Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Phillips Let's Play King for a Day
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 8:15 AM
1. All of the industrial stuff between the river and I-40 out to Briley Parkway would be ripped out, and in its place would go a walkable neighborhood that took advantage of the views of the river. People could walk up to Lebanon Pike and grab a bus and go to work. It's nuts to me that space so convenient to downtown, with such a view of the river, is industrial.
2. Speaking of buses, I'd have more routes. Routes that go downtown are fine, but people don't just work and shop downtown. Right now, the bus routes are mostly like deformed petals of a flower situated downtown. But to folks in my neck of the woods, it seems reasonable that someone who lived on Trinity Lane might want to go to the Bordeaux Kroger to shop. It'd be nice if bus routes matched the needs of the neighborhoods instead of being so focused on bringing people downtown. But, by god, if you're going to bring people downtown, at least run late enough at night that I can have a good time and take the bus home again.
3. We'd have a heritage radio station like New Orleans' WWOZ, but, obviously, focused on Nashville music. All kinds of Nashville music. I mean, man, the other day when Lightning 100 did that full day of Nashville musicians? That blew my mind. A radio station that played only people who lived here, from any and all genres and any and all eras? I'd love that.
4. Every kid in the city would have a school in their neighborhood they could walk to. Like actually walk to. Not like the kids across the street from me who are close enough to walk but can't because there aren't sidewalks.
Ha, so, yeah, we'd either have much higher taxes or we'd have to change the city flag to a Jolly Roger and send folks out to raid nearby towns — but I totally think we can totally take Clarksville.
Comments (27)
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Fascinating. Just fascinating. And apparently totally unrelated to anything except the writer's self-absorption.
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I'm not too sure about taking Clarksville. They do have a rather well-equipped military base, remember? Besides, Brentwood/Cool Springs/Franklin is where the money is.
1. I would have NES initiate a long term plan to put their lines underground. Ditto for any other utility/cable company.
2. Every street would have sidewalks, even those that aren't downtown.
3. More buses on more routes more often. Small buses for the less traveled cross town traffic like Bordeaux to Dickerson etc.
4. All land in the 500 year flood plane would be converted to cropland, parks or golf courses.
5. The one thing ALL Nashvillians would agree upon: bring back Opryland!!!!!!!
The radio station could also play music recorded in Nashville.
If we bring back Opryland, it needs to be on a larger footprint so we can have some larger and more exciting rides.
Shouldn't that post headline be "Queen for a Day", since you are appointing yourself soverign, Betsy?
Unless, that is, you have recently had a sex change operation that I haven't heard about.
Shouldn't that post headline be "Queen for a Day"
Yeah, that occurred to me too, right off.
Yeah, Min, I'm with you. I'd rather bring back the Ryman as the real and permanent home for the Opry than to bring back Opryland. Of course, I never went to Opryland and I've never been to Shoppryland, so I may be unaware of the unique charm of the overpriced entertainment that was and is available under either name.
People, if Phillips had cared about your thoughts for improving Nashville, she would have asked. Note that she didn't.
So, Frank, we've established that Betsy invited you, me and anyone else who reads PITH to comment on this thread, the same as any other PITH thread that allows comments. (That would be all of them.) Having reread the comments above, I note that you were the first to respond, with a similar snide comment. What's the matter, Frank -- did Betsy's pit bull piss on your leg? (That's a rhetorical question.) I enjoyed this thread and the other comments besides yours, so that's enough for me. Hope your attitude adjuster gets fixed soon.
The blog format that automatically allows comments from readers is hardly the same as the writer actively soliciting comments. Duh.
But thanks for your concern about my attitude. Means a lot to me.
The radio station is a great idea and one if done right would need little if any tax dollars to support it.
I could do without more buses. Some sort of rail system that actually goes where people want to go would be nice though. If they would spend my tax dollars of these types of projects instead of convention centers and speedway re-development I might actually think the Mayor and City Council are good for something other than lining their supporter's pockets with gold.
Sounds like a few small attitude adjustments might be in order here. Maybe a little toke might do the trick.
Burrito,
Light rail would be a great addition. However any form of regional mass transit will not be viable until Nashville creates a cost-effective and efficient system of 'mini-transit' so that people who want to use mass transit to get into town can easily get from place to place around town.
The first steps would be more cabs and vans rather than busses. Shopping areas could contribute to the cost of vans in return for regularly scheduled stops in their neighborhoods. Cabs could reduce the need for people who work downtown to have access to a car to make trips around the city.
Instead of a for-profit entity, this could be a public authority where the focus is not on profit but on service.
Thats just what Nashville needs is more vehicles on the road clogging traffic. I live in the burbs although (barely) in the city limits. I am getting ready to purchase an SUV that gets (count-em) 12 mpg around town. If you want me to get rid of my fossil fuel drinking kid mover make it where I do not have to use it.(except to vist the wifes family in Alabama or maybe go to the beach). I would love to take my wife and two kids and WALK down to the rail station and hop a train to the baseball game at greer or wherever else they build a ball park. All the while having a real conversation with my wife and our kids. Or even better WALK to the station and hop my train to dowtown or Henderson or gasp Gallatin to my job. That would be GREAT! However all putting more buses, vans and cabs on the road will do is make me cuss (more) as they clog up roads or (as they do now) sit on the side of the road with their flashers blinking, engine running, empty of passengers, clogging up the lane and backing up traffic for a mile. Then insult me by having my tax dollars pay for it? Yah.
Irony,
I would be willing to bet you that each cab and van would reduce the number of cars driving into Nashville by a factor of three or four. Remember that most of the people who would use cabs or vans would only use them once or twice a week. Otherwise they will use mass transit to get to work and walk for anything close. Without cabs and vans, more people will drive every day.
You might be right...but I doubt it. The last time I took a cab from the airport to my suburban nirvana it cost me 30.00 to take my life in my hands and have my clothes smell like mating season between Patchouli oil and a glade airfreshner. I could just see me rolling up to a meeting downtown.
My big problem with cabs, vans and buses is really two fold. One they make me sick...literally. I get horrible motion sickness that oddly enough doesnt occur on the trains and two it absolutely infurriates me when they park in the left lane with their lights flashing on a break or whatever they are doing. I really don't want more of it.
I think they should alter the light rail tracks and make them like a roller coaster. That way when the train is not being used for commuting it can be used as an amusement ride, or both at the same time, and would probably even turn a profit.
@Ohtheironey: Twenty years ago the Nashville taxi industry was ninety-nine percent American whites, a few blacks, and two foreigners. Rules and regulations and ignorance of the industry as a whole by the governing body - the Transportation Licensing Board - has driven nearly all of the Americans out of the business.
Ummm, We HAD a heritage radio station until about a month ago when Nashville Public Radio (WPLN, WFCL) took over the 91.1 FM frequency and cut the most important Music resource local musicians had. Nashville is more than country & WRVU knew it!!!!
Great balls of fire, do we honestly have to suffer from vanderpuppy bleats every time the word radio is mentioned? Yes, the grown-ups took away your play-pretty almost radio station and got a reasonable chunk of money for it. Now, if you really want to change that all back again and drop a house on Rob Gordon, may I suggest you emulate Thích Quảng Đức? Preferably somewhere where all the news crews can find you.
HokeyPokey or whatever your name is... are you suggesting I catch myself on fire because I believe WRVU is an excellent radio station worth fighting for?
