Here's a couple of more arguments for Charlotte BRT that I feel hold water...
Imagine you're driving towards downtown on West End around 7:45am on a weekday and the BRT project just broke ground a few months ago...how's the commute? Little sluggish? Well maybe you'll just pull into McDonalds here and grab a biscuit...wait, can you get over there? Argggghhhh!
Now imagine that you're driving downtown on Charlotte around 7:45am on a weekday and the BRT project just broke ground on Charlotte a few months ago....oh wait, you don't drive down Charlotte to get downtown?
Let's face it - the impact on traffic and businesses will be far greater on West End than on Charlotte. Charlotte has fewer traffic signals (between White Bridge & 13th Ave), fewer vehicles traveling on it, and fewer established businesses that people frequent.
And let's talk about ridership...
Here's a list of west side neighborhoods a West End BRT would directly service:
• Cherokee Park
• Whitland
• Whitworth
• Richland/West End
• Hillsboro/West End
• Vanderbilt
A list of west and north side neighborhoods a Charlotte BRT would directly service:
• West Meade (northern portion)
• Hillwood
• Croleywood
• Beacon Square
• Charlotte Park
• White Bridge
• Urbandale/Nations
• Sylvan Park
• Sylvan Heights
• College Heights/Clifton
• Hadley/Washington
• FANG
• Watkins Park
• Hope Gardens
Which route do you think would produce the most ridership?
I don't know if we have a chance of changing the plan - I doubt MTA is going to listen to some blogger. But if you think this is a solid argument, then let them know about. Spread the word and help this idea build some momentum - get Nashville talking about BRT on Charlotte Avenue!
3 comments:
Charlotte Ave. is generally still very down-at-heels in many sections. Stretches of it still look terrible. To suggest BRT for such a corridor is simply ridiculous, it's not wide enough or has the necessary density. The only place BRT is warranted in Nashville is West End-Broadway.
Thanks for commenting. You're correct, Charlotte doesn't have the prestige and draw that West End does, that's not my argument. My argument is that a route along Charlotte would attract more ridership and stimulate economic growth in a part of town that needs it. Width is an issue with Charlotte, which means other options besides a median based BRT system or alternatives to BRT (bring back the streetcar!) would have to investigated.
Has anyone looked in to crime statistics or property values dropping? Only people that will benefit are cops insurance companies and the criminals getting a cheap ride into nice middle class neighborhoods.
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