RCAC January 2015

rcac@eastraleigh.org

2 participants
2 discussions

Road Worrier: Cost-conscious Wake transit planners get more bang from a bus

by William A. Allen III

Colleagues, I thought Bruce Siceloff did a good job in the below article recapping last week's all-day transit planning work session with Jarrett Walker. http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/01/26/4507047/road-worrier-cost-conscious-… Will William A. Allen III 919.349.6566 Mobile --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com

10 years, 10 months

Wake County Transit Choices Report (1-14-2015)

by Will Allen III

Neighbors, At the link below you can access a copy of the first deliverable for the Wake County Transit Investment Strategy. It is called the Wake County Transit Choices Report. At 66 MB it is too large to attach to an email. I found it be richly detailed and very helpful. I hope you find it useful. This document will be part of the community dialogue until March, with opportunity for input and surveys throughout that period. Please let me know if you have any problems accessing the document. I will be happy to discuss the process and outcomes of our all-day work session with Jarrett Walker on January 20. Please call or email. Thank you, Will William A. Allen III 919-349-6566 Mobile * 2015-1-14 Transit Choices Report FINAL.pdf (66.4 MB) Download the attachment by <https://kimley-horn.securevdr.com/d/s171086aca914f9d8> clicking here. The report was jointly drafted by Jarrett Walker and Associates and Kimley Horn. The Wake County Transit Investment Strategy is a partnership that includes Wake County, Triangle Transit, CAMPO, City of Raleigh, Town of Cary, Research Triangle Foundation, NC State University, and Raleigh/Durham Airport. These entities comprise the Transit Core Team (TCT). The report steps back from detailed planning processes and begins with the development of a strategy for identifying and allocating transit investments. It is one step in a multi-step planning process. Transit Choices Report Summary History of Transit Planning The report provides a detailed history of transit planning in Wake County that includes previous transit planning reports, visioning exercises, legislation and draft plans. In 2013, Wake County, CAMPO, Triangle Transit, NC State University, Raleigh Durham Airport, City of Raleigh, Town of Cary and the Research Triangle Foundation agreed to hire a consultant to review previous planning efforts and provide an updated transit vision for our community. Current Status The report notes the County is growing and changing quickly, and these changes will likely lead to a higher demand for transit, and higher levels of public interest in having a good transit system. The demographics and density of the population impact the demand for transportation. The report includes summaries of the following attributes and covers existing transit service and usage. * Maps illustrating existing transit service by route * Data on existing service frequency * Data on existing transit ridership, including mapping of highest boarding and alighting locations * Land use mapping including existing and anticipated land uses, density, major activity centers, etc. * Mapping of existing traffic volumes and capacity on key roadway arterials * County's current performance against several peer cities A "Transit Toolbox" section highlights information on key types of transit service that are typically applied in comparable regions in the US. * Key defining features * Performance expectations * General situations in which each service type may be anticipated to be successful * How services link to shared values and desired outcomes * Generalized costing Transit Choices There are two main goals to consider: ridership versus coverage and funding infrastructure versus service. The first goal poses the choice between focusing service investments on areas where the built environment and customer base will drive high ridership and spreading service investments to reach as many people as possible. Given a fixed level of investment, a decision to spend more on one type of service would result in less investment in the other. The second goal poses the choice between investing resources into transit infrastructure versus transit service. More infrastructure investments can save future operating costs by increasing travel speeds, improving comfort, and shaping development. Investing in more service can provide higher quality (frequency) of service to more people and places. Again, investing more in one option means less investment is available for the other option. The Transit Advisory Committee and the public will engage in considering these choices as the next phase of the process. Expanded Choices Report The Expanded Choices Report, available in April, will present transit service scenarios that are specific solutions for the County we can consider based on public outreach and consultation with the Transit Advisory Committee, following the meeting in March.

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RCAC January 2015