Instead of a Transit Referendum, How About a Pedestrian Infrastructure Referendum?

  
Instead of a Transit Referendum, How About a Pedestrian Infrastructure Referendum?

I have been thinking a lot about why the Transit Referendum did not pass (May 2018).  Without a culture of walking, not many have had the experience of being late or caught in a rainstorm and hoping on a bus.  My main theory is the Transit Referendum failed, in part, because we have not fostered a culture of pedestrianism in Nashville.    


We valet our cars when there is visible parking a block away.  We complain about traffic and yet, without a safe way to walk, getting out on foot is for the few:  those who have to and those who are determined.


I voted for transit but worried that we were putting the cart before the horse.  Without obvious ways to get to transit (safe, well designed sidewalks so you could walk to your destination) it did not seem clear how this was all going to work.


Frankly, our track record on transit and sidewalks are not good.  We still have sidewalks missing from 75% of our roads.  Our bus stops are not inviting or safe.

The bus stop at Golf Club and Hillsboro - a weedy ditch strewn with trash.  This is NOT is some out of the way place but rather in between Vanderbilt and Greenhills, 2 thriving parts of Nashville.    No sidewalk = no way to safely get to or from bus stop!

  Examples of bus stops in Nashville 


Pedestrians, in any concentration that matters, can only be found in a few areas such as the Gulch, 12th S, Downtown.  The vast majority of Nashville lacks decent walking infrastructure and therefore only the brave or those who have to walk.  Herein lies the root of the transit argument.  If stepping off the bus leaves you literally in no-man's zone, how do you argue that more buses or different kinds of buses are needed?




We need to have a SIDEWALK PLAN that makes real progress fast and has a completion date set.  Citizens need to have walking as an safe option and then transit will naturally be a logical next step.

It's 2018...Where are the sidewalks, Nashville?!?

Wish I could say the roadway below was an anomaly or at the outskirts of Nashville.  Unfortunately, all too many streets in Nashville look like this one.  This is Sharondale, looking east at Hillsboro Rd.  Linden Waldorf School is to the right and the bus stop is at the corner on the left.  This is in between Vanderbilt and Greenhills near the I-440 interchange. 

Every morning, this scene plays out.  People trying to get to the bus or walking to their destination on a very narrow street with a 35mph speed limit (who can say why this was a every a good idea!?!).  When school is in, there is a temporary reprieve to 15mph in the zone.

The right side of the street has a deep ditch often with flowing water and the left, although recently developed, with no sidewalk.

I really cannot understand, how in 2018, this situation still exists.

A friend of mine sent this photograph this morning from 2016 when Mayor Dean was in office.  As alluded to, Nashville has been talking about sidewalks for too long.

  There have been lots of 'plan' but seemingly little action as we still cannot walk safely and comfortably in too many areas that are in the heart of Nashville.

 

Letter to the Mayor of Nashville - direct request for amending the transit plan

 

 

Statement by the Ad Hoc Nashville Coalition for Walking and Biking

 

 

The proposed Transit Improvement Program represents a significant step forward improving transit in Nashville but fails to include any details or proposals for sidewalks or bike lanes. Although the plan includes a positive promise of a "more safe and welcoming pedestrian and biking environment" it has no specific proposals for how that promise is to be implemented. Although the program includes extensive information and budgets for other parts of the transit system, sidewalks and bike lanes are overlooked. The WalknBike Plan is not even mentioned in the proposal.

 

Cities with transit systems far more advanced than Nashville understand that bus and light rail systems are complete only when citizens can easily and safely walk or bike to transit lines. Nashville’s past commitment to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure was lacking and is only now beginning to catch up to cities with more developed infrastructure. This transit program is an opportunity to make up for those years of neglect.

 

We are asking the Mayor and Council to amend the plan before final passage to include the following:

 

•  The plan should explicitly recognize that a complete and connected transit system will include facilities for biking and walking as integral to the plan and not just an afterthought.

•  The budget should delineate the minimum amount that will be invested in bike and pedestrian facilities in the same way that other elements of the transit system are included. The schedule should include completion timelines for these projects in the same way as other parts of the project. Bike lanes and sidewalks should be included down every Rapid Transit Corridor.

•  Ten percent of the total budget should be dedicated to sidewalk and bicycle infrastructure over 15 years. This is $36 million annually compared to the current Metro budget of $35 million. The current budget should be enhanced and used in other parts of the city and county.

•  The plan should include a specific minimum amount of linear feet of new sidewalk coverage (not including repair of existing sidewalks). It should require that there will be at least one fully functional sidewalk route (both sides of the street) and intersections with painted crosswalks and pedestrian signals that connect the Neighborhood Transit Centers to each other and to every public school, community center, public library, and park in that community.

•  The plan should include a specific number of miles of new dedicated and separated bike lanes that provide connectivity between Transit Centers and community facilities. Under no circumstances should the project utilize the kind of sub-standard and disconnected bike lanes in existence in many parts of Nashville.

 

Thank you for consideration of these additions to the Transit Improvement Program. The inclusion of our requests will improve the plan and the future transit system in Nashville and Davidson County.

 

 

The Ad Hoc Coalition is an informal group of advocates for bicycling and walking in Nashville. Many of us commute to work every day on Nashville streets and deal with the deficient infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians.

 

Signed

 

Carey Rogers
Jason Garrett
Stacy Dorris

 

Tom Grose
Sean Davies
Mary Hinton

 

Amy Eskind
Ramsay Wall
Amy Willoughby Bryant

 

Sadie Cooper
Kathryn Peters
Thommy Thompson

 

Dane Andersen
Greg O'Loughlin
Tony Burdick

 

David Swanger
John Michael Cassidy
Tom Grooms

 

Kari Hoffman
Robert Randolph
Ryan Kamper

 

Edwin Williamson
Katie Hoovler

 

Worst Bus Stop Ever! Nashville is not ADA compliant when it comes to many bus stops.

The ADA Standards issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT) apply to facilities used by state and local governments to provide designated public transportation services, including bus stops and stations, and rail stations.


In this busy shopping district on Powell Rd at Thompson Ln in Nashville including Berry Hill, One Hundred Oak Mall, Vanderbilt Medical, Hollywood 27 Movie Theater, Home Depot, Walmart and more, the bus stops are lacking American with Disability Compliance (ADA).


This is federal law.


Take a look at where this bus stop was placed.  It is clear that no person actually thought this through.  There is literally no access to it on foot.  You have to climb OVER a guard rail, scale a steep hill to reach it.  The cow path shows that some brave souls are doing this.  It is certainly far from ADA compliance and should be rectified with a proper sidewalk immediately. 

And one more picture for the icing on the cake.  The other bus stop on this east side of the street is not much better...

This bus stop allows no safe access to the mall is supports.  It actively discourages walking by being uninviting to those on foot.