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From page 359... ... B‐63 Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Case Study: Nashville, TN Highlights: Nashville MTA's interest in resilience stems from flooding that impacted the agency's assets and services in 2010. In addition, the City's Mayor has expressed a public commitment to expanding transit services. In this context, most of the agency's efforts have been on emergency preparedness and rapid recovery of services when disrupted by extreme weather or natural disaster. Nashville MTA is focused on making sure it "can keep services on the street." Part of achieving this goal has included taking steps to ensure bus storage facilities and administrative offices were moved out of flood prone areas. Key Resiliency Drivers  New leadership in the agency in Chief Operating Officer, arrived in summer 2015, and city leadership in mayor's office  Citywide emphasis on collaborative emergency planning  Local partnerships with agencies, such as public schools and Housing, whose populations are regularly affected by urgency and emergency in their circumstances  2010 anomaly flooding of the Cumberland River, which destroyed approximately a third of the bus fleet, forced boat evacuation of staff from MTA hub facility, interrupted transit service for two weeks, required rebuilding the hub facility, and spurred previously unprecedented preparation and training for flooding events Key Successes  Consideration of flooding in alternate route planning, siting, operator and staff training  Increased collaborative planning with regular and new department/agency partners in the city  Renovation of existing facility and staff move to additional new facility on higher ground  Capital planning with more preparedness focus (e.g., scissor lifts in future purchasing) Read the entire page →
From page 360... ... B‐64 Agency Details Geographic Location Southeast Modes Operated Metro bus, commuter bus, and paratransit System Size Small Typical Hazards Summer storms/lightning, tornadoes; winter storms/icy hills, occasional snow; high winds; potential but rare riverine flooding Background: The Nashville‐Davidson, Tennessee metropolitan area has one independent transit agency, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) , which provides service to the city of Nashville and purchased services to the Middle Tennessee Regional Transportation Authority. MTA operates more than 50 routes for 9.8 million riders on an operating budget of approximately $60.5millon. MTA functions as a Nashville municipal department, with 54 percent of its annual budget derived from the metropolitan government, a combined county‐city entity in Nashville. A newly‐elected mayor and her appointed Director of Finance have stated ambitious goals for increasing transit in Nashville, so the agency is in the process of several efforts not used in the past, including long‐ range capital planning and stepped‐up emergency management planning, which will likely contribute to resilience and sustainability. These are not terms the agency currently uses for planning – they are more likely to use "preparedness" -- but the forecasting work they describe will clearly contribute to future resiliency. Policy and Administration The Nashville‐Davidson Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Read the entire page →
From page 361... ... B‐65 federal sources, and six percent from state. MTA is revising its capital planning from annual to longer term, with fuller budget planning expected for 2017. The MTA provides bus transit within the city, out of a newly built hub station downtown. Approximately 55 routes utilize a hub and spoke method. Expansion plans include use of bus rapid transit for new routes, with the possibility for local rail service at some point in the future. Currently service includes using RTA for Relax and Ride commuter service during a.m. and p.m. rush, under contract with Gray Line to provide buses and operators. Active Ride, MTA's paratransit services, uses contracted overflow taxi service to provide added capacity beyond what MTA can handle. The agency does not conduct formal asset management planning and anticipates that future capital spending guidance will be issued from the mayor's office of budget and finance. MTA's COO expects that priorities will be "More balancing to be sure that projects that were approved are completed and that right amount of funding was given and that in any shared projects both [collaborating agencies with MTA] agencies are successful." The area has a moderate climate, with few enough winter storms that city resources for plowing and salting are scarce. An eight‐inch snow in 2015 effectively shut down the city for three days, although some bus routes operated. Occasional winter storm conditions of ice and some snow make transit hazardous because of hilly terrain; black ice is a problem as often as three or four times a year. Summer weather produces some high winds that affect buses and occasionally cause delays, from operators' pulling to the side of the road to wait out gusts. Little street flooding occurs and has not been a transit issue (with the exception of the 2010 flooding) Read the entire page →
From page 362... ... B‐66 emergency planning. This collaborative effort means that administration of the MTA has a shared aspect in some areas that may be unusual for other transit agencies. For example, MTA's requirements for engagement in the city's crisis management plan (CMP) dictate some decisions about operations, funding allocation, and staffing. Measurement and Reporting on Resilience‐Related Efforts Because MTA doesn't specify resilience‐related efforts, there is no measurement or reporting as such. There is tracking of increased training for emergencies. Because of the shocking impact of the 2010 flood on Nashville, communication with the public, policy makers, customers or others about emergency preparedness has been considerable. The agency uses press releases and its web site to get information about conditions out to the public, but also relies on its partner agencies (e.g., police, schools, housing) Read the entire page →
From page 363... ... B‐67 Operations and Maintenance MTA is working on plans/standard operating procedures to temporarily harden infrastructure (e.g., deploy sandbags and other flood proofing) , which it had never considered before 2010, and to protect assets (relocate vehicles and other moveable equipment) Read the entire page →

From page 359...

... B‐63 Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Case Study: Nashville, TN Highlights: Nashville MTA's interest in resilience stems from flooding that impacted the agency's assets and services in 2010. In addition, the City's Mayor has expressed a public commitment to expanding transit services. In this context, most of the agency's efforts have been on emergency preparedness and rapid recovery of services when disrupted by extreme weather or natural disaster. Nashville MTA is focused on making sure it "can keep services on the street." Part of achieving this goal has included taking steps to ensure bus storage facilities and administrative offices were moved out of flood prone areas. Key Resiliency Drivers  New leadership in the agency in Chief Operating Officer, arrived in summer 2015, and city leadership in mayor's office  Citywide emphasis on collaborative emergency planning  Local partnerships with agencies, such as public schools and Housing, whose populations are regularly affected by urgency and emergency in their circumstances  2010 anomaly flooding of the Cumberland River, which destroyed approximately a third of the bus fleet, forced boat evacuation of staff from MTA hub facility, interrupted transit service for two weeks, required rebuilding the hub facility, and spurred previously unprecedented preparation and training for flooding events Key Successes  Consideration of flooding in alternate route planning, siting, operator and staff training  Increased collaborative planning with regular and new department/agency partners in the city  Renovation of existing facility and staff move to additional new facility on higher ground  Capital planning with more preparedness focus (e.g., scissor lifts in future purchasing)

Read the entire page →

From page 360...

... B‐64 Agency Details Geographic Location Southeast Modes Operated Metro bus, commuter bus, and paratransit System Size Small Typical Hazards Summer storms/lightning, tornadoes; winter storms/icy hills, occasional snow; high winds; potential but rare riverine flooding Background: The Nashville‐Davidson, Tennessee metropolitan area has one independent transit agency, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) , which provides service to the city of Nashville and purchased services to the Middle Tennessee Regional Transportation Authority. MTA operates more than 50 routes for 9.8 million riders on an operating budget of approximately $60.5millon. MTA functions as a Nashville municipal department, with 54 percent of its annual budget derived from the metropolitan government, a combined county‐city entity in Nashville. A newly‐elected mayor and her appointed Director of Finance have stated ambitious goals for increasing transit in Nashville, so the agency is in the process of several efforts not used in the past, including long‐ range capital planning and stepped‐up emergency management planning, which will likely contribute to resilience and sustainability. These are not terms the agency currently uses for planning – they are more likely to use "preparedness" -- but the forecasting work they describe will clearly contribute to future resiliency. Policy and Administration The Nashville‐Davidson Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)

Read the entire page →

From page 361...

... B‐65 federal sources, and six percent from state. MTA is revising its capital planning from annual to longer term, with fuller budget planning expected for 2017. The MTA provides bus transit within the city, out of a newly built hub station downtown. Approximately 55 routes utilize a hub and spoke method. Expansion plans include use of bus rapid transit for new routes, with the possibility for local rail service at some point in the future. Currently service includes using RTA for Relax and Ride commuter service during a.m. and p.m. rush, under contract with Gray Line to provide buses and operators. Active Ride, MTA's paratransit services, uses contracted overflow taxi service to provide added capacity beyond what MTA can handle. The agency does not conduct formal asset management planning and anticipates that future capital spending guidance will be issued from the mayor's office of budget and finance. MTA's COO expects that priorities will be "More balancing to be sure that projects that were approved are completed and that right amount of funding was given and that in any shared projects both [collaborating agencies with MTA] agencies are successful." The area has a moderate climate, with few enough winter storms that city resources for plowing and salting are scarce. An eight‐inch snow in 2015 effectively shut down the city for three days, although some bus routes operated. Occasional winter storm conditions of ice and some snow make transit hazardous because of hilly terrain; black ice is a problem as often as three or four times a year. Summer weather produces some high winds that affect buses and occasionally cause delays, from operators' pulling to the side of the road to wait out gusts. Little street flooding occurs and has not been a transit issue (with the exception of the 2010 flooding)

Read the entire page →

From page 362...

... B‐66 emergency planning. This collaborative effort means that administration of the MTA has a shared aspect in some areas that may be unusual for other transit agencies. For example, MTA's requirements for engagement in the city's crisis management plan (CMP) dictate some decisions about operations, funding allocation, and staffing. Measurement and Reporting on Resilience‐Related Efforts Because MTA doesn't specify resilience‐related efforts, there is no measurement or reporting as such. There is tracking of increased training for emergencies. Because of the shocking impact of the 2010 flood on Nashville, communication with the public, policy makers, customers or others about emergency preparedness has been considerable. The agency uses press releases and its web site to get information about conditions out to the public, but also relies on its partner agencies (e.g., police, schools, housing)

Read the entire page →

From page 363...

... B‐67 Operations and Maintenance MTA is working on plans/standard operating procedures to temporarily harden infrastructure (e.g., deploy sandbags and other flood proofing) , which it had never considered before 2010, and to protect assets (relocate vehicles and other moveable equipment)

Read the entire page →

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