THE AMP: THE PROPOSED BUS RAPID TRANSIT SOLUTION FOR WEST END AVENUE The Metro Transit Authority’s plan for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) installation on Nashville’s East-West Corridor has two fundamental problems: (1) Removing two lanes from traffic dramatically increases congestion with adverse effects of residents and businesses, and (2) The choice of a rail-like design does not take advantage of the flexibility of buses. Experience with rail systems in other cities is sufficiently mixed as to raise substantial doubt about likely success here. West End Congestion The congestion problem would be severe. The “Summary: Phase Two” report of April 2013 prepared by MTA notes that 48,000 vehicles move along West End from 31st Avenue to Murphy Road each weekday. Today, three lanes flow inbound in the morning and three lanes flow outbound in the afternoon from Centennial Park to I-440. This summary clearly shows inbound traffic narrowed to two lanes at 33nd Avenue and outbound traffic narrowed to two lanes at 32nd. The narrowest point in the road is a choke point that limits the total flow. Restricting the three lanes of traffic to two would reduce the space for traffic by 16,000 vehicles, one-third of the total flow. The choke dramatically increases congestion delays. These spaces would be lost immediately as construction on the BRT begins and would change little when the BRT opens. The Summary also estimates 5,197 people would travel on the BRT on weekdays, an optimistic doubling of the current bus ridership. Among the added riders, many would be new trips, not trips formerly taken by car or truck. By MTA estimate, about 1,000 people would switch from other vehicles to the BRT. The BRT plan anticipates about 500 park-ride spaces at St. Thomas and Elmington Park, enough to account for 1,000 oneway BRT trips. With 16,000 spaces lost to traffic and the 1,000 auto travelers switching to the BRT, the net effect is a loss of space in the flow of traffic on the street for 15,000 vehicles after the BRT service begins. Lost space on West End/Broadway would increase congestion on alternate routes, particularly 21st Avenue, Wedgewood and the downtown ramps at I-40. Neighborhood streets would also see increased traffic flow and congestion. Large-scale athletic events at Bridgestone and Vanderbilt would cause more severe congestion with negative financial consequences. The rapid increase in traffic congestion would adversely affect the medical centers and other businesses in the area. The Baptist, Centennial and Vanderbilt medical facilities would see a decrease in revenues as some patients shift to more accessible suburban facilities. Ambulances and other emergency vehicles would experience delays. As commuting times increase, higher wages would be needed to recruit staff. Businesses would also suffer adverse consequences and some would close. Residents of the area would experience reduced access from their homes and more traffic and parking on neighborhood streets. The immediate, dramatic increase in congestion would blight the area with reduced commerce and diminished livability. The MTA believes that, over time, traffic congestion would induce more people to choose transit. Severely limiting the flow of traffic, however, may cause trips to go elsewhere. The MTA’s top engineers have worked for a year and a-half to tweak the plan to minimize the effect on traffic of removing two center lanes, and yet the choke points remain. There is little likelihood
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 12:57:37 +0000
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