Wave Bye Bye

As predicted, Nashville voters have rejected a multi-billion-dollar light-rail plan by a margin of 64 to 36 percent. Some people are wondering “Now what?” But the reality is that no major changes are needed to Nashville transit except to figure out a way to back out of long-term obligations in the face of declining ridership.

Less predictable, it appears the Fort Lauderdale Wave streetcar project also died yesterday. The project, which was promoted by Broward County, received federal, state, and local funding. But when construction bids were opened last October, they came in much higher than expected. Skeptical members of the city council got the county to agree that the city could withdraw from the project if it didn’t appear it could be built for less than a 25 percent cost overrun.

The county put it out for bids a second time and the low bid was $2.2 million over the 25 percent threshold. As a result, the city commission voted yesterday to save its money.
This mainly viagra pharmacy prices happens due to ovaries ageing prematurely, anxiety, hormonal disparity, abnormal ovarian development, hypo and hyperthyroidism or the presence of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). This type of medicines is of pills type, jelly type, in the form of polo ring etc. brand viagra mastercard Hay Festival in Kerala from buying levitra from canada 17-19 NOVEMBER 2011 KERALA, INDIA Watch webcast of the event on 19th November 2011 at 12:30 pm: International writers include Jung Chang, Rukmini Nair, Germaine Greer, K. However, the most likely reason for this rise viagra sample https://regencygrandenursing.com/long-term-care/rehabilitation in cases of obesity and diabetes.
The county and the low bidders made a last-minute attempt to come down below the maximum amount, but the city is not likely to reverse its decision. The county commission will meet next week to decide whether to end its participation or try to cover the higher costs without help from the city. Most people believe the project is dead.

So two more wasteful projects bite the dust. Since transit ridership is falling rapidly in both areas — Broward County transit has lost 13 percent since 2014 and Nashville has lost 22 percent since 2010 — any further planning of expensive transit projects seems pointless. Of course, these ideas never seem to truly die, so don’t be surprised if there is some attempt to reanimate one or both.

Tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

About The Antiplanner

The Antiplanner is a forester and economist with more than fifty years of experience critiquing government land-use and transportation plans.

2 Responses to Wave Bye Bye

  1. LazyReader says:

    Streetsblog has spoken, it’s “Back to square one”……..apparently wagging their finger at the failed resolution. Meanwhile the politicians in charge have gone on damage control mode.
    Metro Council Member Angie Henderson, an advocate for walkability who despite opposition to the transit measure, said on Twitter she thinks a smaller package with less emphasis on light rail is the way to go.
    ”That there’s “no back-up plan” is fault of mayor’s office. Next plan should be better expression of @NMotion2016 strategic plan. This was NOT vote against transit or dedicated funding. Vote was against “go big, go home” light rail plan w/ more debt payments than bus improvements.”

    Translation: They don’t have the skrilla to spend big bucks on pretty boondoggles.
    Nashville has a population of 684,000 and a metro of 1.8 million, it’s bigger than Baltimore at 5 times the cities geographic area. For 1/1000th the money they could spend on an advertising blitz of TV ads and billboards encouraging people to carpool more. And I’m pretty sure Nashville’s the kind of town where you can bum a ride in a pickup truck bed and not even the cops give a crap. Ride sharing services will decimate public transit ridership in small cities and towns, namely because Point-to-Point destination technology is no match for door-to-door destination technology. A city with a population density of 1,300 people per square mile doesn’t need heavy investment in rail transit, a city with 10,000 per sq perhaps does. Baltimore is 7,500 and even it’s rail systems don’t justify enough.

  2. LazyReader says:

    Nashville can count on a little more auto traffic in the future. AllianceBernstein, a New York-based global investment management firm, is bringing 1,050 jobs to Nashville, city and state officials announced Wednesday. AllianceBernstein’s $70 million investment in Nashville marks a renewal in the financial sector for the city, once known as a Wall Street hub in the South. It also demonstrates a shift from Wall Street as New York firms look for more affordable markets. “Moving our corporate headquarters allows us to offer advantages to employees we just simply couldn’t do could do in New York metropolitan area,”

    Liberal economics in a nutshell, taxation to the point you believe you can afford any service and subsidy imaginable, til the jobs responsible for that taxation relocate to a new destination. Compensate by raising existing taxes to make up for any possible losses. When all else fails, segregate people by their income brackets; focus on the highest echelon of incomes; run your election campaign on why their taxes should be so much higher than yours and also figure out a way to tax them discreetly.

Leave a Reply