The Nashville Post
Holly McCall
Metro Transit Authority planners today unveiled three broad scenarios for improving Middle Tennessee’s traffic and transit woes, but emphasized they aren’t making specific recommendations yet.
“There’s a lot of interest in getting final solutions, but we aren’t doing that today,” said Board Member Lewis Lavine. “We’re taking this back out for public comment.”
The outlines came as the latest step in nMotion, the strategic planning process MTA launched last spring.
The first scenario offers the highest level of service and would be a regional, multi-modal system offering a combination of light rail, bus rapid transit (BRT) commuter rail, freeway BRT and urban streetcar.
The estimated capital costs to build such a system would be $5.4 billion through 2040, with annual operating costs of $311.5 million – more than three times the $83 million budget for fiscal year 2016.
Scenario two would feature major improvements to bus transit only, including BRT, freeway BRT, express bus on shoulder and local service improvements.
The third scenario proposes only modest, very affordable improvements with correlating low costs: rapid bus, express bus on shoulder and local bus improvements geared to improve the experience for existing riders.
The public involvement process will continue through the spring, but several board members indicated their preference for the most aggressive plan.
“Can’t we talk about Scenario One as the prognosis for 20 years out?” Board Member Walter Searcy asked. “We are going to get here regardless. Price isn’t the issue: we have a massive cluster that is impeding the region.
“We are charged with finding a solution, not alternatives,” Searcy added. “People will ask for the cheapest solution.”
Similarities in the three plans included streamlined downtown service, new fare payment options, smarter technology and longer service hours. Steve Bland, CEO of the MTA and Regional Transit Authority, said he anticipates the final solution will include elements from all three scenarios.
One item completely off the table for the foreseeable future, said Bland, is use of CXS rail lines.
“We’ve ruled out [use of CXS] out for now,” said Bland. “Even if CSX would let us use their right of ways, it would be unreliable based on schedules of freight trains: you might be on time today and an hour late tomorrow.”
