Regional partners creating transitway development guidelines
Since 2004, the Metropolitan Council has launched Hiawatha LRT and Northstar Commuter Rail service, taken the first steps toward bus rapid transit (BRT) on Cedar Avenue and I-35W South, and initiated construction activities on Central Corridor LRT. Southwest Corridor is now teeing up as the next big transit investment in the region in the form of light rail.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) in 2005 also launched the region’s first high-occupancy toll lanes in the I-394 corridor, with transit advantages to express buses in the region.
Hiawatha LRT was the first transitway to be developed in the metro area.
With these seven transitways in place or under development, Council members and staff, including Metro Transit, are working with partners in local government, the Transportation Advisory Board, other transit providers, Mn/DOT and the Counties Transit Improvement Board to develop a general set of guidelines for development of corridors for intensive transit investment.
“The region’s transit providers, including Metro Transit, suburban transit providers and other contracted services in the region do a remarkable job of coordination, so that we have a system that’s seamless to customers,” said Metropolitan Transportation Services Director Arlene McCarthy.
“The region has a consistent policy for fares and transfers,” she said. “Fare collection systems are synchronized. Routes are coordinated. And, funding is integrated.”
“As we continue to grow and develop transit corridors, and invest significant resources, we need to continue to identify and flesh out other areas where it makes sense to have consistency throughout the system,” McCarthy said. “Setting guidelines will help us promote a coordinated and equitable “look and feel” to the region’s transit network.
“At the same time, we want guidelines to provide enough flexibility so that each transitway can be developed in a way that accommodates the unique characteristics and opportunities of the corridor,” she said.
Technical committees to make recommendations
Several technical committees, plus an advisory committee composed primarily of policy makers, will review and make recommendations on guidelines for:
- Project development process, governance and management
- Runningway infrastructure (e.g., dedicated right-of-way, HOV or HOT lanes, managed lanes, bus-only shoulders or mixed traffic)
- Station spacing
- Stations and facilities
- Service operations
- Vehicles
- Fare collection systems
- Technology
- Identity and branding
- Funding
“In addition to promoting greater consistency, another key objective is to help project partners that are planning and funding these corridors,” said Council Chair Peter Bell. “A tremendous amount of work goes into corridor development at the local level before they ever get to the regional level. By setting guidelines and standards at the outset, we’re ensuring local planners that they don’t have to start from scratch or reinvent the wheel each time a corridor is identified for possible future transit investment.”
Map excerpt shows transitways that are operating, under development or being planned in the metro area. See larger map (PDF).
Transitway miles expected to grow to 115 by 2014
The region currently has 62 miles of transitways, a figure that is anticipated to increase to 115 miles by 2014. The region’s long-range transportation investment plan, the 2030 Transportation Policy Plan, recommends 7 more potential transitways, in addition to Southwest, including: Bottineau Boulevard, Rush Line, I-35W North, Highway 65, Highway 36, I-94 East and the Red Rock Corridor. Each is undergoing analysis to determine mode and alignment.
“It’s no longer true that this region is behind cities like Denver, Seattle or Portland in the development of transit options,” said Bell. “Our transit system is growing faster, it’s more productive and has a lower subsidy per capita than comparable regions. Guidelines will help us ensure that we continue to grow in an efficient, thoughtful and systematic way.”