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In Nashville's defense, those people you see on Broadway are mostly tourists.
It speaks to the type of tourists that Nashville attracts. Compare it to Austin's 6th street. The type of people patronizing the businesses on these streets are a lot different.
Austin already has rail and Kansas City just made transit (streetcar) free. Detroit just built a (poor performing light rail/streetcar) and will build commuter rail to Ann Arbor.
If you chose to actually READ what I said, I acknowledged that several of the cities, like KC, Cincy and Detroit have built limited largely downtown and/or tourist streetcars. I don't consider such projects anywhere near on the level of a true rapid transit or commuter rail system. Many people consider Austin's system diesel LRT, but if you want to call it commuter rail, have at it.
As for the Detroit-to-Ann Arbor commuter rail line: Metro Detroit's (now RTA) has talked and talked about this, but I don't see any movement to build it as of yet. I'm not interested in what Detroit's going to do, I want to see results. Nashville put up before it shut up, and built the Music City Star commuter rail line. The fact that Music City Star has low ridership issues is irrelevant and beside the point... Nashville is sticking with the system and may expand it in the near future.
Quote:
Originally Posted by newgensandiego
Nashville is ahead of Detroit in diverse culture and the arts? That sounds like a stretch. I realize that "forward-thinking/progressive" is subjective, but this assertion seems unsubstantiated and the conclusion inconclusive.
I stand by my assertion. I'm not saying Detroit is not cultural, because it obviously is -- it's got substantial arts and, obviously, the amazing tradition of Motown Records which few cities can boast of... Just any old city couldn't produce such an institution...
But per capita, I'd take Nashville. Detroit is many times larger metropolitan-wise. Plus, even though things are happily changing, Detroit is the poster child (city) of urban dysfunction. It is the classic "doughnut city". Simply put, decades ago white people with means ran to the suburbs and abandoned Detroit and they took their culture and even sports (the Lions and Pistons played deep in the burbs until a decade or so ago when the Fords moved the Lions downtown and the Piston's moved into Little Caesar's Arena 2 years ago).
A few years back, Detroit was so broke, they were actually considering selling off the entire art collection at DIA just to make ends meet. Thankfully cooler, smarter heads prevailed and this atrocious plan was not acted upon... Whites, now, are moving back into the city, largely downtown, following some pioneer business owners, like Dan Gilbert, who have been rebuilding and reviving downtown and some close-in neighborhoods, ... and that's a great thing.
But unlike Nashville or even Austin, Detroit has no top-flight university within its borders or within a close-in suburb... No, Ann Arbor, 45 miles away, doesn't count for what I'm talking about. This is not like having a Vanderbilt or U. Texas in the core of the city; and, again, Nashville and Austin are much smaller than Detroit, anyway. (and even though Ann Arborites are much more progressive politically than folks in Oakland county, generally, they too keep their metaphorical distance from Detroit as well which, to them, is akin to being on another planet. A2 is its own little idealistic world in and of itself).
But still, there's a conservative element in places like Oakland County, who have fought mass transit and remain content with their cars, freeways, nice homes and even freeway-oriented, sprawl inducing corporate campuses. These right-wing have torpedoed regional transit and rail proposals time and again. There are still too many suburban whites who hate Detroit and don't want to have anything to do with it aside from rooting for the Tigers or Wings or Pistons or maybe want to attend a Broadway show from time to time.
Nashville has embraced and created metropolitan government which signals an embrace for the entire region -- city and suburb. Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and a lot of older post industrial cities are light-years away from this....
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Originally Posted by newgensandiego
Not sure if this is true, but based on your other claims I'm not sure what to believe.
If you want to communicate as an adult, I'll talk to you. But if you would rather be a childish smart-ass, I'll leave it here.
It speaks to the type of tourists that Nashville attracts. Compare it to Austin's 6th street. The type of people patronizing the businesses on these streets are a lot different.
When I visited Austin, I didn't see a huge difference to be honest. Both streets seem to attract the "hey bra" Brads and the "Woo girl" Emilys unless I missed something.
Nashville is much better than it was 5 or 10 years ago. Better shopping, more things to do and just a better over all city. I am amazed at how much construction is being done in DT and the amount of corporate relocations.
I don't think it's as good as many make it out to be on CD. Low HRC ratings, no transit referendum and lacking high culture places Nashville in a place below what many want it to be.
My thing with Nashville as with any other city, enjoy it for the great city it is but don't make up stuff to make it seem more than what it is.
Austin already has Capital Metro rail. I ride it two times a week. It's actually crowded! service and more trains will be added in 2020. They are building a new downtown hub to be finished in 2022 and they are studying two more lines now. They even had little decorations up this week for christmas and in typical Austin fashion there is Wi-Fi and even a table at the last seating position in the trains for Laptops.
From Wikipedia.
Capital MetroRail is a commuter rail[1][2][3] system that serves the Greater Austin area in Texas, and which is owned by the Capital Metro. The Red Line, Capital Metro's first and only rail line, connects Downtown Austin with Austin's northern suburbs. The line operates on 32 miles (51 kilometers) of existing freight tracks, and serves nine stations.[4]
After a series of delays, Capital MetroRail was inaugurated in March 2010.[5] Daily ridership during the first nine months was approximately 800 riders per weekday, although it had doubled to 1,600 by its first anniversary.[6] Capital Metro added additional runs during midday beginning in mid-January 2011. Capital Metro added Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening regularly scheduled service on March 23, 2012.
As of 2014, MetroRail has an average weekday ridership of approximately 2,900 passengers per day[1] and is the twenty-second most-ridden commuter rail system in the country out of thirty one operational commuter rail systems.
Austin already has Capital Metro rail. I ride it two times a week. It's actually crowded! service and more trains will be added in 2020. They are building a new downtown hub to be finished in 2022 and they are studying two more lines now. They even had little decorations up this week for christmas and in typical Austin fashion there is Wi-Fi and even a table at the last seating position in the trains for Laptops.
From Wikipedia.
Capital MetroRail is a commuter rail[1][2][3] system that serves the Greater Austin area in Texas, and which is owned by the Capital Metro. The Red Line, Capital Metro's first and only rail line, connects Downtown Austin with Austin's northern suburbs. The line operates on 32 miles (51 kilometers) of existing freight tracks, and serves nine stations.[4]
After a series of delays, Capital MetroRail was inaugurated in March 2010.[5] Daily ridership during the first nine months was approximately 800 riders per weekday, although it had doubled to 1,600 by its first anniversary.[6] Capital Metro added additional runs during midday beginning in mid-January 2011. Capital Metro added Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening regularly scheduled service on March 23, 2012.
As of 2014, MetroRail has an average weekday ridership of approximately 2,900 passengers per day[1] and is the twenty-second most-ridden commuter rail system in the country out of thirty one operational commuter rail systems.
Yes, Austin's system is definitely commuter rail despite the LRT technology: I stand corrected. Actually, given its entrance into downtown Austin over city streets, it sounds like it is very similar to the old interurban rail systems that operated out of most big cities 60-90 years ago. The only difference is the diesel technology and, hence, no overhead wiring... The only true surviving, working interurban is the South Shore Line out of Chicago running nearly 90 miles to South Bend, IN, and its soon to get a 5 mile extension/branch line to Munster, IN.
Nashville is overdue and I would anticipate them passing a referendum on one in the next couple years, hopefully anyway.
Austin needs it badly as well. Traffic becoming out of control there.
San Antonio and maybe Raleigh are my other picks to start rail up.
As for the others, I don't think they ever will get rail in the foreseeable future, at least not in the next 10 years at least. I don't think their growth warrants it, really.
It is undecided at this point whether it will be LRT or BRT with an eye towards autonomous vehicles in the future, but it will definitely be grade separated and likely contain a subway through downtown.
It is undecided at this point whether it will be LRT or BRT with an eye towards autonomous vehicles in the future, but it will definitely be grade separated and likely contain a subway through downtown.
We'll see if it passes.
Never knew about this, especially a subway through downtown. Its needed but I have always envisioned a grade separated system or especially a subway to be unrealistic or infeasible for Austin...although I greatly welcome it.
Never knew about this, especially a subway through downtown. Its needed but I have always envisioned a grade separated system or especially a subway to be unrealistic or infeasible for Austin...although I greatly welcome it.
A subway is expensive anywhere, but my understanding is that it's not especially so in Austin. The system won't work without separate right of way, and achieving that without a subway means either taking away a lane from cars (politically expensive) or an elevated system. The subway also saves real estate costs by putting the station underground.
The LRT vs BRT decision will be interesting. I honestly think BRT is probably the smarter play in 2019. Smaller self-driving vehicles with a very high frequency would be more convenient than larger less-frequent trains. It's also a lot easier to scale and expand, and probably less maintenance (not to mention way cheaper to build).
However, at the ballot box BRT looks like the same old slow buses that are stuck in traffic. So I wouldn't be shocked to see them go with LRT just try to maximize the chance of it passing.
The hope is that 2020 brings out a transit-friendly demographic that wants to vote against Trump.
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