Is Memphis Ready for Inter"Change"

I live downtown on the corner of Union and Main, and I absolutely love it. One of the activities that I have enjoyed doing since I moved to Memphis, especially when I did not own a car, is utilizing the trolley as a means of transportation to do my weekend grocery shopping. The excursions were always pleasurable and adventuresome, but I would need to block out a half day on my calendar to complete my errands. My retail selection was very limited as well. This was okay most of the time, but when I was in a hurry or needed to go beyond my grocers, I was out of luck.

Why was I out of luck? The trolley is primarily set up for tourism and is not a reliable source of transportation due to its inconsistencies and maintenance issues. I was also limited in the extent of its route, which ends at Madison and Cleveland and at the north and south ends of Main Street. If I wanted to travel to any other destination further out, I would need to seek another form of transportation. The obvious alternative was the bus; which I would have gladly taken if I could get past the site of the dismal bus stops. Also, I was warned of the bus schedule inconsistencies which guaranteed I was not going wait and hope the bus arrived on time.

My personal experience saddens me, because I would love to commute around town to the various “hot spots” of Memphis or even my grocers of choice without the hassle of traffic. However, my experience has also motivated me, not only to buy a car, but to seek out ways of getting involved in my community. I have discovered that perhaps Memphis is ready for “new” public transportation systems and the community interchanges that sustain them.

The Interchange

The concept of a community interchange is to develop hubs within strategic locations that conveniently link multiple modes of sustainable transportation. Frank Ricks, of Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, describes institutionally anchored neighborhoods as important gateways and portals that should be linked with public transportation. These neighborhoods would be connected by what LRK calls the Zipper Zone. The concept utilizes the Norfolk Southern line as a commuter rail and bus transit to connect the dots between Collierville and Downtown.

I too feel the Zipper Zone is a very important concept that can blossom with the seeds of interchange hubs located along the Zone’s corridor. Without viable community hubs, the transportation system will not work. These hubs would support incoming trains and bus services, and also accommodate bike sharing, encourage pedestrian activity and provide parking if vehicular travel is needed. The book, A Pattern Language, outlines the importance of interchanges and three basic principles that must be followed in order to sustain a web of transportation:

1. Surround the interchange with workplaces and housing types.
2. Keep the interior of the interchange continuous with the exterior pedestrian network. Maintain small shops and kiosks and keep parking cleverly hidden within surrounding architecture.
3. Keep the transfer distance between different modes of transport to 300 ft with a maximum of 600 ft.

The wonderful thing about the first principle is that we already have neighborhoods with the existing infrastructure of workplace and housing. The second wonderful thing is the synergies that spin off of the interchange development will improve the bus stops, spur community economy and unite neighborhoods through the integrity of being a part of where they live. Although it could be argued that for the hubs to happen, community development needs to be improved along the Zipper Zone; the initiatives to do this already exist within the fabric of Memphis activist.

Into Action

On October 3rd, I participated in the 3rd Annual Summit for Neighborhood Leaders organized by the Coalition for Livable Communities (CLC). I learned of the unfortunate development decisions that led to the state of urban sprawl that is Memphis today; but I also discovered that the neighborhoods have a place in the regional picture and what we can do to make changes. Memphis is gearing up with programs such as Clean Memphis and Memphis City Beautiful that organize neighborhood clean up, Transit Oriented Development and the Zipper Corridor Concept, Beyond the Car: WalkBike Memphis, and the Unified Development Code that provides the tools to get your neighborhood together so it can evolve. (www.livablememphis.org)

Along with the CLC, The Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization has already announced the Imagine 2035 Plan. The 2035 proposes to downsize existing roads and implement new forms of sustainable transportation such as improved bus lines, bike paths and pedestrian walkways. "We've got to link transportation and land use together, because one can't operate without the other," said MPO administrator Martha Lott.

So, is Memphis ready for Inter “Change”? Yes. Memphis is looking at transportation through the lens of the community in collaboration with Memphis government. However, if these voices of the community and good will of the government are not put into action, these efforts will seem nothing more than wasted energy.