Cool Springs Multimodal Transportation Study JUN_2015_Final Cool_Springs_Report | Page 10

What is the Need for the Proposed Action?
Cool Springs has been experiencing significant population and employment growth over the last 20 years and
is now a major employment and retail center for the Middle Tennessee Region. The Cool Springs area includes
several luxury hotels, shopping centers including the Cool Springs Galleria, business parks, office buildings, big
box retailers, and single and multi-family housing. Major corporations including Community Health Systems
(4,300 employees), Williamson Medical Center (1,440), Healthways (1,160 employees), Nissan (1,600 employees)
and Verizon Wireless (1,300 employees) have their North American or state headquarters within the Cool
Springs study area. Employment is projected to grow between 2012 and 2040 by 69%.
Currently, there are very few alternatives to single occupant vehicle travel in the Cool Springs area. To
accommodate future growth in the area, a robust, sustainable set of mobility options needs to be considered to
address the increasing congestion in the corridor and to further enhance the economic development and land
use opportunities. The following contains a description of the transportation problems that will be addressed as
a result of the pr oposed action:
• Need to Reduce Roadway Congestion in the
Cool Springs Area: Congestion on the roadways
continues to increase as new office, retail,
hotel and residential developments continue
to be built. In order to maintain an acceptable
level of service (LOS) given future (2025) traffic
projections, several intersection and roadway
improvements are needed, including widening
Carothers Parkway from four to six lanes. The
introduction of a range of multimodal options
is expected to delay or prevent the need for
roadway widening.
• Need to Provide Increased Mobility Options for
Employers and Employees: Today there are very
limited transportation options to access Cool
Springs destinations. Employees travel from
several locations both within and outside the City
of Franklin. Multimodal solutions are needed to
address the growing need of employees to get to
their place of employment. These solutions need
to address not only the work commute but also
provide alternatives for travel during the day,
including the lunchtime hour.
4
• Need to Support Economic Development
Opportunities in the Corridor: Cool
Springs has developed into a regional and
national employment and retail center. The
transportation infrastructure is already stressed
in its capacity to support future growth. Without
solutions, there is a potential negative impact on
future economic development.
• Need to Protect the City of Franklin’s Quality
of Life: Environmentally friendly solutions are
important to protect the City of Franklin’s quality
of life and the residents and employees living and
working in Cool Springs. “Green” transportation
solutions that support active and healthy
lifestyles are important to the region.
Cool Springs | Multimodal Transportation Network Study