Transportation's future lies within city, planners say

<strong>Fifth in a series</strong>

A city hemmed in by mountains with a major river flowing through the middle of it poses a transportation challenge, officials say.

But a new way of looking at transportation could mean options that include parking cars and looking for other ways to get to work, go to the grocery store or go shopping.

"One of the elements is the 'complete streets' component," said Melissa Taylor, director of transportation planning for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County-North Georgia Metropolitan Planning Commission. "Our past travel models have been automobile driven."

As traffic continues to grow in Chattanooga and Southeast Tennessee, transportation planners are looking at developing "multi-modal" methods of travel, so-called 'complete streets' that make room for automobile traffic, bicycle routes and pedestrian walkways.

Examples can be seen along the newly widened Ashland Terrace and the new Northpoint Boulevard extension from Hixson Pike to Hamill Road near Northgate Mall. Both roads offer sidewalks and bicycle-friendly corridors.

Another element of the plan is to offer public transit options that could take passengers anywhere within the city and perhaps even into Hamilton County and beyond, officials said.

For the best transportation planning possible, the city needs to grow from within instead of sprawling beyond its borders, transportation officials said this week.

across the region

Chuck Hammonds, Southeast Tennessee Rural Planning Organization coordinator, said two factors contribute greatly to the future of transportation in Southeast Tennessee: How to fund projects and east-west connectors across the mountains.

For years, transportation advocates have lobbied for an east-west connector from Chattanooga to Asheville, N.C., along U.S. Highway 64 and also for widening state route 30 from Dayton, Tenn., to McMinnville, Tenn., to provide better access to Nashville.

Mr. Hammonds said the multi-modal method works well in urban areas, but it poses challenges in rural areas where people can live miles away from cities. It will take organized busing and getting some of the traffic off the roads to make it possible, he said.

"How do you build it out?" Mr. Hammonds asked. "That's something we're still working on."

Julie Oaks, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said the Southeast Tennessee Human Resources Agency recently received $237,542 in federal funding for fixed-bus route service into Chattanooga. The program is expanding each year and ultimately will provide bus service to 98 percent of the state, she said.

a game changer

Tom Dugan, executive director of the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, said that ultimately the future of bus service in Chattanooga means expansion. CARTA hopes to put more fixed-route bus lines in service and to get service into East Ridge and Red Bank, he said.

There are two situations that could be "game changers" for transportation if they happen, Mr. Dugan said. The first is if gas prices go up and stay that way.

"All bets are off, because more people will demand more from public transportation," he said.

The other would be if high-speed rail from Atlanta to Chattanooga becomes reality. At the end terminals, travelers would demand transportation services from someone and, in Chattanooga, that could be CARTA, Mr. Dugan said.

Erik Steavens, director of intermodal programs for the Georgia Department of Transportation, said high-speed rail has become more real with President Barack Obama looking at funding such transportation initiatives.

"Probably, two years ago, it was a pipe dream," he said.

GDOT is conducting a $21 million study of a high-speed rail project between Atlanta and Chattanooga. The environmental impact study should be completed by the end of this year, he said.

The ultimate goal would be to have high-speed passenger rail going from Jacksonville, Fla., to Chicago, he said. If it happens, it could mean more international companies coming into the area because they would have access to Atlanta and Chattanooga's airports, he said.

growth from within

Phil Pugliese, the city's bicycle coordinator, said growth in places such as North Chattanooga, downtown and the Southside has led to a resurgence in biking and walking. But more work needs to be done, he said.

Tired of hitting that same pothole on the way home? Click here to view a map of Chattanooga's listed potholes

There are 424 miles of bicycle paths across Chattanooga and North Georgia, he said, and while that may sound like a lot, in the grand scheme it's not much when talking about thousands of miles of roads.

"We need to create a network," he said.

Anthony Green, a federal employee who works in the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building downtown, said he has been riding his bike to work for 10 years from his home in Hixson. It would be nice to have designated bike routes, he said, but he doesn't know if it could ever happen.

"If they had bike paths for wherever I needed to go, you would never see me on the street," he said.

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