MATA, DHS and MHA: Why their jobs are harder than you thought

 

 

On Smart City Memphis, many of us make things sound easy. Let's just build dense, walkable neighborhoods. Let's just remove bus fares and make the routes go here or there. Let's tear down the rest of the public housing and humanly integrate "those people" into "normal neighborhoods". We know why things are messed up, how to make things right and are mad as hell that things aren't changing faster.

 

Well, sometimes real life creeps up on you. Today I was reading A Coordinated Human Services

Transportation Plan for the Memphis Area of 2007 (don't ask why). Several facts slapped me in the face and screamed, "SEE, THIS IS REALLY HARD TO FIX AND MAY TAKE A REALLY LONG TIME!"

 

There are people in the Memphis Metro Area that desperately need transit options. Depending on which populations are included, this number is somewhere between 70,000 and 430,000 people. Few of them live close to each other or close to where they need to go. Few destinations are clustered in a logical way to make any transit option viable other than the personal automobile. The challenge to serving our residents is far more wide-spread than people realize. And, we are making decisions about public housing, new neighborhood development and the location of services that may be exacerbating the problem.

 

What is transit?

Transit covers a lot of bases. The trolley, city buses, taxicabs, private vans and school buses are some modes most people would recognize.

 

Who currently uses transit in Memphis?

1. The elderly and disabled who cannot drive
   
2. Low-income residents who cannot afford to own or operate cars
   
3. Tourists
   

 

Where are the most in-need target populations?

Surprising to me, the regional population of people over 60 years old are the most centrally located. The greatest concentration is within the 240-Loop but pretty evenly dispersed throughout it. People with incomes below the poverty level reside largely inside the city limits of Memphis but outside of the 240-Loop. The population with disabilities is much more spread out across the six-county region.

 

Where do most transit trips originate?

Trip origins are spread out all over the region. Origins based on Families First, the Food Stamp program and Medicaid caseloads are concentrated in three locations.

1. Mainly in the Memphis city limits but outside the 240-Loop
   
2. West Memphis
   
3. Northern Tipton County
   

 

Origins based on elderly and disabled caseloads are concentrated in South Memphis, Fayette County, West Memphis and Desoto County.

 

The top 60 overall origin points are listed in the table below.

CATEGORY	LOCATION
Affordable Housing Sites (17 Locations)	Agnes Place -Grove Street, Memphis Airways Villa - 2305 Pendleton Street, Memphis Alexmire Apartments - 347 E. McLemore Avenue, Memphis Alpha Renaissance Apartments - 1471 Genesis, Memphis Apartments at LaPaloma - 1394 LaPaloma Circle, Memphis Cane Creek Crossing - 100-114 S, Main Street, Memphis Cleaborn Homes & Foote Homes - S. Lauderdale, Memphis College Park - 838 Walker Avenue, Memphis Frisco Court - 1756 LaPaloma, Memphis Gastalia Heights - 1999 Carver & 1768 Keltner, Memphis Knob Hill Apartments -1059 Florida St. Memphis Parkway Commons - 1524 S. Parkway East, Memphis Salem Manor - 2220 S. Parkway East, Memphis The Commons at Brentwood - 640 Aspire Lane, Memphis Thompson Courts - LaPaloma, Carver, Keltner, Memphis Turrell Meadows, 67 2nd St. West Memphis Wellington Place - 1005 S. Wellington, Memphis
Neighborhoods Corridors (13 Locations)	Chelsea Corridor, Memphis Elvis Presley Corridor, Memphis Frayser, Memphis Hickory Hill, Memphis Lamar Corridor, Memphis Midtown, Memphis Poplar Corridor, Memphis Raleigh, Memphis South Memphis within I-240 Loop Summer Corridor, Memphis Third Street Corridor, Memphis U.S. Hwy 51/Thomas Street Corridor, Memphis Winchester Corridor, Memphis
Senior Housing Sites (30 Locations)	Barry Homes, 255 Lauderdale St. Memphis Barry Towers - 255 Lauderdale Street, Memphis Belmont Village of Memphis - 6605 Quail Hollow Road, Memphis Borda Towers - 21 Neely St. Memphis Camilla Towers - 256 S. Camilla, Memphis Carestone at Bartlett - 3345 Kirby Whitten Road, Memphis Cleaborn Homes - 430 S. Lauderdale St. Memphis College Park Senior Building - 838 Walker Avenue, Memphis Ecumenical Village - 217 W. Jackson Ave., West Memphis Exxum Towers - 3155 Sharp, Memphis Franklin Park - 3393 Kirby Road, Memphis Highland Towers - 400 S. Highland, Memphis Hollywood Senior Center - 1560 N. Hollywood, Memphis Independent Apartments - 875 Linden Avenue, Memphis Jefferson Square, 741 Adams Avenue, Memphis Latham Terrace Senior Housing - 295 E.H. Crump, Memphis Luther Terrace - 3907 James Road, Memphis Lutheran Village Condominiums - 3589 Covington Pike, Memphis Memphis Tower - 1081 Court Avenue, Memphis The Parkview - 1914 Poplar Avenue, Memphis The Villas of West Memphis - W. Jackson Avenue, West Memphis Venson Center - 439 Beale Street, Memphis Wesley Graceland Gardens - 1430 Graceland Pines, Memphis Wesley Highland Manor - 3549 Norriswood, Memphis Wesley Highland Meadows - 3517 Andy Way, Memphis Wesley Highland Place - 3550 Watauga, Memphis Wesley Highland Terrace - 366 S. Highland, Memphis Wesley Meadows -1325 Mclingvale Road, Hernando Wesley Millington Towers - 5077 Easley Av., Millington Wesley Stage Park -2779 Battle Creek Drive, Memphis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where do most transit trips end?

Again, I was surprised by the density maps. While destinations are spread all over the place, an East Memphis corridor going north to south from Bartlett to Hickory Hill stood out. As well, the Collierville area had a similar density.

 

The top sixty destinations are listed in the table below.

 

 

 

CATEGORY	LOCATION
Career Centers and Workforce Development Centers	Memphis Messick Adult Center Tennessee Career Center - Somerville, Fayette County Tennessee Career Center at Memphis - Covington, Tipton County Tennessee Career Centers - 5 locations in Shelby County Tennessee Technology Center at Memphis - Alabama Avenue Location Tennessee Technology Center at Memphis - Tchulahoma Rd Location William R. Moore College of Technology, Memphis
Cultural and Recreation Locations	Downtown Memphis - Various Locations Graceland, Memphis Memphis Zoo/Overton Park Midsouth Coliseum, Liberty Land Park, Liberty Bowl Stadium
Educational Destinations	Christian Brothers University Mid-South Community College - West Memphis Rhodes College Southern College of Optometry Southwest Community College- Millington Center, Memphis Southwest Community College- Somerville, Fayette County Southwest Community College- Southeast Center, Memphis Southwest Community College- Whitehaven Center, Memphis Southwest Community College-Gill Center, Frayser Southwest Community College-Macon Cove Campus, Memphis Southwest Community College-Union Avenue Campus, Memphis University of Memphis University of Tennessee
Human Services Agencies	County Health Department - Shelby, Tipton, Fayette, Crittenden, DeSoto Memphis Housing Authority TN Dept of Human Services - 3rd St. & Mitchell Avenue, Memphis TN Dept of Human Services - Jackson & Macon Avenue, Memphis U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Memphis Office Various Non-profit Human Services Advocacy and Supporting Groups Various Faith-based Human Services Organizations
Medical Facilities	Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton Baptist Rehabilitation-Germantown Crittenden Regional Hospital, West Memphis Memphis Children's Clinic - 6 locations Memphis Health Center-E.H.Crump Memphis Kidney & Dialysis Service Methodist Fayette Hospital - Somerville Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital-Germantown Methodist North Hospital-Covington pike Methodist South Hospital -South Memphis Methodist University Hospital-Union Avenue Regional Medical Center at Memphis (THE MED)/MEDPLEX Shelby County Health Loop Clinics - 10 locations St. Francis Hospital - Kate Bond Rd, Memphis St. Francis Hospital - Park Avenue, Memphis St. Francis Hospital - White Station Rd, Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Memphis
Retail Places	ALDI - various locations Kroger Stores - various locations Pharmacy Stores - various locations Shopping Malls - various locations Wal-Mart Stores - various locations
Transportation Hubs	Greyhound Bus Line - Downtown Memphis MATA American Way Transit Center Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) North End Terminal Memphis International Airport

 

 

L

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are we adequately serving people with transit needs?

Despite an extraordinarily wide range of public and private services, the simple answer is, no.

 

Latent Demand = 222,148

Average Daily Demand = 74,049

Average Daily Served = 25,860

 

At best we are leaving somewhere between 65% and 85% of the most in-need population unserved. This is before we talk about including people who might make public transportation a mode of choice. Not because MATA is dumb. Not because MHA is bad. Not because people don't want transportation options or because options are universally doomed.

 

This is a hard, long term project because for fifty years we have intentionally built a community that has made it that way.

 

Today, I simply want to applaud the few people who woke up this morning knowing that they were heading out to try fixing it.