About the Study

Goals

The South Corridor Study will identify a series of short-, mid-, and long-term recommendations to implement the vision for rapid transit between Nashville, Berry Hill, Oak Hill, Brentwood, Franklin, Thompson‘s Station, Spring Hill, and Columbia, as well as other neighborhoods, communities, employment centers, and destinations along the south corridor.

Objectives

The Greater Nashville Regional Council (GNRC), in consultation with other partner agencies and stakeholders, has identified the following major objectives for the South Corridor Study:

  • Extend the community engagement work of the WeGo Public Transit nMotion strategic planning process to further define the transit needs along the region‘s south corridor;
  • Evaluate the costs/benefits of each transit investment alternative;
  • Identify and recommend a locally preferred alternative for transit service;
  • Assess the potential impacts of transit investments on economic development outcomes;
  • Identify opportunities for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and transit supportive development;
  • Incorporate community feedback into the cost-effectiveness analysis in order to recommend short-, mid-, and long-term capital and operating improvements;
  • Evaluate land use policies/regulations for consistency with transit recommendations;
  • Evaluate the existing institutional arrangements and make recommendations for necessary changes in order to facilitate the implementation of recommendations;
  • Prepare a program of projects that can be advanced into the project development process; and,
  • Develop a funding/financing plan which analyzes the potential for federal funding, locally-generated funds, and public-private partnership (P3) financing.

Outcomes

With these major objectives in mind, the process to study opportunities and identify transit solutions as part of the South Corridor Transportation Study will be used by the GNRC, other agencies, and stakeholders to:

  • Advance recommendations from the recently adopted WeGo Public Transit’s nMotion strategic plan;
  • Inform the development of future regional transportation plans and funding programs;
  • Help local and regional transit providers to determine capital needs and the addition of new transit service or service improvements within and along the corridor;
  • Recommend a locally preferred alternative (LPA) for transit services in the south corridor;
  • Help local communities identify necessary revisions to their local comprehensive plans, zoning regulations, urban design standards;
  • Assist TDOT identify future investments in the State Route 6 and Interstate 65 corridors; and,
  • Help economic and community development officials site new growth and development along the corridor.