NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thursday morning WeGo Public Transit will cut the ribbon on Metro's second neighborhood transit center.
"Welcome to the future of transit in Nashville," said WeGo Public Transit spokesperson Eric Melcher.
The new North Nashville Transit Center is located at 26th Ave N and Clarksville Hwy and is named for local freedom rider Dr. Ernest Rip Patton, Jr.
The center is meant to serve as a neighborhood hub. It will change how buses move through the area, helping connect routes so riders can get to their destination without going all the way to WeGo Central station downtown. That's a huge upgrade in convenience and will save riders time.
"Building a hub like this can also help us to add extra connections, more frequent routes, ticket vending machines and an air conditioned waiting room," Melcher said.
The new 4,000 square foot facility includes multiple bus bays, building with a waiting room and restrooms, wifi, real time bus info, bike racks and a pedestrian plaza where artwork gives a nod to Nashville voices of the past, present and future, Wego says.
"Before there was anything here, you would see buses all over the neighborhood. This is a very busy area for us, a lot of ridership in this area. People (were) having to stand out on the sidewalks stand in the sun, stand in the rain," Melcher said.
Here are the seven routes that connect at the new North Nashville Transit Center:
9 MetroCenter
14 Whites Creek
22 Bordeaux
42 St Cecilia/Cumberland
71 Trinity
75 Midtown
77 Thompson/Wedgewood
WeGo reports a recent 36 percent increase in ridership along those routes.
The Trinity Lane line has extended from Gallatin Pike in East Nashville to reach the center. That allows riders to easily navigate from North Nashville directly to East Nashville.
WeGo spent eight years planning the center and four years hearing from members of the public on what they wanted out of it.
"You really want to have the voice of the community in deciding what kind of service you're going to have, what kind of amenities you need, and then everything down to the artwork and historical displays," said Melcher.
The first transit center was built in Green Hills in front of Hillsboro High School. Two more are in the planning stages at Donelson Station and the Global Mall re-development site in Antioch. The city has floated the idea of additional sites in Sobro and on the East Bank.
And a developer surprised WeGo by pitching the idea for a transit center at their new development planned on Dickerson Pike, near Tristar Skyline Medical Center.
"We didn't really expect that but it came in, and that's kind of the future. Where you have a development next to transit centers is really the future of transit centers all across the country."
The center had a soft opening in July as WeGo worked out logistics. And Thursday morning the new center will have its official grand opening at 10 am. NewsChannel 5's own Lelan Statom will emcee the event.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at rebecca.schleicher@newschannel5.com.
Forrest Sanders recently introduced us to a Nashville hero named Eudora Boxley. She was the first black woman to have a cooking show on TV in Nashville. Her grandson was precious describing Eudora and how she raised him and how proud he and the family were of her impact not only on WLAC but on a city during the turbulent Civil Rights Era. A woman who did extraordinary things at a time when history did not expect her to.
-Amy Watson
