayor Cooper asked about re-addressing the catchment for the convention center while he was still an at-large council member. If we could capture some of the alcohol tax that comes specifically out of Lower Broadway (but also from the county as a whole), that funding could go a long way and probably isn't going anywhere any time soon.
• Ride Hailing Tax is pretty self explanatory. If we have a transit system within our city, the system that is pulling folks off that system should essentially help pay for it. I do wonder if the "Contracted Vehicle" would also fall within this domain so the ride hailing apps cant claim discrimination against them.
• Local Parking Tax is also pretty self explanatory. Folks on this board continually preach that a city needs to provide parking. Well fine, let's have some parking, but we are going to put a tax on that parking and gain more than just property tax (very low property tax for that matter). I would expect two things to happen with this. We will see parking rates climb to accommodate the tax rate. The long run expectation (and possibly naïve one) would be that folks stop paying those rates and property owners see the value in re-developing the property to generate more revenue. 

I'm not as much of a fan of going after the sales, property, wheel taxes specifically because that targets everyone and the largest impact would be felt by the lower income folks who are still having to pay those everyday. Eventually, when the system is wide reaching enough, a Wheel Tax could be looked at because those lower incomes homes have much better access to transit, but right now I believe that hurts more folks than it helps.

The Hotel tax is an interesting one because it just went up for the Multi-Purpose Arena being built on the East Bank. I believe another user posted about how with that tax increase we would be approaching a very high tax rate on hotels. I could be mis-remembering that though.

I obviously don't have the numbers on each of those five or six taxes, but I would think with those dedicated funds with annual supplemental contributions from the annual budget we could find several hundred million to push our transit system forwads.

[smeagolsfree]

What about a building impact fee? 

I know that could be a little unpopular with developers, however that is one of the things that is driving traffic.  The farther out in the county the project is from the core the higher the fee is. I know the folks in Antioch do not want any more development and you could actually do this by district as well, by adding a district wide impact fee to slow down development in certain areas of Metro while encouraging growth in others.

[PaulChinetti]

Lower the fee in an 10 minute walk radius around transit stops raise it everywhere else! Ha

[Bos2Nash]

5 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

What about a building impact fee? 

I know that could be a little unpopular with developers, however that is one of the things that is driving traffic.  The farther out in the county the project is from the core the higher the fee is. I know the folks in Antioch do not want any more development and you could actually do this by district as well, by adding a district wide impact fee to slow down development in certain areas of Metro while encouraging growth in others.

The impact fees are certainly a good avenue - if we can get them through the legislature. The recent TACIR report hit upon those I believe and it basically said, if you have them already, you can keep them. Beyond that though I didn’t/don’t think they are possible. 
 

also impact fees should be higher closer to the core based on the overall impact any developments causes. Construction, service, presumed parking, traffic, etc. the further out you go, presumably the cheaper everything g would be because you may not have the same services etc. By “core” it could also be the UZO or the Urban Services District.  

[smeagolsfree]

Ashland City had an impact fee for years. The state did not make them drop it though. It was the fact that no one was building much of anything there and they finally came to realize that. I think it was 5000 dollars per home.

I think the only state law pertaining to this is the fact that the city or county have to disclose the fee. There are a number of cities and counties that make money from this and if the state passes a law to stop it then another war is on. The state is quickly realizing that a law that affects only one county or city is unconstitutional, and they will be defeated in the courts.

Tennessee Code § 66-5-211 (2021) - Disclosure of Impact Fees or Adequate Facilities Taxes — Definitions :: 2021 Tennessee Code :: US Codes and Statutes :: US Law :: Justia

 

[markhollin]

Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell will ask voters to expand the city's mass transit system when they go to the polls this fall.

O'Connell formally announced his intentions at a press conference on Thursday, making official his pursuit of a transit referendum on the November ballot.

O'Connell said his administration has concluded that it can form a plan and meet all legal and financial requirements under state law in time to have the issue on that ballot.

Specifics of that plan weren't immediately disclosed. This is a developing story and will be updated.

The decision makes final something that had been foreshadowed for months, as O'Connell called faster and more reliable transit "the largest missing ingredient we have to sustain the growth we all know we want to see, the best growth we can possibly have" during his run for office in 2023. He is a former chair of the city's transit authority, and he often mentions the three years in which he did not own a car and relied on city buses to get around.

“I think most of you know how deeply personal this issue is to me," O'Connell said in a Thursday news release. "My start in public service was my appointment to the Nashville MTA board of directors. Access to transit and commuting by bike were the keys to my own pathway to homeownership. More people deserve that opportunity because this isn’t about me. It’s about the people who live here and whether they can afford to stay here. The cost of transportation is nearly equal to the cost of housing in Nashville – and it's past time we tackle our transportation issues so that Nashville becomes a more livable city. A place you want to stay.” 
 

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2024/02/15/transit-vote-elections-ballot-mayor-freddie.html

And at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2024/02/15/nashville-will-get-to-vote-on-funding-transit-heres-what-to-know/72155877007/

And behind the Nashville Post paywall here:

https://www.nashvillepost.com/politics/metro/mayor-launches-transit-referendum-push/article_245d064e-cb82-11ee-adcd-a3ea65d9ead8.html

[markhollin]

Transit goals and who foots the bill: Mayor O'Connell talks referendum issues:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2024/02/16/nashville-transportation-mayor-freddie-oconnell-talks-transit-vote-issues/72574325007/

[markhollin]

7 things to know about Mayor O'Connell's transit push:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2024/02/16/metro-mayor-freddie-transit-plan-vote-referendum.html

[markhollin]

HillsboroRd/Crestmoor/Glen Echo interchange realignment update: more instrastructure work.

Looking west from intersection of Hillsboro Rd. and Crestmoor:

[PaulChinetti]

I know I post this guy a lot, this video has a lot of great links in the description. 

As well as made me realize we need to talk about moving people per hour, not vehicles per hour. 

 

[markhollin]

The airport's unending growth, coupled with the activity on the Murfreesboro Pike corridor that runs under an airport runway, prime it for some of the most aggressive investment in the plan O'Connell is assembling in the weeks ahead.

"That's what we're waiting to see: What's coming? We'll design future facilities … so bus or rail can land and passengers can get off and move into the terminal from there," said airport CEO Doug Kreulen. "We'll plan around that to be a supportive team player."

As of now, O'Connell said his plan will not recommend light rail to the airport, based on the "baseline" work his administration has done to this point.

"But, we are going to spend this next period of several weeks making sure that's a trade-off people are comfortable with," he said. "I will say it is absolutely a priority that we offer high-capacity access to and from the airport."

The airport continues to set records for passengers year after year. BNA is tracking to hit 24 million passengers in its current fiscal year.

Plus, WeGo Public Transit's 55 route on Murfreesboro Pike — between downtown and Antioch — has surged above pre-pandemic levels. Right before the pandemic hit, the route surpassed Gallatin Pike for WeGo's highest average daily ridership. It's often standing-room-only, even with buses running every eight minutes, O'Connell said.

Almost 85,000 more passengers rode that line between October and December 2023, compared to the same quarter in 2019, right before the pandemic began. That's a net increase of 30%, according to WeGo data. Ridership rose 9% between that quarter in 2023 and the same time period in 2022.

Those numbers, plus a comparatively ample amount of right-of-way, have made Murfreesboro Pike a top target for some kind of expanded rapid transit. That could mean lanes dedicated for buses, instead of having them stuck in traffic with the rest of us.

WeGo also has an airport-specific route that makes roughly 20 stops at the airport every day, Kreulen said. It uses the airport's ground transportation center for pickup and dropoff.

More at NBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2024/02/20/metro-mayor-transit-airport-bna-referendum.html

[markhollin]

Not Nashville related, but fascinating...

A slice of England's iconic A303 road shows how it has changed over thousands of years: