Bus Rapid Transit Study Technical Advisory Committee January 13, 2017

Introductions

Today’s Meeting Purpose Overall review of feasibility of BRT on SH 7 Review ridership results Review cost results Consider running way options

Is BRT feasible on SH 7? O&D patterns Projected development densities Community transportation plans Community corridor visions RTD service standards Top Vision Concepts Top Goal Concepts Safe A corridor that safely and comfortably accommodates all modes of travel Time-competitive bus travel Competes with single-occupant vehicles for travel time & trips Rapid transit A corridor that is accessible to all users regardless of age, ability, and income Market (O-D) Community one-on-ones

What would BRT look like on SH 7? Branded Premium vehicles Station amenities Transit signal prioritization (TSP) & queue jumps Routing Station spacing Lane type

What would the station amenities include? Weather protection Lighting Real-time arrival information Off-board fare collection Platform-level boarding & other accessibility features DISCUSSION POINTS Prepaid/off-board fare collection Station amenities (real-time arrival information, weather protection, bicycle parking/lockers, lighting, other safety features, etc.) Pedestrian facilities (sidewalks and crosswalks) connecting stations to nearby PnRs, activity centers, and other connection points Near-level passenger boarding ADA compliance: platform-level boarding, ramps and sidewalks surrounding station to meet accessibility requirements Source: American Public Transportation Association

What are the assumptions for ridership forecasts? 2040 model (PEL laneage) 7.5-minute peak / 15-minute off-peak headway Local community feeder routes 10 stations (7 with parking) Connections to North Metro NATE II BRT Boulder Junction

What were the ridership results? 6,500 riders per day in 2040 Varies depending on routing, running way, operating plan Quality of service Travel time

How would SH7 BRT compare? 6,500 riders per day Not enough demand for rail Source: http://www.rtd-denver.com/documents/serviced/performance-2015.pdf Source: RTD Service Performance, 2015 *SH 7 BRT with 7.5-minute headways (2040 boardings) **SH 7 BRT with 15-minute headways (2040 boardings)

How would SH7 BRT compare? 18 boardings per vehicle hour $4 subsidy per boarding 6,500 riders per day Not enough demand for rail Source: http://www.rtd-denver.com/documents/serviced/performance-2015.pdf SH 7 BRT Source: RTD Service Performance, 2015 *SH 7 BRT reflects 2040 annual boardings

What are the base BRT scenario results?

What additional stations make sense?

What route options make sense?

What route patterns make sense?

Capital & Operating Costs Base Scenario Operating In: Stations Running Way TSP Vehicles TOTAL CAPITAL COST TOTAL ANNUAL OPERATING COSTS Mixed Traffic $0.5 M $30 M $12.1 M Managed – Add a Lane $26 M $10.2 M Managed – Repurpose a Lane Dedicated – Add a Lane $23 M $10.7 M Dedicated – Repurpose a Lane

Are dedicated lanes appropriate? Advantages Best ridership, travel time Provides transit identity for corridor Supports study vision Implement by adding a lane High cost Doesn’t meet person-carrying threshold Implement by repurposing a PEL lane Results in very poor vehicle LOS

Are managed lanes appropriate? Advantages Better ridership, travel time (than mixed lane operations) TSP and queue jumps provide additional travel time benefits Provides some corridor transit identity Supportive of study vision Implement by adding a lane High cost Adds unneeded vehicular capacity Implement by repurposing a PEL lane May degrade vehicular LOS

Is running in mixed traffic appropriate? Advantages Good ridership TSP and queue jumps provide travel time benefits Low cost Easy to implement Disadvantages Less supportive of study vision Less corridor transit identity

Small group discussion Running way Route patterns Route options

Where are managed & dedicated lanes appropriate?

Holly Buck, PE, PTP holly.buck@fhueng.com Thank You! Holly Buck, PE, PTP holly.buck@fhueng.com Christopher Primus, PTP christopher.primus@hdrinc.com