Is Nashville next to adopt this strategy (backing away from highway expansions)? (Memphis: appointed, house)

[bigcitymike]

I can see Nashville's MPO getting behind this movement. Plus it frees up tax dollars to spend elsewhere.

"New rules that require measuring greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector as well as concerns about air pollution have led to the cancellation of what critics are calling highway “boondoggles.”

https://www.governing.com/now/how-ne...sion-in-denver

[jjbradleynyc]

I certainly hope so.

I hope Nashville does not become "another Atlanta," in terms of traffic and highway expansion.

Nashville really needs to build out a rail system, and get that going for its future growth.

[Rsaw7854]

Well, my kids live in Chicago and tell me about all the wonderful people they see on mass transit. Like people shooting up, peeing in the corner, etc. One day one of them got on the train on their way to work and sat down, then got off at the next stop because a man was openly masturbating a few seat down facing the aisle. They ended up being 20 minutes late for work due to no fault of their own. Mass transit doesn't have any big downside, it is another panacea.

[jabogitlu]

Mass transit seems scary to some folks because the only places that the US can even begin to understand how to build rail in are places like Chicago or NYC. If we only had highways in the inner cities, they'd also seem incredibly run down, dirty, dangerous, etc.

Highway expansion is a thing of the past for this country. We may have a few new additions that are truly strategic needs, but our future scarce tax dollars will have to go towards maintenance of highways, and then to more pressing matters like expanding freight rail networks and giving more capacity to ports in LA/Long Beach, Savannah, Seattle, and NYC.

In the microcosm, for a place like Nashville, that definitely means no new roads without some kind of massive future spending bill at the federal level. Hell, US DOT is actively trying to give money to cities with shovel-ready highway removal projects.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

I certainly hope so.

I hope Nashville does not become "another Atlanta," in terms of traffic and highway expansion.

Nashville really needs to build out a rail system, and get that going for its future growth.

One thing to add to that would be BRT and upgrade bike infrastructure. Being able to safely bike from one side of town to the other would be huge. Just think of biking safely from midtown to east Bank without getting hit?

[N.Cal]

Just think of biking safely ANYWHERE IN NASHVILLE without getting hit?

Fixed it for you. I'm a cyclist and it's ridiculous here. I went to dinner last night to bid goodbye to two friends who can now work remotely anywhere they want and they sold their place in Bellevue and close on a house in a cycling mecca in another state. They are not the first to leave Nashville.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by N.Cal

Fixed it for you. I'm a cyclist and it's ridiculous here. I went to dinner last night to bid goodbye to two friends who can now work remotely anywhere they want and they sold their place in Bellevue and close on a house in a cycling mecca in another state. They are not the first to leave Nashville.

I wouldn’t even think of trying it. You are one brave soul.

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by bigcitymike

I can see Nashville's MPO getting behind this movement. Plus it frees up tax dollars to spend elsewhere.

"New rules that require measuring greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector as well as concerns about air pollution have led to the cancellation of what critics are calling highway “boondoggles.”

https://www.governing.com/now/how-ne...sion-in-denver

Not up to Nashville MPO to decide. You would have to ask TDOT. As a pay as you go state with no debt TN may be years behind on projects that need to be built.

Take I-69 from Memphis to Fulton KY. Take I-22 into Memphis. Take the process to expand I-65 from Nashville to KY. For the middle TN area take north 1/2 of I-840. There may be other projects to add more truck lanes to I-40, I-24 from Clarkesville to Nashville. A lot of other smaller projects waiting for funding.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by GWoodle

Not up to Nashville MPO to decide. You would have to ask TDOT. As a pay as you go state with no debt TN may be years behind on projects that need to be built.

Take I-69 from Memphis to Fulton KY. Take I-22 into Memphis. Take the process to expand I-65 from Nashville to KY. For the middle TN area take north 1/2 of I-840. There may be other projects to add more truck lanes to I-40, I-24 from Clarkesville to Nashville. A lot of other smaller projects waiting for funding.

When I found out TDOT had no plans to expand I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro, I was disappointed. However, the SMART corridor plans look promising. I know that eventually TDOT has plans to rebuild some of the exit ramps and bridges, but this corridor is always busy.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news...oro-nashville/

[GWoodle]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

When I found out TDOT had no plans to expand I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro, I was disappointed. However, the SMART corridor plans look promising. I know that eventually TDOT has plans to rebuild some of the exit ramps and bridges, but this corridor is always busy.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news...oro-nashville/

Agree.

The center median has already been built. Expanding I-24 here would require building a wider ROW. Doubt if TDOT has the money to do this & rebuild all the bridges. So the SMART corridor will have to work. IMHO may require some police activity to slow down traffic. Speed limit is 70 not 80 or 90.