The latest facet of Mayor Karl Dean’s goal for Nashville to become the greenest city in the Southeast is the launch of a study to determine a usable public transit system for the West End-Broadway corridor. Using federal as well as local dollars, the city has hired a New York-based consulting firm, Parsons Brinckerhoff, to conduct a study on what kinds of transportation West End and Broadway could use. The options include urban streetcar, light rail line, and bus rapid transit.
Currently, Nashville has an average of 25,000 to 30,000 bus riders per day, compared to only 1,000 riders per day on the city’s existing rail line, the Music City Star. All of these public transit commuters contribute to a decrease in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the city. “Everything that you would do that would be related to greenhouse gas reductions has a major impact on the livability of a city, on the natural resources of a city, and the health of residents of a city,” said Chris Bowles, director of Nashville’s Environment and Sustainability Office.
As part of the study, representatives from other cities that have successfully implemented similar transit systems will be visiting Nashville to provide their opinions on the benefits as well as the obstacles faced for the different options. Full-scale work on the project should begin this month, and the goal is to complete the study by the end of fall of 2011.
Information found from The City Paper.
Also from Charles Maldondo’s article Here.