CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) With increased growth predicted for Clarksville-Montgomery County and Middle Tennessee, the population of the county is expected to be over 300,000 by 2040 with three million people in Middle Tennessee.
Representatives of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), Cumberland Region Tomorrow, and the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee updated around 100 residents Thursday on the nMotion Strategic Plan for traffic control and what it will mean for Clarksville-Montgomery County.
With these increases in people and jobs, traffic congestion will rise and the demand for better transit will also continue to grow. The nMotion plan is working to upgrade regional transit which will offer improvements and mass transit options for the Clarksville-Montgomery County area.
Steve Bland, Chief Executive Officer with RTA of Middle Tennessee said the area of Clarksville-Montgomery County is becoming more attractive to more people as a place to live and who will have a Nashville based commute.
RTA owns and operates the commuter bus service with service from Clarksville to downtown Nashville. Bland said they operate between eight to twelve trips each day out of the Park and Ride near Exit 11 on I-24.
“The ridership is going gangbusters, it is now our busiest bus route in the RTA system and ridership is up this year about 14 percent,” Bland said. “We’re seeing more and more people use it as an option to get in and out of Nashville every day.”
Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan said as we grow we need to provide more transportation alternatives. “Having the IMPROVE Act and RTA work with other partners do that is a wonderful opportunity for our citizens to be able to have increased mobility in our region,” she said.