(The following editorial appeared on the Memphis Commercial Appeal website on June 19, 2009.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — If you, like thousands of other Memphis motorists, have ever waited interminably for a slow-moving train along the Poplar corridor, you’ll appreciate that there appears to be movement toward a remedy.
The Metropolitan Planning Organization has begun hosting a series of public meetings that motorists can hope will lead to proposals for underpasses or overpasses along a 5-mile stretch of the Norfolk Southern Railroad.
The meetings began Thursday and will conclude July 14. They are part of a study MPO is launching of the east-west rail corridor and its effects on traffic congestion, particularly at several major streets approaching Poplar in East Memphis.
Norfolk Southern operates 35 trains a day on the tracks, and “it can create some congestion problems and safety issues,” said Paul Morris, a transportation planner with MPO.
The next meeting will be June 25 at White Station Church of Christ on Colonial, followed by one June 30 at Germantown City Hall. The final meeting is July 14 at the Burch Library in Collierville. Each meeting begins at 5:30 p.m.
Grade-separated crossings may not be feasible at some of the streets along the railway. But the fact that someone at least is willing to discuss remedies for traffic congestion and safety concerns is a positive sign.