Will Nashville ever step up to the plate? (Franklin, Brentwood: to live, price) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

storey13 · 05-28-2007, 04:08 PM

I'm talking about mass transit that is. I've lived in South Nashville (currently Lenox Village) for about three years now and I tell you something needs to be done. I know that we have a train that goes east to Mt. Juliet now, and I recently read in the City Paper that they are not meeting their passenger goals. It is frustrating to me because I lived near Chicago for a few months and I got spoiled by their mass transit up there.

They need to expand the system to all corners of Nashville, especially to Franklin, Brentwood, Rivergate area, South Nashville, West End and have a loop system set up that connects from West End to East Nashville too. I only have to drive 10 miles to get to work in the morning and it takes way too long for me to get there.

I would like to hear other folks opinions on this matter. Nashville is getting quite a smog haze now if you ever take the time to notice.

alleycat · 05-28-2007, 04:24 PM

Generally a city has to reach a certain size before a real effort is made towards mass transit. Nashville is just about at that point now.

It's going to take a while though. Buses are hated here and rail is very expensive to implement.

If I was in charge of the world (and surprisely, no one has asked me to be), I'd start by trying to re-route the truck traffic around rather than through Nashville, then I'd work on bus transit being friendly to the residents rather than being a detriment.

akm4 · 05-28-2007, 05:08 PM

I'm with storey13. I wish I knew the reasons for not having it established already, and what we can do to encourage it. It's a much more environmentally-friendly way to live.

alleycat · 05-28-2007, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akm4

I'm with storey13. I wish I knew the reasons for not having it established already, and what we can do to encourage it. It's a much more environmentally-friendly way to live.

Because until recently there was still room within the existing right-of-ways to add more lanes, and the TDOT had all the money it needed to do so. Now they've "used up" the ROWs in many area; to add more lanes means condemning property and that would be incredibly expensive.

I wouldn't look for a solution anytime soon however. It would take a consorted effort between the TDOT, Metro and all of the surrounding counties; and you know how difficult that would be to arrange. And the TDOT guys are all "road guys". There is a lot of political power in the road-building lobby.

I wish I was more hopefully, but I'm not.

storey13 · 05-29-2007, 03:12 PM

Thanks for the replies. I guess I will continue to dream. Eventually they will run out of space to expand the roads and then they will not have a choice.

DeLaSalle · 05-29-2007, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alleycat

Generally a city has to reach a certain size before a real effort is made towards mass transit. Nashville is just about at that point now.

It's going to take a while though. Buses are hated here and rail is very expensive to implement.

If I was in charge of the world (and surprisely, no one has asked me to be), I'd start by trying to re-route the truck traffic around rather than through Nashville, then I'd work on bus transit being friendly to the residents rather than being a detriment.

Good Idea, That would by an enormous help to all cities...

RetireFromOK · 05-30-2007, 06:31 AM

A quick search showed that current ridership on the Music City Star is about 225 people per day, and that it's losing money in a big way. It's hard to justify putting more rail in when ridership on the existing line is so low.

storey13 · 05-30-2007, 08:49 AM

It seems that commuter rail takes a while for it to catch on. I feel that they should of started with a route from the airport to downtown and then expand from there.

Jzer21 · 05-31-2007, 03:18 PM

For most people, I think it's the price of a roundtrip ticket that is killing the commuter train. It's not any more economical than driving.

alleycat · 05-31-2007, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jzer21

For most people, I think it's the price of a roundtrip ticket that is killing the commuter train. It's not any more economical than driving.

Plus you have to do three stage: Get to the station, take the train, then either walk or take a shuttle to where you need to go. It isn't like there's twelve stations in Nashville where you can get off near where you work.

Still, I hope it works.