Nashville Mayor Dean turns eye to mass transit

[thelakelander]

Just keeping an eye on what some of our peers are doing these days.  Nashville's Mayor is now talking major mass transit.

Nashville Mayor Dean turns eye to mass transit

If the convention center was a colossal and contentious public project, wait until you see Mayor Karl Dean's next undertaking: a multi-year, multibillion-dollar effort to renovate Middle Tennessee's mass transportation system.

The payback to residents of the greater Nashville area, Dean says, will be a mass transit system to rival that of Denver, Charlotte and Austin.

In recent weeks, Dean has regularly pointed to Denver as an example for how to overhaul regional transportation. In 2004, the Mile High City created a sales-tax-funded light rail system at a cost of $6.5 billion. That's a number 11 times bigger than the Music City Center's $585 million price tag.
"The money is scary," Dean said. "But when you think of the region â€" and the Denver project is a big region like Middle Tennessee â€" as connecting Gallatin, Hendersonville, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Wilson County ... it's going to be an extremely expensive thing and it's going to take years to accomplish."

Dean cautioned against delaying a massive transportation overhaul any longer.
"I think transportation is so important, long-term, for the quality of life and economic viability of this region, that we have to do it," Dean said.

full article: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100215/NEWS0202/2150346/Nashville-Mayor-Dean-turns-eye-to-mass-transit

[fsujax]

Well, Peyton thinks we can get light rail in 20 years. That is what he said at a breakfast the other morning.

[tufsu1]

also note thatNashville is attempting to start this through the MPO...here in Jax, our MPO (North Florida TPO) just adopted a long range plan with a good bit of transit in it.

The challenge is getting some of it built in the next 5-10 years

[cline]

The challenge is getting some of it built in the next 5-10 years

Oh, but I'm just positive these "visionaries" on the new civic group and working hard on this issue as we speak.

[vicupstate]

The Federal government announced the awards for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants today. 

http://www.dot.gov/documents/finaltigergrantinfo.pdf

The following Streetcar projects received funds:

Tucson -- $63mm
New Orleans -- $45mm
Detroit (Woodward Ave.) -- $25mm
Portland -- $23mm
Dallas -- $23mm