The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[MLBrumby]

1 hour ago, Luvemtall said:

Question for Midtenn1 or anyone who might know. Does an interstate always need to pass below a DD interchange, or can it be reversed and the interstate be above ? I ask because TDOT will be starting the widening of I-40 in Lebanon from South Hartmann to pass the RT-70/ Watertown exit which is also the exit for the now Wilson County/ Tennessee State Fair . It’s been mentioned by the Mayor that the State intends to totally revamp that exit for better flow for all the fair traffic. Also as a side note, if Storyville Gardens ever materializes their preferred site is also that exit, just wondering how they would be thinking to fix such a busy road 

There is a DD interchange in St. Charles, MO under I-70. 

[markhollin]

Nolensville Pike widening project between Old Hickory Blvd. and Holt Rd. (about 2 miles):

[Sean blackdog]

5 hours ago, markhollin said:

Nolensville Pike widening project between Old Hickory Blvd. and Holt Rd. (about 2 miles):

Won’t completely until August 2027. 

[PaulChinetti]

3 years. Why so long?

[MLBrumby]

2 hours ago, PaulChinetti said:

3 years. Why so long?

[holding my tongue]

[holding my tongue]

[holding my tongue so I won't offend anyone from TDOT]

[OK... fine now]

[PaulChinetti]

Fair fair

There’s some tongue holding going on over in Bits and Pieces for the “No Nest” campaign. 

[Luvemtall]

I’m going to comment and ask some questions, because I’ve experienced Smart Corridors in other States and I’m not trying to single anyone out. But what exactly did TDOT spend 46.5 million dollars on, if all it seems to give us is some extra speed limit signs and cameras? I don’t think when your sitting idle in a traffic jam, you need more signs telling you your not moving. Yesterday afternoon there was a miles long backup on I-24 due to a semi going off the interstate and into a deep ditch. Obviously that was going to take time to clear , should not the Smart System diverted the traffic on to Murfreesboro Road and control the signals on that road to keep the traffic flowing? Thats how I’ve witnessed Smart Corridors in other States, and what was communicated that we were supposed to be getting. But true to the form that seems to be the norm around here, it’s a failure. Again I’m asking as gentle and respectful as I can, but sometimes there’s tough things to discuss.

[BnaBreaker]

4 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

I’m going to comment and ask some questions, because I’ve experienced Smart Corridors in other States and I’m not trying to single anyone out. But what exactly did TDOT spend 46.5 million dollars on, if all it seems to give us is some extra speed limit signs and cameras? I don’t think when your sitting idle in a traffic jam, you need more signs telling you your not moving. Yesterday afternoon there was a miles long backup on I-24 due to a semi going off the interstate and into a deep ditch. Obviously that was going to take time to clear , should not the Smart System diverted the traffic on to Murfreesboro Road and control the signals on that road to keep the traffic flowing? Thats how I’ve witnessed Smart Corridors in other States, and what was communicated that we were supposed to be getting. But true to the form that seems to be the norm around here, it’s a failure. Again I’m asking as gentle and respectful as I can, but sometimes there’s tough things to discuss.

I've thought the same thing on multiple occasions going through Nashville.  Just like so many of our "bike lanes" that are actually just paintings of a bike on an existing shoulder, these "smart corridors" just seem to be window dressing to a certain extent... it's like they spent JUST enough money to make it appear on the surface as if they invested in a functional smart corridor system and are being proactive about situation, but really, in the end, they just spent money on some new flashy electronic signs that ultimately don't do much.  

[Luvemtall]

As of right now, it just seems like a lot of smoke and mirrors. Again I’m not pointing fingers at anyone in particular, well maybe the big chiefs (coughing) up in the State House. The majority of legislators, try to appease their backwoods constituents by passing legislation to “ punish “ the big cities and keep them in check. Not thinking that it inadvertently hurts all of Tennessee, Nashville,Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga are the economic engines that drive this state. The infrastructure to support the economy of Tennessee is sadly lacking and the tremendous potential of this new found growth will come to a halt if they continue on this path of yesterdays thinking .

[markhollin]

WeGo Public Transit announces morning and afternoon weekday bus trips to and from Dickson, Bellevue and downtown Nashville.

Route 88 Dickson features limited stops during two morning departures and two afternoon return trips to and from Dickson Park & Ride at 175 Beasley Drive, Bellevue Park & Ride at 7650 Coley David Road and the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center at WeGo Central in downtown Nashville, according to a press release.

Tickets can be purchased online at QuickTicketTN.com for $4.25 each or $73.50 for 20 rides.

The first bus departs Dickson at 5:50 a.m., stops in Bellevue at 6:20 a.m. and arrives at WeGo Central at 6:45 a.m. A second bus leaves Dickson at 6:25 a.m., stops in Bellevue at 6:55 a.m. and arrives in Nashville at 7:25 a.m.

Return trips in the afternoon depart WeGo Central at 4:05 p.m. and 4:50 p.m., arrive in Bellevue at 4:28 p.m. and 5:18 p.m. and arrive in Dickson at 5:08 p.m. and 6:03 p.m.

Able to accommodate up to 54 passengers each, the Gray Line of Tennessee coach buses include TVs, Wi-Fi and restrooms.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/dickson/2024/06/04/wego-commuter-bus-route-88-connects-downtown-nashville-weekdays/73954946007/

[Luvemtall]

Very good news, now they must promote it!! Not everyone has a fantastic news outlet as we do here on the forum,Thanks Mark! 

[Luvemtall]

2 hours ago, markhollin said:

WeGo Public Transit announces morning and afternoon weekday bus trips to and from Dickson, Bellevue and downtown Nashville.

Route 88 Dickson features limited stops during two morning departures and two afternoon return trips to and from Dickson Park & Ride at 175 Beasley Drive, Bellevue Park & Ride at 7650 Coley David Road and the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center at WeGo Central in downtown Nashville, according to a press release.

Tickets can be purchased online at QuickTicketTN.com for $4.25 each or $73.50 for 20 rides.

The first bus departs Dickson at 5:50 a.m., stops in Bellevue at 6:20 a.m. and arrives at WeGo Central at 6:45 a.m. A second bus leaves Dickson at 6:25 a.m., stops in Bellevue at 6:55 a.m. and arrives in Nashville at 7:25 a.m.

Return trips in the afternoon depart WeGo Central at 4:05 p.m. and 4:50 p.m., arrive in Bellevue at 4:28 p.m. and 5:18 p.m. and arrive in Dickson at 5:08 p.m. and 6:03 p.m.

Able to accommodate up to 54 passengers each, the Gray Line of Tennessee coach buses include TVs, Wi-Fi and restrooms.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/dickson/2024/06/04/wego-commuter-bus-route-88-connects-downtown-nashville-weekdays/73954946007/

Although it may seem unflattering, this is a big step towards a better mass transit system for the Metro area. Not grand in scale by any stretch, but positive steps forward. More routes such as this need to be implemented from all directions, connecting the ring counties to a central city hub establishing a network that serves everyone. Even with busses, an effective transit system can be built , also zoning changes need to be made to allow for increased development of TOD’S along these routes. But these TOD’s need to have diverse and dense opportunities, not just SFH or condos for the wealthy . 

[Nathan_in_DC]

18 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

I’m going to comment and ask some questions, because I’ve experienced Smart Corridors in other States and I’m not trying to single anyone out. But what exactly did TDOT spend 46.5 million dollars on, if all it seems to give us is some extra speed limit signs and cameras? I don’t think when your sitting idle in a traffic jam, you need more signs telling you your not moving. Yesterday afternoon there was a miles long backup on I-24 due to a semi going off the interstate and into a deep ditch. Obviously that was going to take time to clear , should not the Smart System diverted the traffic on to Murfreesboro Road and control the signals on that road to keep the traffic flowing? Thats how I’ve witnessed Smart Corridors in other States, and what was communicated that we were supposed to be getting. But true to the form that seems to be the norm around here, it’s a failure. Again I’m asking as gentle and respectful as I can, but sometimes there’s tough things to discuss.

I saw these sorts of lanes quite a bit on UK motorways. Theoretically, they can help keep traffic moving, albeit at a slower speed, instead of coming to abrupt halts during increased congestion periods. Basically, when the system detects that traffic is slowing or becoming congested, it lowers speed limits to gradually slow traffic as it approaches the backup, serving to slow the addition of additional vehicles to the congested area and, again, theoretically, allowing the congestion to clear more quickly. In practice it's a mixed bag, and only has a chance of working with very vigorous speed enforcement that deters vehicles from ignoring the lowered limits.

[PaulChinetti]

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/paris-olympics-city-reduce-air-pollution-rcna153470

"Paris has closed more than 100 streets to motor vehicles, tripled parking fees for SUVs, removed roughly 50,000 parking spots, and constructed more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of bike lanes since Mayor Anne Hidalgo took office in 2014."

[markhollin]

What the Transit Referendum could look like on the Nov. ballot:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/davidson/2024/06/10/nashville-transit-referendum-november-ballot-freddie-oconnell/74019287007/

[markhollin]

South Street  between 12th Ave. South and 17th Ave. South is newly resurfaced with new bike lanes in each direction.
 

[PaulChinetti]

Did the city get a big influx of money? It seems like there is road work happening everywhere. 

[BnaBreaker]

8 hours ago, PaulChinetti said:

Did the city get a big influx of money? It seems like there is road work happening everywhere. 

If I had to guess it's the federal infrastructure bill that was signed by the president a couple years ago.  There isn't information about specific projects funded that I could find on this particular link, but according to the Tennessee fact sheet linked below, Tennessee was awarded a total of $6.7 billion from the bill for a total of 365 infrastructure projects statewide.  Not all of those are transportation related.  For example, $505 million of the money went toward clean water projects and replacing lead water pipes, and $1.1 billion went toward expanding high speed internet access across the state.  But the majority of it did go toward transportation projects.  $3.5 billion for roads and bridges, $452 million for public transit projects, $210 million for airport projects, and $15 million for shipping ports.  So yeah, I'd have to guess that a fairly significant portion of that $3.5 billion allotted to roads and bridges went to the Nashville area!

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Tennessee-IIA-State-Fact-Sheet.pdf

[NissanvilleTitans]

Let's just hope tdot doesn't waste on stupid stuff like building a 6 lane highway between Rutledge and Bean Station. Hopefully they use it wisely where it's needed. Where traffic actually is like the stretch of i75 between Knoxville and Chattanooga. Why isn't that 3 lanes both ways yet? Jeez! It's terrible.

[BnaBreaker]

14 hours ago, NissanvilleTitans said:

Let's just hope tdot doesn't waste on stupid stuff like building a 6 lane highway between Rutledge and Bean Station. Hopefully they use it wisely where it's needed. Where traffic actually is like the stretch of i75 between Knoxville and Chattanooga. Why isn't that 3 lanes both ways yet? Jeez! It's terrible.

Hahaha fair point!  Yeah I'm not sure how the projects that got funding were determined, but I think they were decided beforehand how it was to be allotted, presumably with the state's input (not sure if that'd be a good thing or not lol.)

[smeagolsfree]

16 hours ago, NissanvilleTitans said:

Let's just hope tdot doesn't waste on stupid stuff like building a 6 lane highway between Rutledge and Bean Station. Hopefully they use it wisely where it's needed. Where traffic actually is like the stretch of i75 between Knoxville and Chattanooga. Why isn't that 3 lanes both ways yet? Jeez! It's terrible.

Because I 81 exists and no one lives in those god forsaken hollows except my kin folk I thankfully left behind along with the real hillbillies up in SW Va.