A new transportation advocacy initiative seeks to expand knowledge and access to mobility options in Memphis.
Street Fair, a program of Innovate Memphis, advocates for safe streets, connected neighborhoods, and reliable and affordable transportation options for everyone
Jackson McNeil, transportation and mobility director at Innovate Memphis, said they previously operated a program for the last 10 years called Commute Options. The program encouraged citizens to make “behavioral changes regarding their transportation choices” such as carpooling, biking, walking and more.
“What we quickly realized is that it’s really hard to convince people to take some of those other options if they don’t feel like it’s safe and convenient,” McNeil said. “Folks are stuck with typically one good option if they’re fortunate, and that’s driving a car.”
But driving a car comes with its risk as McNeil said; it’s one of the most dangerous activities that people do on a regular basis. Memphis’ high fatal crash rate further complicates this option, along with the city’s poverty rate and the increasing average cost of owning a vehicle.
Street Fair seeks to align resources, people, and programs to make a “Memphis that works for everyone.”
“If you’re a Memphian who’s ever used our transportation system and wanted so much more from it, then get involved in Street Fair,” McNeil said. “Reach out, become a part of the movement, and help us build a better Memphis.
The Flyer spoke with McNeil about expanding city knowledge of transportation options, community outreach, and more.
Memphis Flyer: When we think about transit in the city, it seems that public transit is the first thing that comes to mind. How are you all working to expand the city’s knowledge of other modes of transportation?
McNeil: In the transportation ecosystem, we should have lots of tools for lots of different jobs. Oftentimes, having a car is the quickest and most convenient way to get somewhere. Like if I live in Cordova and I need to get Downtown, currently, using a car is the most convenient way to get there.
Now, if we invested more in our public transit system that might become an option, but people probably aren’t biking or walking or taking a scooter from Cordova to Downtown. But once you start talking about other trips, whether it’s going to the corner store in your neighborhood, seeing a friend down the block — the average trip is less than three miles. When we start to think about the other tools we can use for those trips, we can start to think beyond ‘is the car the right tool for every trip?’ — probably not. They’re so expensive and frankly they are often causing lots of harm and other issues to those in our city.
How do you all plan on engaging the community in conversations and seeing what they need?
We have a steering committee made up of lots of folks from the nonprofit sector that represent lots of different communities — the disability community and different neighborhood organizations. We will continue to rely heavily on those partnerships. We don’t plan or intend to walk into any neighborhood in Memphis and claim to have all the answers. We want to be someone that listens, understands, and can also connect people to the resources and education and let folks know about things they may not have access or awareness to.
It’s a two-way kind of channel there, where we’ll be going to communities, hosting events, and hearing from people. I think we largely know what some of the big macro issues are, but depending on where you live, what your situation is, your transportation challenges and issues probably look a lot different than someone in another part of town.
We’re coming here with some ideas and resources, but we do not claim to be able to fix everything or know everything on our own.
Could you talk a bit more about how having better transportation can help remedy other issues in the city?
Solving some of our big transportation issues could have an impact on lots of the challenges we experience in Memphis. The irony in Memphis is that we’re home to FedEx, this incredible Fortune 500 company that can put a package in Hong Kong in less than 24 hours, but we struggle to get people to that facility to work and get that package to Hong Kong in less than a day.
We have a lot of knowledge and resources here — i think it’s really about aligning those resources, trying to build a strong message, and voice for transportation that serves people and not just cars and getting boxes across the region.
Do you all foresee working with other advocacy groups that deal with MATA (Memphis Area Transit Authority) to improve the bus transit system?
For sure. I’m actually one of the board members who just recently resigned. I am excited to pursue new opportunities to improve public transit. I have worked with advocates over the past few years on transit-related issues and so they’re a part of this ongoing conversation.
Frankly, I think our work has been more on safety, partly because we have existing advocacy organizations that have been doing the Lord’s work for transit for a while, and we don’t claim to be introducing that to the city. We feel like there is a gap in the ecosystem for advocating for safer and more affordable transportation options, but transit plays a huge role in that.
If we don’t have a strong public transit system in Memphis, we don’t have a strong transportation ecosystem in the city. Not everyone is going to ride the bus, but it has to be an option for those who want it or need it.