The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[UTgrad09]

From people I've spoken to about AMP they have told me that the E-W starter line will be our "spine" that down the road we tie other things into.

So imagine a line going south down Hillsboro, north up 8th, tying in commuter rail to the spine to destinations to the NE/SE/S. Glad it's moving forward. Next step is finding dedicated finding for regional transit...

If that's the plan, that's great. I guess they don't want to announce it all at once so the public doesn't panic about spending/messing up traffic?

[nashvillwill]

$2 million for bikeways and $3 million for greenways in the budget that just passed. Hope its not all just paint!

I'm hearing about plans for a project called "the groove", which will be similar to "the wiggle" in San Francisco. The general idea is a marked path through the city which will be the path of least resistance for bicyclists. "The wiggle" in SF was designed to provide the flattest route possible, avoid some of the mos brutal hills in the city (i've ridden it several times and its great). From what I understand, the Nashville "groove" will highlight a route to avoid the most traffic congestion. I imagine it will be made mostly of waypoint signs and sharrows, not so much new infrastructure.

I'm not sure if that's what this specific funding is for, but I would like to see that in the near future. I would think that 2-3 million would be enough to cover the costs.

[Guest]

http://www.nashvitality.org/active/biking/maps-and-resources.aspx

 

http://www.walkbikenashville.org/Resources/Documents/maps/NashvilleGroove.pdf

[nashvillwill]

Oh. So it's basically just a map? That's kinda dissapointing.

[volsfanwill]

Oh. So it's basically just a map? That's kinda dissapointing.

not a very good one either, several shades of brown is not appealing to the eye.

[bwithers1]

Also, some inaccuracies in terms of the location of area names. Like Edgehill is called Waverly.   And also, most of the numbered lucations are schools.  I don't have a problem with that, per se, but is this guide primarily geared toward students/parents with school-aged children? 

[mirydi]

Here is some good news for BRT.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/morning_call/2013/08/nashville-moves-closer-to-funding-for.html

 

Nashville has cleared another hurdle in its search for $174 million to fund Mayor Karl Dean's proposed bus rapid transit system, known as The Amp, The Tennessean reports.

Federal transit officials notified the Metropolitan Transit Authority last week that the city's funding application had been approved for the application process' next phase.

"This is a major step forward for The Amp," Dean said in a statement. "Being accepted into project development is essentially the FTA saying we're on the right track with our project and they want to help us get to a point where it can be recommended for federal funding."

[MLBrumby]

Amp!  That is such a stupid name for mass transit... how will a visitor know that it's the bus? 

[mirydi]

 

Amp!  That is such a stupid name for mass transit... how will a visitor know that it's the bus?

I'm not a huge fan of Amp myself, but I'll take it. Would be much sexier if we had LRT. For some reason when I think of BRT I picture those ugly MTA buses running around town with all the advertisement signage plasterd all over them. Yuck!

[nashvillwill]

Does anyone know what exactly we are approved for? The article says that the FTA approved funding for the next phase, but I'm not sure what that next phase entails. Obviously it's not the $175 million needed for construction.

At some point, we are going to need to secure a funding source for transit.

[mirydi]

 

Does anyone know what exactly we are approved for? The article says that the FTA approved funding for the next phase, but I'm not sure what that next phase entails. Obviously it's not the $175 million needed for construction.

At some point, we are going to need to secure a funding source for transit.

That's a good question. I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it sounds promising though.

[UTgrad09]

Does anyone know what exactly we are approved for? The article says that the FTA approved funding for the next phase, but I'm not sure what that next phase entails. Obviously it's not the $175 million needed for construction.

At some point, we are going to need to secure a funding source for transit.

 

They were approved to send the application to the committee that reviews approved applications.

[mirydi]

 

They were approved to send the application to the committee that reviews approved applications.

What do you think the odds are that this gets approved anytime soon?

[nashvillwill]

They were approved to send the application to the committee that reviews approved applications.

At first I thought you were joking. After reading the article again, it appears you are exactly right.

Who's on first? I can hear it now;

"Your application was approved"

"Great! Approved for what?"

"Approval"

"But I thought you said it was approved"

"It was"

"For what?"

"Approval"

"But I thought you said it was approved"

"It was"

"For what?"

"Approval"

"But I thought you said it was approved".........

Edited August 12, 2013 by nashvillwill

[UTgrad09]

At first I thought you were joking. After reading the article again, it appears you are exactly right.

Who's on first?

 

I didn't even read the article. I just saw the quote and figured what was going on. Any time the words 'first hurdle' come into play, you know there is going to be all kinds of red tape and federal hoops to jump through.

 

 

What do you think the odds are that this gets approved anytime soon?

 

Throwing darts blindfolded, I don't know...depending on the number of 'hurdles' we face, hopefully we can start this by 2015?

[bhibbs]

Is this ever gets done which do you guys believe will be Dean's bigger accomplishment, the MCC or the BRT?

[captainwjm]

Is this ever gets done which do you guys believe will be Dean's bigger accomplishment, the MCC or the BRT?

MCC

[mirydi]

 I can hear it now;

"Your application was approved"

"Great! Approved for what?"

"Approval"

"But I thought you said it was approved"

"It was"

"For what?"

"Approval"

"But I thought you said it was approved"

"It was"

"For what?"

"Approval"

"But I thought you said it was approved".........

Lol!

[mirydi]

MCC

If we were talking about LRT vs MCC, it would be a toss up for me. I love LRT! But MCC over BRT all day.

[Nashvillain]

Is this ever gets done which do you guys believe will be Dean's bigger accomplishment, the MCC or the BRT?

I'm on record as no great fan of the MCC, but for Nashville's sake I hope it's a huge success. Having said that, I think putting Nashville on a path towards a legit mass transit system is a tremendous accomplishment, especially projecting out to future generations. Getting the ball rolling on mass transit is long overdue and while BRT may not be as "sexy" as light rail, it's functionally the same thing. And it's just the beginning of a potentially more robust and effective system. Kudos to Dean for his ambition, vision and ability to make things happen.

[nashwatcher]

I agree. I'm thankful Dean has been as ambitious and forward thinking as he has. IMO, he's stuck his neck out and has done a great service for Nashville...

[mirydi]

 I think putting Nashville on a path towards a legit mass transit system is a tremendous accomplishment, especially projecting out to future generations. Getting the ball rolling on mass transit is long overdue and while BRT may not be as "sexy" as light rail, it's functionally the same thing. And it's just the beginning of a potentially more robust and effective system. Kudos to Dean for his ambition, vision and ability to make things happen.

 

I'm thankful Dean has been as ambitious and forward thinking as he has. IMO, he's stuck his neck out and has done a great service for Nashville...

 I agree.

 

Edit: I just hope the city doesn't go all cheapo on the buses. I wouldn't mind so much if they looked like this.

 

 

 

 

vs something like this

 

Edited August 12, 2013 by mirydi

[mirydi]

I think it's crucial that the buses don't look like crap in order to get people to want to ride them. Many people have the view that buses are a "poor mans" transportation and wouldn't be caught dead on one. It's a well deserved reputation if you ever bother to look at the kind of people at bus stops (sorry, not trying to judge just being honest). I think if the buses look clean and modern it would encourage more people to ride them and would be more successful.

[producer2]

I think it's crucial that the buses don't look like crap in order to get people to want to ride them. Many people have the view that buses are a "poor mans" transportation and wouldn't be caught dead on one. It's a well deserved reputation if you ever bother to look at the kind of people at bus stops (sorry, not trying to judge just being honest). I think if the buses look clean and modern it would encourage more people to ride them and would be more successful.

They will look more like your first picture. The design features will include wide step in\out doors and internal bike racks, etc. they will also feature free wi-fi. 

[UTgrad09]

I think Dean made it a point that while the cost effectiveness pushed him towards BRT, he wants the experience to feel more like LRT. Hence the dedicated lanes, mid block/median of the road stations, and as producer says, modern buses.

 

I think most of us would rather have LRT...but if we can add more route miles by doing BRT (because of cost), then that would be the wise choice.