Notes from Nashville

A personal

perspective

of three

great days

with

outstanding

professionals

W When you read about the history of and the rich natural resources surrounding Nashville, you begin to understand the city's central role in the region. The first known settlers in the Nashville area were Native Americans of the Mississippi Culture named the mound builders. They were so named for the type of structure they built and subsequently left behind. After these people inexplicably vanished from the land, other Native American nations such as the Cherokee, Chickasaw and the Shawnee came to live and had flourished here. It wasn't until the early 16th century that the first European explorers, the Spanish, traveled through this area. But it be more than another 200 years before a French Canadian hunter and trapper named Jacques-Timothee Boucher, Sieur de Montbrun (anglicized to Timothy Demonbreun) built a cabin and lived there for several years. For this reason, he is celebrated as the first citizen of Nashville. The first permanent settlement didn't come until the latter part of the 1700s. This was Fort Nashborough. The site and portions of the fort can be seen today on the west bank of the Cumberland River near downtown Nashville. Nashville has a rich history. It has seen one of the Civil war's bloodiest sieges and more recently, in 1999 a deadly tornado tore through downtown and unprecedented flooding in the spring of 2010 inundated almost a third of the city. But Nashville's history isn't all tragic. The city of Nashville became the capital of the state of Tennessee on October 7, 1843. Once again in 1897 Nashville was the center of attention as it was there that the state celebrated its centennial. More recently in 1967, the Country Music Hall of Fame was completed in Nashville and in the late 1990s the city gained two pro sports franchises, one in hockey and one in pro football. We were now here in Nashville to conduct our committee's thirty fourth consecutive summer meeting though it was the first time we've ever met with a state chapter of the American Planning Association. Nashville itself was an impressive start. And while I thought my research into the city and the region was over, I soon found out it was just to begin.

“It’s the warmest, loveliest community I’ve ever set foot in. For me, it’s the perfect place to live. It’s the best part of America.”

-Nicole Kidman about Nashville

Clockwise from the upper left: Home of the seventh US President, Andrew Jackson; entrance to the Country Music Hall of fame; Cathedral of the Incarnation; Broadway Street aka Honky Tonk Row; State Capitol Building; Parthenon Replica in Centennial Park; a park vistor.

A five-minute walk from the hotel, the conference was held at the Music City Center—a 1.2 million square foot conference facility which opened late last spring. While our event took place in a very small part of the six square block building, it is a fantastic one of a kind facility. The $635 million dollar Music City Center is LEED Silver certified and boasts a four-acre green roof, 360,000 gallon rainwater collector, and an array of 845 solar panels.

A view from the 3rd Floor looking

down to the middle of the Music City Center as it faces Demonbreum Street—named for the French Canadian trader Jacques-Timothee Boucher, Sieur de Montbrun (anglicized to Timothy Demonbreun). He is often referred to as the “first citizen” of Nashville.

People networking outside the conference session rooms during a break.

The Venue

Tuesday afternoon started with our committee summer business and the TAPA Executive Board meetings. After an informal committee dinner at the Acme Feed and Seed restaurant on the east end of Nashville’s Broadway Street better known as “Honky Tonk Row”, folks took a walk through town to the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge and nearby sights.

The Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge opened in 2003 and is a well-used feature of the Cumberland River Trails and adjacent park systems.

The view of downtown Nashville as seen from the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge.

This is the main entrance to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center as seen from the path leading to the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge. Construction on the contemporary neoclassical style symphony hall started in 2003 and was completed in 2006 The 197,000 SF facility is home to the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

The fountain is along 4th

Avenue South and next to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

After The Informal TRB Committee

Dinner

Tom Vanderbilt was the keynote speaker and a huge part of the conference kickoff. Tom spoke about his recent book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and what it says about us). He said that traffic jams are not, by and large, caused by flaws in road design but by flaws in human nature. His presentation was a unique and often humorous look into human nature as it exists behind the wheel. Tom cited that about 12 or 13 percent of the traffic slowdown after a crash has nothing to do with blocked lanes. Not so surprising to all of us who have been in that situation—it’s caused by onlookers. People who pay such close attention to the bent wreckage on the side of the road that often they get into an accident as well. Of course, they only add to the problem. People have even been known to grab their cellphone to take a picture of the carnage. This happens so frequently it has even been termed by traffic engineers as “digi-necking.” Frustrated officials trying to make our highways safer have even tried erecting anti-rubbernecking screens around the scene of accidents. Amazingly, people still slowed down just to look at the screen itself. Tom said the drivers will slow down to look at almost anything. It can be as simple as a chair or dresser drawers dumped on the side of the road. Tom also cited that nearly 80 percent of crashes involve drivers not paying attention for up to three seconds. He said that the places that seem the most dangerous such as narrow roads and sharp turns are seldom the site of accidents. He said most crashes occur during good weather to sober drivers.” It seems to be that we are at the most risk when we feel very safe. Americans think roundabouts are more dangerous than traffic lights to control vehicle movements at intersections. To navigate a roundabout requires you to do complex maneuvers slow, merge, and pick the correct lane or exist point. These activities command your attention. Signalized intersections are much easier. We only need to wait for the light to change. Tom mentioned that fatalities were nearly eliminated were roundabouts replaced signals. Tom cited a number of other studies and discussions with traffic engineers around the world.

Conference

Kickoff and

Keynote

Address

Tom Vanderbilt, author of the book Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and what it says about us) was our keynote speaker. He opened the conference after Valerie Birch, TAPA President and Muggs Stoll, Chair of the TRB Committee on Environmental Analysis in Transportation gave their opening statements.

Tom had spent three years researching his book. His presentation covered a number of human driving traits and identified many root causes for our sometimes curious behaviors behind the wheel.

As usual, FHWA provided a great session. Their Wednesday morning session FHWA Human and Natural Environment Update: Progress in Process, Programs, and Research was well attended and engaging. Presenters were Gerry Solomon (above), Patricia Cazenas and Shari Schaftlein. The session provided an update of the MAP-21 implementation efforts. The FHWA team also gave updates on current research activities related to accelerating project delivery, enhancement of community and social benefits of highway transportation, and improvements to the quality of the natural environment. Federal efforts highlighted included: Every Day Counts initiative, Planning and Environmental Linkages, Eco-logical, Environmental Justice, eNEPA and SELDM.

Gerry Solomon from FHWA answering audience questions to a packed room at FHWAs Update Session. Gerry also participated in an afternoon session the same day Planning and Environmental Linkages ("PEL"): If it’s Such a Good Idea, What's Taking so Long? That session spoke to FHWA’s MAP-21's Planning and Environmental Linkages provisions. The session worked to address how those procedures can act as an effective means to improve planning and streamline environmental reviews, and be used to gain support from federal resource and permitting agencies in the face of long-standing obstacles.

Kevin Tilbury is a Principal at partner at Nashville-based Gresham, Smith and Partners. His almost 20 year career is focused on the integral relationships between land use and transportation, working in partnership with state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, regional planning councils, regionally-focused non-profits and city and county governments.

The Wednesday session: From Wagon Way to Water Way, How Transportation and Land Use are Inextricably Tied to the Landscape was given by Randy Morgan. Randy used the Cumberland Historic Byway as an example to show how transportation and land use develop in context with the landscape. The session explored the conceptual framework for understanding how geology influences transportation and land use, and therefore defines the cultural landscape.

Another Wednesday morning presentation was Tools, Tales and Tea Parties: Community Engagement for Regional Planning Initiatives in a Modern Context. Presenters were Amy Brooks, Bridgett Massengill, Kevin Tilbury, and Lindsay Puckett. In a modern context, regional planning outreach initiatives must go beyond traditional means to engage people who are busy, distracted or might otherwise get drowned out by a vocal minority. The session looked at regional outreach and engagement tools and techniques via several recent area initiatives which included:

PlanET – East Tennessee’s HUD-funded initiative to develop and implement a shared regional vision.

Thrive 2055 – A private-public initiative to engage people within a tri-state region (Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama) on strategies for long term prosperity.

Imagine Central Arkansas – A recent community visioning effort for the Little Rock region that led to the update of their long range transportation plan.

Randy Morgan is the Director of Design at Farmer|Morgan, LLC. Randy has participated in the design and implementation of several strategic traditional neighborhood developments, and has been responsible for the writing and enforcement of numerous form based codes and specific plans. Randy is a registered Landscape Architect, and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He is the co- founder of the Nashville Street Life Project, and a graduate of the Form Based Institute.

On Wednesday afternoon; Greg Thomas, Brad Collette, Jennifer Q. Retherford and Kelly Ellenburg presented in the session: The UTK Smart Communities Initiative in Cleveland, TN: An Adaptation of Service Learning to Advance Local Land Use and Transportation Planning. Transportation planning for small urban areas is critical when significant economic growth is anticipated along with redevelopment opportunities. Cleveland, Tennessee is a city rich in history and excited to see future growth through increased industry presence and development of the region. With the unique challenges of pairing past history with a spirited future, city leaders have engaged in an opportunity to investigate the many challenges of transportation planning with the involvement of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). A program in its pilot year, the Smart Communities Initiative (SCI) develops a partnership between university faculty with local city planners and engineers. Redevelopment of the city’s main business district was one important component of the numerous projects that will be developed into service-learning activities to be investigated by undergraduate and graduate students across the entire university system. One important objective of the partnership is to evaluate multiple design alternatives to address transportation planning and engineering issues that are anticipated with the development of this growing city.

Greg Thomas has been a professional planner for nearly 30 years, with varied experience in land use, transportation, and community development. Beginning in 2010, Greg led Cleveland in its BCC2035 Strategic Planning and Comprehensive Plan efforts which, along with the MPO’s 2035 Regional Transportation Plan, form the project framework to be advanced through the UTK Smart Communities Initiative and other efforts.

The session covered a number of in-person and online outreach strategies, including the best use of social media, keypad/mobile device polling, InfoGames and other web-based tools. The session provided an open discussion on what works and doesn’t work using a combination of quantitative and qualitative findings and gave people a good understanding of the range of tools and techniques for community outreach and which tools are most effective at engaging a broad range of stakeholders and balancing competing interests to reach consensus.

Kris is Vice President of Sustainable Programs at the Conservation Fund (TCF), and leads TCF's Mitigation Solutions team. She is also a member of the TRB Committee on Environmental Analysis in Transportation.

Kris Hoellen gave the Wednesday afternoon presentation: NiSource Approved Mitigation Plan for 50-Year Incidental Take Permit. NiSource, a natural gas transmission company recently received a precedent-setting 50-year incidental take permit for operations and maintenance activities associated with a linear pipeline spanning 14 states and 6.4 million acres. Kris’ session discussed the mitigation terms of the NiSource MSHCP, the development and use of the mitigation framework, and the potential applications for transportation planning.

Steve Egert (above), Joe Christo, and Chris Golder presented on: Analysis of Environmental Constraints and Rebuilding Resilient Communities in New York City Post Sandy. New Yorkers living and working in communities affected by Hurricane Sandy face many challenges as they rebuild their homes, restore their infrastructure, and get their lives back to normal. New York City established the Housing Recovery Office to manage the rebuilding efforts and verify compliance with federal funding requirements. To be cleared for funding, each application (approximately 20,000) must undergo a site-specific environmental review. Information gathered during the initial damage assessments and site visits is used with GIS data to automate the environmental review process. The presentation provided an overview of NYC efforts to rebuild more resilient infrastructure and streamline methodology on the site-specific environmental compliance reviews which were conducted at over 1,000 per week at the program’s peak.

Steve Egert, PE, CEM is an environmental engineer

with Dewberry. He has 20 years of experience

managing multi-disciplinary teams for sustainability

initiatives, environmental impact studies, climate

adaptation, disaster response, air quality, hazardous

waste, and industrial hygiene work. He is an active

member of the TRB; his recent work includes the

ADC60 Subcommittee for “Utilization of

Transportation Infrastructure, Facilities, and Right-of-

Ways as Sustainable Resources.”

This was our view of downtown Nashville and a portion of the SoBro area as seen during the reception from the 3rd floor open-

air deck in the massive Music City Center. While it was still hot and humid outside, the deck was just steps away from great food and ample drink catered by the center.

To the left is a map that shows portions of the SoBro neighborhood and downtown Nashville. The Music City Center where the conference occurred is roughly in the left center of the map. The SoBro area of Nashville (lower portion of the map) has undergone tremendous redevelopment and renovation in the last few years.

“The reception was perfect. I had a great time and it was a wonderful opportunity to talk with so many knowledgeable people” -A Conference Participant

The Thursday morning session, Multi-Modal BRT, featured Muggs Stoll, Christine Fukasawa and Jeff Allen (above). Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is an increasingly popular mass transit solution frequently proposed due to increasing capital costs to implement fixed guideway solutions such as trolley or light rail transit. The presenters gave an overview of some key points that frequently enter the BRT versus rail debate: the ability of BRT to promote land use changes and TOD and how BRT fits into broader growth management initiatives. Redevelopment in the Euclid Avenue corridor and the Health Line’s critical role in promoting redevelopment will illustrate land use questions. Broader growth initiatives were addressed using San Francisco Bay Area examples followed by an overview of the environmental process (NEPA and CEQA) currently underway for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s El Camino Real BRT project which is evaluating multiple alternatives including various combinations of BRT guideway and mix-flow BRT operation. Finally, a recently implemented bus Rapid service operating in a freeway corridor and using express lanes was discussed.

Charles Stoll (Left), more commonly known as "Muggs", is the Director of Land Use and Transportation Planning for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) in San Diego, California. Christine Fukasawa (Center) is a manager at ICF International with experience as both an environmental planner and project manager. Jeff Allen (right) is a Senior Project Manager with Kimley-Horn and Associates in San Jose, California.

Also on Thursday morning, Tanisha Hall, Katy Braden, Stacy Morrison, and Nick Wender presented the session, Integrated Planning through Corridor Management.

Though the development of strong community partnerships, TDOT is working to improve safety, enhance system performance, and encourage economic development and smart growth. By encouraging regional and interregional collaboration TDOT and local partners assist communities, businesses and other interested parties in developing strong and aesthetically pleasing corridors and communities.

TDOT expressed by viewing the network more through the eyes of the driving public, then planners, engineers and decision makers can more easily develop a network that seamlessly provides for the efficient movement of people and goods while not jeopardizing a sense of community.

Although each partner has specific roles and opportunities throughout the process, by better understanding the benefits of cooperation, agencies can work as a team to develop a better transportation network.

TDOT’s Stacy Morrison presenting during a Thursday morning session on TDOT’s efforts to improve safety, enhance system performance and encourage economic development through stronger community partnerships.

TAPA Awards Lunch and Hosts’ Address

Ralph Comer is the Administrator of the Office of Operational Efficiency for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). Ralph gave an overview of TDOT’s initiatives and their strategic planning efforts as part of the Hosts’ Address at the TAPA Awards Lunch. The TDOT, along with the Nashville Metropolitan Planning Organization were the event’s hosts.

Every year, the Tennessee Chapter of the American Planning Association hands out its awards for outstanding planning efforts. This year’s awards were given at the Thursday lunch.

Ralph Comer from the TDOT spoke for hosts’ address. He provided an overview of TDOT initiatives especially those related to transportation and community planning. One such initiative is the Queue Campaign where they are working to be more confidently aware of both planned (e.g., construction) and unplanned (e.g., vehicle accident) events on the roadway while ensuring the safe and efficient movement of people left in the resulting queue.

Students of PLAN 7001 for Urban and Suburban Inequality—A Memphis Case Study

The objects of the case study were to assess what inequities generally exist between urban and suburban areas, look at how these apply to the Memphis area, determine how local policies may have helped foster this result and finally what may be some ways to address such inequities in Memphis.

The City of Memphis for their Memphis Aerotropolis Master Plan

The Aerotropolis Master Plan is a comprehensive strategy studying the area surrounding the Memphis International Airport, which is the 2

nd busiest air cargo airport in the world. The

Memphis International Airport is a major economic driver in the Memphis region employing about 20% of the population. As a result, the federal government through the Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Memphis with a $1.25 million grant to conduct the study. The process was completed in 3 years, and studied three critical elements impacting the Airport City area’s comprehensive, adaptive land re- use, real estate market, and urban design. Front Row: (Left) Nykesha Cole, Aerotropolis Business Coordinator; (Center) Councilwoman Wanda Halbert: (Right) Grace Hutchinson, Memphis Shelby County Division of Planning Deputy Director Second Row: (Left) Steve Auterman, LRK Consultants; (Center) Charlie Goforth, Greater Memphis Chamber: (Right) Chad Bowman, Aerotropolis Project Manager

The Town of Arlington for their Loosahatchie Greenway Trail Master Plan

The Loosahatchie River system spans 64 miles through five west Tennessee counties. The river flows through many towns before going into Memphis and finally joining the Mississippi River. The Loosahatchie River thus forms a green corridor connecting many communities. This green corridor provides an opportunity to protect open space while the planned Greenway Trail System within this corridor offers an alternative form of transportation.

…and the 2014 TAPA awards go to…

APA Tennessee Chapter Tennessee Leadership Council Inductees

David Coode with Kimley Horne (left) and Valerie Birch with Parsons Brinckerhoff (right) were both inducted into the APA Tennessee Chapter Tennessee Planning Leadership Council. The TPLC was established by the Chapter in recognition of members who have illustrated contributions to the Chapter, as well as demonstrated enhancement in planning research and ordinance development, regulation or plan preparation and the overall profession of planning in the State of Tennessee.

Nicole Woodworth and Dirk Melton of Market Equities/ MarketStreet Enterprises at the Watermark restaurant talking about the Gulch master plan and recent development activity.

The SoBro Tour started with a briefing in and tour of the newly constructed Music City Center. The Music City Center is a LEED Silver Certified building. Features key to the building’s LEED status include a four-acre green roof, the 360,000 gallon rainwater collector, and an array of 845 solar panels.

Ben Miskelly of the Metro Nashville Planning Department is providing an overview of the West Riverfront Redevelopment Plan and construction activity.

The SoBro Tour

SoBro is the name given to the area of downtown Nashville that is south of Broadway Street. It is an area that is undergoing considerable redevelopment. This neighborhood was once plagued with worn streets and decaying buildings now boast such features as the state-of-the-art $635 million Music City Center, an expanded Country Music Hall of Fame, and several new hotels. The area also now has many new bars and restaurants. Between Nashville’s Music Row and the central business district is a part of the city called “the gulch”. The gulch is a former railroad route and the first neighborhood in the south to receive a LEED certified Green Neighborhood. The tour started with a walk through the six square block Music City Center and included an outing through the SoBro and Gulch neighborhoods as well as the West Riverfront Redevelopment.

Taken from the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge is a photo of Cumberland Park and a small portion of the East Bank Greenway. The Gateway Bridge is in the distance.

The Bridge Building near the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge is one of many LEED Certified buildings in Nashville. The Bridge Building is the highest scoring LEED Platinum applicant in the world. The building was constructed in 1908 by Arthur Dyer and had two additions—one in 1923 and the other in1965. The 5000 SF former office building turned event hall is in East Bank Riverfront Park, and also houses the park concession and restrooms.

Our presenters are leaving the Bridge Building. An elevator to the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge is in the background. The elevator makes the pedestrian bridge ADA completely accessible.

This was our view to downtown Nashville from the main lower meeting room in the Bridge Building.

Two of the hardest working people at the conference—Meridith Krebs (left) and Andrea Barbour (right). Both work at Parson Brinckerhoff’s Nashville office. Andrea is a planner and Meridith is the Supervising Environmental Planner/Southeast Regional Project Operations Manager. Both are active in APA events.

I really enjoyed my time in Nashville as well as my time with the many highly qualified professionals at the conference. I will miss Nashville. Perhaps we'll have a chance to go there again someday. I know now more than ever that Nashville is a changing city. It is and always has been at the forefront of much of what goes on in the region and is continuously striving to be a better, stronger city. I feel with the planning efforts it has in place, and the potential for another million people to enter the region in the next 15 years it will be a much changed city. But I also feel it will be an awesome city. I want to thank the many volunteers and presenters that came to the conference in Nashville. Much of the session descriptions were given by the presenters themselves. I hope to see you all again very soon.