Author: Laura Baigert

  GALLATIN, Tennessee — At an nMotion Plan Update for Sumner County meeting held July 27 at Volunteer State Community College, Regional Transit Authority (RTA) CEO Steve Bland said he “wouldn’t lie” that transit will not fix traffic problems, adding that “Denver still has traffic problems,” and, in fact, Atlanta and many other major cities with extensive transit systems are included on lists of cities with the worst traffic. Bland’s admission confirms the work of Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Professor Malcolm Getz, who, representing his own views and not that of the university, states that evidence demonstrates that “better transit does not reduce congestion,” rather “the volume of vehicular trips expands to congest whatever space is available for traffic regardless of the level of transit service.” Bland also said that “middle Tennessee’s system needs to be middle Tennessee’s system” and that there is no existing transit system doing it well enough for middle Tennessee to model after. Following the Tennessee legislature’s approval of the IMPROVE Act, which included a provision called “local option transit surcharge,” nMotion Plan Update meetings have been held in other Nashville/Davidson surrounding counties, including Williamson and Wilson. Steve Bland was named to the RTA Executive…

  GALLATIN, Tennessee — Steve Bland, CEO of the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee, was the featured speaker who updated Sumner County elected officials and citizens on the nMotion Strategic Plan Thursday at Volunteer State Community College.  The nMotion 2016 Transit Plan was approved by the Metropolitan Transit Authority in September 2016, but has not yet been adopted, executed or funded by any of the individual middle Tennessee counties. With approximately 100 people in attendance, including several County Commissioners, Gallatin City Councilmen, City Mayors, County Executive Anthony Holt opened the meeting by thanking the speakers and hosts of the event as well as the state legislature and governor for passing the IMPROVE Act. He questioned whether it had hurt anyone at all, saying gas prices aren’t any different, but it is “giving us resources.” Holt also said that Sumner County and the middle Tennessee region is facing a lot of challenges, predominantly related to tremendous growth of an additional one million people by the year 2040 that “we can’t build our way out of” or “build a wall to prevent people from coming.” Holt said “we can’t all travel in a car,” and that an alternative is needed in…