A Bus Corridor for George Street in New Brunswick A Proposal: A Bus Corridor for George Street in New Brunswick Slide 1 Image 1 By: Paul Onyx Lozito

New Brunswick Central Business District The Area of Study New Brunswick Central Business District Bus Stops Corridor Route

The Problems Congestion Equity and Access Affected Parties: Students Slide 3 Image 1 Two Related Problems Congestion: Between the hours of four and six, getting across the city of New Brunswick can take 20 minuets. Equity and Access: During rush hour, it becomes hard to access downtown businesses by bus, car, and even walking due to gridlock. This unevenly affects residents and businesses within New Brunswick, and delays buses and pedestrians who can not or chose not to drive. The affect parties of traffic include students who try to reach Douglas or College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University during this time, businesses located in the CBD as people avoid the area as traffic tries to facilitate through the area, and cross-town commuters who wish to get to and from homes within the city. Equity and Access Slide 3 Image 2 Affected Parties: Students Downtown Businesses Cross Town Commuters

Several Possible Solutions Slide 4 Image 1 Slide 4Image 4 Modified Car Traffic Light Rail Bus Rapid Transit Slide 4 Image 2 Monorail Slide 4Image 3 Slide 4Image 5 A Bus Corridor

Monorail and Light Rail Examples: Seattle Monorail Newark Airport Monorail Pros: Popular Quick Has a right of way Cons: Extremely cost- prohibitive to build and maintain Needs manpower Despite the wonders of light rail travel, there are several setbacks that make implementation of light rail service incongruent with New Brunswick at its present state. Firstly, the cities in which light rail was implemented had populations much between five and ten times the size of New Brunswick. The city doesn’t have the population and necessary density to financially sustain a light rail. Secondly, light rail systems have become cost prohibitive to construct as demand for such systems have increased (Urbitran 18). A light rail system can cost between ten and thirty million dollars per mile to construct. New Brunswick may reach a point one day where the feasibility exists to construct a light rail along a major transport route, but the demand does not yet exists for such a system. These types of systems should be a long term goal!

Modified Car Traffic Examples of Modified Car Traffic Exist Everywhere. One-way Roads Roads with limited Access to Trucks Reverse Traffic lanes Slide 6 Image 1 Cost/Benefits This type of solution may help with congestion. This solution will not help with equity or access.

Bus Rapid Transit Benefits BRT would be cost effective to impliment BRT would fit into the small scale urban environment of New Brunswick. BRT would help show the city is ready for a more substantive investment such as light rail or monorail. Organizations such as the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority have implemented a more cost effective alternative to light rail called Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). BRT has been implemented in some level in many transit agencies throughout the country. Bus rapid transit is a system in which buses are prioritized in on-street traffic. A bus will have its own lane, often priority at a traffic light, and in some occasions a bus tunnel to avoid traffic. Bus rapid transit has proven an excellent way for existing transit agencies to make trunk bus routes feel like light rail systems (Muller 66). Yet, New Brunswick does not contain a municipal or regional transit company that prioritizes the city. Costs Must purchase a bus fleet Must pay drivers Must set up support staff, schedules, administrative infrastructure Must secure government funding Must comply with DOT expensive public transport regulations.

A Bus Corridor is the solution for New Brunswick Successful Examples: A Bus Corridor provides for a bus exclusive street that public buses may use. All buses must stop at all bus stops, and all buses have priority over cross traffic. Boston Why in New Brunswick? A Bus corridor puts into place infrastructure for any independent bus company to use. No employees, administrators, fare structure A Corridor allows for flexible expansion later. You CAN Still Build a BRT, or light rail on the same right of way. A Bus corridor is extremely inexpensive to build. New Brunswick provide the proper landscape for such a system Slide 8 Image 1 Ottawa Slide 8 Image 2 Beijing Slide 8 Image 3

The Proposal Route Rules: 1. Only buses which carry 20 People Shall be Allowed on the Bus Route. 2. The Bus Route Must make all stops. Infrastructure Changes New Street and Commercial Avenue, on street parking will be removed, and replaced by a bus lane in each direction. Hamilton Street to Albany Street along George Street, a painted bus lane should be in each direction . A bus for this concept plan shall be defined as a vehicle which a carrying capacity of twenty-five or more individuals, either for profit or free, will supply transit indiscriminately for the population. The Bus corridor in New Brunswick should be implemented over an the area of study as follows: Between Hamilton Street and Albany Street along George Street, a painted bus lane should be implemented in each direction with a major bus shelter installed at the stairs of the train station on Somerset Street. Traffic lights on Albany Street should be calibrated to prioritize north and south bound traffic in order to help relieve stress of the bus lane Between Albany Street and New Street, George Street will be reserved for vehicles making with twenty-five or more passengers who are making transit stops in New Brunswick. The traffic lights in this area will be converted to flashing lights. Buses along George Street will have a constant yellow flashing light while traffic crossing George Street will have a constant red flashing light. New Street traffic light would be calibrated to prioritize travel across George Street. The area will include a major bus stop at the Triangle Park, and a minor bus stop between Church and Paterson Streets. Between New Street and Commercial Avenue, on street parking will be removed, and replaced by a bus lane in each direction. Another major bus stop will be built near the corner of Commercial Avenue. Commercial Avenue and Remsen cross traffic will be prioritized at those traffic lights. Between Commercial Avenue and Nichol Avenue, a bus lane shall be painted in each direction with a major stop at the intersection of Nichol and George Street. Between Albany Street and New Street, George Street traffic lights in this area will be converted to flashing lights.

Price Strength Stops Signs Slide 10: Image 1 Strength Slide 10: Image 3 Stops The costs reflect closing George Street as the sole BRT route for New Brunswick. The cost of a bus lane would include the price for the traffic signs necessary to inform motorist of the passenger requirement to travel in the bus lane. The cost of such signs would be about $10.00 per sign, for approximately 40 signs. Therefore, that cost should not exceed $400. The route should maintain bus approximately five bus stops. Four stops costing $1000, and one central stop that would cost $2000. All other costs of the system can be integrated into great city cooperation. This brings the grand total for the project to $6400 plus labor and street paint. Signs Slide 10: Image 2

Perfect Together Thank You The objective of this project is to raise the level of mobility and access in the city of New Brunswick while minimizing cost to government and institutions. Perfect Together

Image Bibliography Slide 1: Image 1: http://www.mdot.state.md.us/bin/v/p/BRT%20cover%20bus.jpg Slide 3: Image 1:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Trafficjamdelhi.jpg/800px-Trafficjamdelhi.jpg Slide 3: Image 2: http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/04_09/london_pedspace2.jpg Slide 4: Image 1: http://www.kkcsworld.com/Houston%20Light%20Rail.jpg Slide 4: Image 2:http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/09/02/knCOPENHAGEN_wideweb__470x337,0.jpg Slide 4: Image 3: http://www.globaltelematics.com/padelford/brtpugetsound.htm Slide 6: Image 1: http://www.lightrailnow.org/images/anh-mon-disney-monorail-trn-bmway-drippan.jpg Slide 8: Image 1: http://www.wpclipart.com/travel/US_Road_Signs/regulation/reg_4/one_way_2.png Slide 8: Image 2: http://www.fta.dot.gov/about/about_FTA_2451.html Slide 8: Image 3: http://www.edmontonprt.com/ottawa%20brt.jpg Slide 10: Image 1: http://www.getdowntown.org/images/busshelter.JPG Slide 10: Image 2: http://blog.syracuse.com/shelflife/2007/08/large_labor.jpg Slide 10: Image 3: http://www.freefoto.com/preview/41-01-53?ffid=41-01-53