NY5 Bus Rapid Transit Conceptual Design Study. Deliverable Q Implementation Phasing Plan

Transcription

1 Capital District Transportation Committee Capital District Transportation Authority NY5 Bus Rapid Transit Conceptual Design Study Deliverable Q Implementation Phasing Plan with CREIGHTON MANNING ENGINEERING Logitrans Herbert Levinson January, 2005

2 1 Introduction This report presents a preliminary phasing plan for the proposed services that are discussed in further detail in other deliverables. The BRT service described in those deliverables represents full implementation of the BRT concept, a process that would take several years. This document presents a phasing plan for BRT in the New York Route 5 corridor so that the critical elements of the BRT service can be in place as soon as possible. First, all of the elements associated with the BRT system are identified along with their capital costs. Phase I is then defined as those critical elements that would constitute a BRT application. Because the BRT concept represents a flexible package of features that have been applied in various combinations in North America and around the world, it is necessary to define what would constitute BRT in the Route 5 corridor. Phase II includes other elements that would further enhance the operations of the BRT system but are not critical to begin operations. Phase III includes those elements that have potential to enhance the system but that for particular reasons in this case, could be delayed for longer term implementation without hampering the success of the system. Finally, a matrix identifies the organizations responsible for the implementation of each element as well as other parties that should be involved because they will be affected by the changes. As with all previous deliverables and reports, none of the investments described here represent final decisions on the part of CDTA or any of the other interested parties. Such decisions will be made during Phase 2 of the Design Study preliminary engineering and in accordance with the Transit Development Plan that is being conducted by CDTA. Thus, although this document presents specific information regarding the phasing plan and the cost of its implementation, this information is subject to change upon further study and review in the context of the Transit Development Plan. 2

3 2 BRT Elements and Costs Three types of elements can be found in the proposed BRT system: capital (infrastructure), operations (services), and system (support systems and management) elements. The specific elements examined in this conceptual design study can be grouped into these three categories as follows: Capital Stations shelters and other amenities Roadway improvements queue jumpers, bulbouts, and improvements at Colonie Center Vehicles retrofitting existing vehicles or acquiring new vehicles Park-and-Ride facilities Operations Mainline services BRT express, Local route, revised Route 1 Feeder routes System AVL/GPS/Communication systems Transit Signal Priority Off-vehicle fare collection Marketing and Promotion 2.1 Capital elements Stations The stations are described in detail in Deliverable H/K. Table 1 shows the costs estimated for the stations including amenities, bulbouts, site costs, and traffic management during construction. Note that not all amenities are recommended for all locations. For example, since the areas around Broadway Street and North Robinson Street in Schenectady have recently been renovated, new sidewalks are not proposed for these locations in the short term. There are four possible types of shelters : small, medium, large, and transfer station. The transfer station is a large shelter (at least 12 ft. by 30 ft.) with added amenities. Although five stations have been identified as transfer stations (i.e. Washington, New Karner, Colonie Center, Colvin, and Lark) only Colonie Center and New Karner are planned to receive new transfer shelters. Lark Street westbound and Washington Street eastbound already have substantial shelters that are not recommended to be replaced by new BRT shelters and the level of investment of a large shelter is considered sufficient for the shelter at Colvin station. The resulting figures in the table are the cost per station and the total cost for all stations. 3

4 Table 1 Station costs ITEM COSTS STATION Initial Contin gency Design Final Cost & Engine ering Washington EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB Boardings [boarding passengers per weekday] Small Shelter (~7' x 12')* $20,000 10% 10% $24, Medium Shelter (~12' x 18')* $25,000 10% 10% $30, Large Shelter (~12' x 30')* $30,000 10% 10% $36,000 1 Transfer Shelter (~ 25' x 50') $80,000 20% 15% $108, Station sign $1,000 10% 10% $1, Renovated sidewalks (a) $37,500 20% 15% $50, Pedestrian lighting $6,000 20% 15% $8, Benches ^ $400 5% 5% $ Trash receptacles $400 5% 5% $ Newspaper boxes $500 5% 5% $ Real-time next bus info (b) $5,000 20% 15% $6, Broadway 1 Static system information $500 5% 15% $ Map of the area $1,500 5% 15% $1, Bike racks Regular $800 5% 5% $ Bike racks Large (c) $3,000 20% 10% $3, Public Phones $1,600 5% 5% $1, Emergency Phones $600 5% 5% $ Bulletin boards $500 5% 15% $ Vending machines (d) $0 1 Security camera/cc TV $4,000 10% 10% $4, Restrooms $20,000 20% 10% $26,000 Bulbouts (e) $7,500 20% 15% $10,125 Site costs $30,000 20% 15% $40, Traffic management $20,000 20% 15% $27, Total cost of stations $6,352,255 $247,180 $30,810 $128,070 $345,450 $355,350 $224,980 $336,430 $342,430 $509,670 $336,430 ITEM COSTS STATION Initial Contin gency Final Cost Design & Engine ering Veeder/Nott Steuben McClellan EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB Boardings [boarding passengers per weekday] Small Shelter (~7' x 12')* $20,000 10% 10% $24,000 1 Medium Shelter (~12' x 18')* $25,000 10% 10% $30, Large Shelter (~12' x 30')* $30,000 10% 10% $36, Transfer Shelter (~ 25' x 50') $80,000 20% 15% $108, Station sign $1,000 10% 10% $1, Renovated sidewalks (a) $37,500 20% 15% $50, Pedestrian lighting $6,000 20% 15% $8, Benches ^ $400 5% 5% $ Trash receptacles $400 5% 5% $ Newspaper boxes $500 5% 5% $ Real-time next bus info (b) $5,000 20% 15% $6, Static system information $500 5% 15% $ Map of the area $1,500 5% 15% $1, Bike racks Regular $800 5% 5% $ Bike racks Large (c) $3,000 20% 10% $3,900 Public Phones $1,600 5% 5% $1, Emergency Phones $600 5% 5% $ Bulletin boards $500 5% 15% $ Vending machines (d) $ Security camera/cc TV $4,000 10% 10% $4, Restrooms $20,000 20% 10% $26, Bulbouts (e) $7,500 20% 15% $10, Site costs $30,000 20% 15% $40, Traffic management $20,000 20% 15% $27, Total cost of stations $6,352,255 $566,910 $370,470 $359,435 $358,995 $381,560 $369,560 $266,735 $353,670 $239,680 $228,440 Notes * Small shelter if boardings are less than or equal to 50, Medium shelter if boardings are betw een 51 and 199, Large shelter if boardings are more than or equal to 200 ^ 1 bench if boardings are less than 100, 2 benches if boardings are more than or equal to 100 a) Assumed on average 100 ft x 15 ft of area at a cost of $25/sq ft b) Cost of electronic sign/monitor, assumes that capital costs to provide real-time information are included in AVL system purchased by CDTA c) Weather protection prov ided for bikes d) No cost to CDTA for full-service vending. Service is dependent on vending company 's assessment of security and potential demand at the desired location. e) Assumed on average 50 ft x 6 ft of area at a cost of $25/ft Colonie Center Colvin N. Allen N. Manning Quail N. Robinson Lexington Lawnwood Lark Balltown S. Swan New Karner Pearl V. of Colonie SUNY 1 2 4

5 The station costs vary from $30,800 at Broadway where recent renovation of the sidewalks and existing shelters make unnecessary the implementation of several amenities proposed for the BRT stations to $567,000 at Colonie Center, which includes the construction of a significant transfer station in each direction and the provision of extra amenities such as restrooms. The total cost for the stations is approximately $6,352,000. This total cost will be allocated into implementation phases in section 3 of this report Roadway Improvements The proposed roadway improvements include two queue jumpers, seven bulbouts, and roadway changes to introduce the new transfer station at Colonie Center Queue jumpers A queue jumper is a short exclusive bus lane leading to a congested intersection which allows a bus to jump to the head of the queue and make it through the intersection ahead of the rest of the traffic. A few seconds of advance green time, provided by Transit Signal Priority equipment, would allow the bus to lead the platoon of traffic through the intersection, rather than being caught behind the rest of the traffic. A queue jumper can save an entire traffic light cycle for a bus at a congested intersection, leading to a potential travel time savings of 2 to 3 minutes. Two queue jumpers are proposed westbound on ROUTE 5, one at the Wolf Road intersection and one at the New Karner Road intersection. These queue jumpers and their costs are described in further detail in Deliverables L/M and I/J. The cost estimate resulted in $455,000 for the Wolf Road queue jumper and $420,000 for the New Karner Road queue jumper both figures include right-of-way costs. A shorter version of the New Karner Road queue jumper has also been studied at a lower cost including right-ofway, in case problems arise with the land acquisition and engineering design for the longer and more desirable alternative. These costs may be higher due to potential environmental remediation to the sites Bulbouts Seven bulbouts are proposed along the ROUTE 5 corridor; all of them are located in Albany between North Allen Street and Lark Street. These bulbouts were proposed where the narrow sidewalks do not provide sufficient space to hold the BRT shelters and the buses would benefit from not leaving the travel lanes to stop at the stations. In all cases, there are existing parking lanes that protect the bulbout and an extra traffic lane in the same direction to avoid a complete blockage of the street while the bus is at the station. The proposed locations are: North Allen, eastbound North Manning, eastbound Quail, eastbound and westbound Lexington, eastbound and westbound Lark, westbound 5

6 The bulbouts were estimated at an average of 50 feet long and 6 feet wide with a cost of $25 per square foot, for a total cost per bulbout of $7,500. A 20% contingency and a 15% Design and Engineering cost were added to estimate the final costs of the bulbouts at $71,000. These costs are embedded in the cost of the stations presented in the previous table Improvements at Colonie Center Two alternatives were studied at the Colonie Center station and are discussed in Deliverable L/M. The first alternative considers one bi-directional station on the northern side of ROUTE 5 and the second alternative considers two uni-directional stations, one at each side of the route. For the purpose of this phasing plan, the latter alternative has been assumed, primarily because the travel time penalty imposed to through customers in the former alternative (two to three minutes) was considered too high and it would not outweigh the convenience of only one transfer station. In the preliminary engineering phase of this study, more detailed data should be collected to study the pattern of the riders at this location to determine whether the preponderance of bus riders using the Colonie Center stop are destined to Colonie Center. If indeed many more riders are going to Colonie Center than Northway Mall, this issue may be revisited, though the time penalty to through riders will still be the most important consideration. For the uni-directional stations, two alternatives were also studied. The first one considers the vehicles stopping in a bus lane, which allows the stations to be offset with respect to one another and leaves space for a mid-block crosswalk. In this layout, there would still be two travel lanes in each direction for general traffic. The second layout proposes bus bays for the vehicles with the stations practically facing each other, which provides a better visual connection between the two sides of the street but to some extent encourages jay walking because no mid-block crosswalk could be provided. The estimated cost for the improvements required to build the two uni-directional stations is $268,000 for the first alternative and $98,000 for the second alternative, including right-of-way costs in both cases. The first alternative is assumed for the purpose of this phasing plan primarily because of the possibilities for improved pedestrian accommodations. For reference, the estimated cost for the improvements required to build the bi-directional station is $415,000, including right-of-way. None of these costs include the cost of the physical station structure itself, just the roadway costs Downtown Albany Bus Lanes Deliverable L/M discusses various options for exclusive bus lanes in downtown Albany. At this point in the process, no decision has been made on the feasibility of this potential element of the BRT system. Because of the large uncertainty involved, no cost estimate for such a facility is provided here. It is recommended that the concept be further studied for possible implementation in the longer term Vehicles In a BRT system, the buses, along with the stations, represent a key opportunity to convey a desired image and standard of service to users. Upgrading to newer and appealing buses is usually recommended when implementing a BRT route. This however, could be very expensive, as each new 40-foot bus with a more stylish and environmentfriendly design costs around $450,000. An alternative to replacing the fleet specifically 6

7 for the BRT route is to retrofit the buses with an exterior paint scheme that matches the brand design of the BRT system at an estimated cost of $5,000 per bus. In the case of CDTA, which has well-maintained and relatively new buses in its fleet, operations could start with the newest buses in the existing fleet, but it is recommended to acquire new vehicles that fit the BRT brand image at some point during Phase I. Operations of the feeder routes could also start with the existing mini-buses painted with the BRT paint-scheme approximately $3,000 for each mini-bus. Later, when the minibuses need replacement due to normal wear and tear, new vehicles can be acquired specifically for the BRT system. An average of $200,000 was estimated for new minibuses for the feeder routes. The BRT operations plan requires 10 full-size buses for the BRT express route and 21 minibuses for the feeder routes. With a standard 20% spare ratio, the total cost for new buses would be $5.4 million for the full-size buses and $5 million for the minibuses. The repainting could be accomplished for $60,000 for the full-size buses and $75,000 for the minibuses Park-and-Ride facilities One of the goals of introducing a fast, high-performance transit service to the Route 5 corridor is to bring new riders onto the system. One of the ways to improve access to the transit system is to provide park-and-ride spaces at the proposed BRT stations. In this way, people who do not live along the Route 5 corridor but who work along the corridor, particularly in downtown Albany where parking is at a premium, can drive to a station and use the BRT to reach their destination. Assuming that 10% of the expected ridership in the corridor will access the services using park-and-ride spaces, approximately 1,250 spaces are required along the corridor. These spaces are to be distributed among several stations identified in Deliverable H/K as desirable locations to introduce park-and-ride. The provision of spaces can usually be done through leasing and agreements with current owners of parking lots near the stations or through acquisition of land and construction of the facilities. The cost per space for the first option is approximately $2,000. Providing park-and-ride spaces through land acquisition and construction costs approximately $6,000 per space. While improving access to the BRT service is important, and the park-and-ride spaces must be built in a location convenient to the station, the provision of such spaces should not override the goal of improving land use in the ROUTE 5 corridor, particularly in the immediate vicinity of the stations. Thus, care must be taken in the design phase to ensure that a park-and-ride lot does not preclude a comfortable and lively pedestrian environment at the stations. 2.2 Operation Elements The operation elements of the BRT system are the actual routes. The capital costs to support this operation are described under the capital and system elements. The services 7

8 themselves will generate operational and maintenance costs, which are described in Deliverable F Annual Operating Costs and result in a total a net cost of $1.8 million per year. It is desirable for all services to start operations in Phase I; however if there are constraints from an operational cost standpoint, the feeder services could be delayed into a second phase. 2.3 System Elements AVL/GPS/Communication systems An AVL/GPS/Communication System has already been procured, purchased, and is under implementation by CDTA. This system will have the capabilities of providing the BRT service with real-time information about the operations to relay to the customers and use in the control center to improve the performance of the service. This system will also provide the support necessary to the Transit Signal Priority system Transit Signal Priority (TSP) A TSP system is also currently being implemented. That system, however, does not cover the entire ROUTE 5 corridor between SUNY and Washington stations; only 35 intersections are included in the current project. It was estimated that an extra $520,000 would be necessary to expand the TSP system to the entire corridor covering an additional 40 intersections. It is desirable to make this expansion all at once during the first implementation phase of the BRT project; however, in case there are budget constraints, the expansion could be performed in phases, giving priority to the most congested segments downtown Albany to Colonie Center, and downtown Schenectady. The segment between Colonie Center and Schenectady (Lawnwood Avenue) could be delayed for a second phase Off-vehicle fare collection Off-vehicle fare collection is a desired element in mass transit systems to decrease the boarding and alighting times and their variability. However, its implementation is expensive due to the hardware, software, and infrastructure involved. Two main alternatives to achieve off-vehicle fare collection were discussed in this project, closed stations and proof-of-payment. The latter was recommended due mainly to the high infrastructure and space requirements of the former. To implement proof-ofpayment, Ticket Vending Machines (TVM) must be deployed at least at all station locations sometimes extra TVMs are placed at popular locations such as supermarkets, office complexes, etc. and a control strategy must be put in place, typically random onboard checks. Although highly desirable, this element is expensive and it is most costeffective at places with very high ridership per station. Thus, based on cost constraints and the impact that this element may have on the actual boarding times in the corridor, the implementation of off-vehicle fare collection was recommended to be delayed to later phases of the implementation. The cost of each TVM is approximately $35,000, however if software and support costs are included, this cost per TVM increases to approximately $60,000. The total number of 8

9 TVMs for the BRT stations was estimated based on the expected ridership at each location as follows: Locations with less than 100 boardings per day are assigned 1 TVM Locations with 100 to 250 boardings per day are assigned 2 TVMs Locations with more than 250 boardings per day are assigned 3 TVMs The last stops in each direction (Washington westbound and SUNY eastbound) do not have TVMs Based on this criterion, a total of 63 TVMs are required to cover the 20 stations on the BRT express service for a total cost of $3,780, Marketing and Promotion Brand Image Marketing and promotion of the new service should accompany its implementation. This element is critical to establish the BRT brand on the market and ensure its recognition and interest by potential passengers. Including various elements of the system in the branding effort helps to convey an identity for the BRT system, making it easier for users and the public at large to recognize it and feel at ease when using it. The branding design of the system should include: - Graphic image (color scheme and logo to be used in other elements) - Short statement that characterizes the service (to be used in printed and audio information) - Signage and way-finding design using the graphic image which includes station name signs, hand-out maps, maps of the system, maps of the area, signs on the bus, and other signs at stations (i.e. restrooms, exit, crosswalk, feeder bus, etc) - Graphic image applied to vehicles, stations, fare collection media, and any other elements used for marketing (i.e. flyers, commercials, etc) Often, the marketing campaign to start this type of service includes: - Flyers for current users of the CDTA system - Flyers for the public at large - Flyers for neighboring communities (with information targeted to their nearest stop) - Public open houses with information in different communities - Newspaper and TV news articles - Audio commercials for local radio stations - TV commercials for local channels - Display of new buses on the route - Free rides on weekends previous to live operations to familiarize passengers with new system The costs of the branding design and marketing campaign vary greatly depending on the scale of the effort and they should be determined according to CDTA s knowledge of its market and budget. In terms of implementation schedule, this element should begin several months before the service starts operation but after critical decisions have been made (i.e. stations locations, bus frequencies, etc) to avoid providing information to the public that could change later. 9

10 3 Phasing Plan Based on the discussion of each element provided in the previous section, an analysis was conducted to determine which elements would be a priority, desirable, or not a priority for short, medium and long term implementation. The summary of this analysis is presented in Table 2. Element Stations Bulbouts Table 2 Short, Medium and Long Term Priorities for BRT Elements Short term 1 3 years (Phase I) (establish 20- station BRT service using existing shelters, begin construction) (with station construction) Medium term 4 6 years (Phase II) (complete construction of formal stations with unified design) (completed with station construction) Queue Jumpers Desirable Improvements at Colonie Center Vehicles Park and Ride facilities (capital leases) (additional capital leases) Long-term 7 10 years (Phase III) (construction) Mainline services Feeder routes Desirable AVL/GPS Under implementation TSP Under implementation Off-vehicle fare collection No Desirable Marketing and Promotion It is the conclusion of this conceptual design study that the essential capital and system elements to support the BRT operations are the following, in descending order of importance: Clearly identifiable stations with a rich set of amenities Brand image applied to vehicles and signage New vehicles Transit signal priority At least one queue jumper Park and ride spaces Implementation of these six elements in Phase I would allow the limited-stop BRT express service to be operated efficiently with a significant travel time advantage over the local service and without the customer confusion and complaints that arose with past efforts at limited-stop service in the corridor. If budget constraints arise, delaying the park-and-ride spaces would be recommended, which would not hold up the operations of 10

11 the BRT express service. The following sections provide more detail on the contents of the three recommended implementation phases. 3.1 Phase I (1 to 3 years) The immediate term phase would consist of as many of the six elements, mentioned above, that could be funded. The preliminary phasing plan estimates that the total cost of Phase I would be $12.0 million. Its implementation within the next three years would allow the BRT, as described in the study s Operating Plan, to be put into service. The primary new element of this plan is the BRT express route itself, but there are related changes to other routes in the corridor that will be further considered in the context of CDTA s Transit Development Plan. The BRT stations, brand image, vehicles, signal priority, a queue jumper, and park and ride spaces will provide a visible and distinctive service in the Capital District. This service will improve the overall image of transit and increase ridership. It will also provide a solid foundation for further implementation in later phases Stations It is recommended that at least some treatment be provided in all locations during Phase I to establish the 20-station BRT service. Lawnwood and Village of Colonie (Locust Street) stations would be the stations receiving the least investment in Phase I. These two stations were forecast to have much lower ridership than the other stations and depend to a much greater extent on new development to spur new ridership. Each of the 20 stations would be outfitted with the following: Shelter Static system information Station sign Map of the area Renovated sidewalks Bike rack Pedestrian lighting Emergency phone Benches Bulletin board Trash receptacles Vending machines (transfer stations Newspaper boxes only) Real-time next bus information sign However, there will be some exceptions: Public phones are recommended to be delayed at all stations except for Washington, New Karner, Colonie Center, Colvin, and Lark (the transfer stations) Renovated sidewalks and pedestrian lighting are recommended to be delayed at the five inner stations in Albany (Lexington through SUNY) since these locations already have adequate pedestrian environments. For Lawnwood and Village of Colonie it is recommended to start operations in Phase I with the station sign, pedestrian lighting, real-time next bus information, static system information, and map of the area. The rest of the amenities would be added during Phase II. 11

12 The estimated cost for implementation of all of the above, including site costs, traffic management costs during construction, design, engineering, and contingency, is approximately $4.9 million as shown in Table 3. The highlighted cells in the table represent those items that have been delayed to Phase II. Table 3 Phase I station amenities and costs PHASE I ITEM COSTS STATION Initial Contin gency Design & Engine ering Final Cost Washington Broadway EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB Boardings [boarding passengers per weekday] Small Shelter (~7' x 12')* $20,000 10% 10% $24, Medium Shelter (~12' x 18')* $25,000 10% 10% $30, Large Shelter (~12' x 30')* $30,000 10% 10% $36,000 Transfer Shelter (~ 25' x 50') $80,000 20% 15% $108, Station sign $1,000 10% 10% $1, Renovated sidewalks (a) $37,500 20% 15% $50, Pedestrian lighting $6,000 20% 15% $8, Benches ^ $400 5% 5% $ Trash receptacles $400 5% 5% $ Newspaper boxes $500 5% 5% $ Real-time next bus info (b) $5,000 20% 15% $6, Static system information $500 5% 15% $ Map of the area $1,500 5% 15% $1, Bike racks Regular $800 5% 5% $ Bike racks Large (c) $3,000 20% 10% $3, Public Phones $1,600 5% 5% $1, Emergency Phones $600 5% 5% $ Bulletin boards $500 5% 15% $ Vending machines (d) $0 0% 0% $0 1 Security camera/cc TV $4,000 10% 10% $4,800 Restrooms $20,000 20% 10% $26,000 Bulbouts $7,500 20% 15% $10,125 Site costs $30,000 20% 15% $40, Traffic management $20,000 20% 15% $27, Total $4,878,805 $137,120 $17,690 $124,550 $338,410 $348,310 $217,940 $36,900 $335,390 $501,350 $36,900 PHASE I ITEM COSTS STATION Initial Contin gency Design & Engine ering Final Cost Colonie Center Colvin EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB EB WB Boardings [boarding passengers per weekday] Small Shelter (~7' x 12')* $20,000 10% 10% $24,000 1 Medium Shelter (~12' x 18')* $25,000 10% 10% $30, Large Shelter (~12' x 30')* $30,000 10% 10% $36, Transfer Shelter (~ 25' x 50') $80,000 20% 15% $108, Station sign $1,000 10% 10% $1, Renovated sidewalks (a) $37,500 20% 15% $50, Pedestrian lighting $6,000 20% 15% $8, Benches ^ $400 5% 5% $ Trash receptacles $400 5% 5% $ Newspaper boxes $500 5% 5% $ Real-time next bus info (b) $5,000 20% 15% $6, Static system information $500 5% 15% $ Map of the area $1,500 5% 15% $1, Bike racks Regular $800 5% 5% $ Bike racks Large (c) $3,000 20% 10% $3,900 Public Phones $1,600 5% 5% $1, Emergency Phones $600 5% 5% $ Bulletin boards $500 5% 15% $ Vending machines (d) $0 0% 0% $ Security camera/cc TV $4,000 10% 10% $4,800 Restrooms $20,000 20% 10% $26,000 Bulbouts $7,500 20% 15% $10, Site costs $30,000 20% 15% $40, Traffic management $20,000 20% 15% $27, Total $4,878,805 $501,790 $357,350 $352,395 $351,955 $374,520 $245,070 $139,205 $224,380 $122,010 $115,570 Veeder/Nott N. Allen Steuben N. Manning McClellan Quail N. Robinson Lexington Lawnwood Lark Balltown S. Swan New Karner Pearl V. of Colonie SUNY 12

13 3.1.2 Brand Image and Vehicles In order for riders to be able to identify BRT vehicles and stations, and to recognize the difference between them and local services, a separate and distinctive BRT brand must be developed. For Phase I implementation, it is recommended to apply this brand to all station signs and BRT vehicles. In Phase I, it is assumed that a group of 10 to 12 vehicles will be acquired to operate the BRT express service. Ten buses are needed to operate the BRT express route up to 2 additional buses would be spares to replace any bus that needs to go out of service for repairs. The cost for 12 new buses would be $5.4 million Transit Signal Priority The NY 5 corridor is currently being outfitted with transit signal priority (TSP) equipment at 35 intersections. The BRT Conceptual Design Study recommends that all intersections in the corridor ultimately be equipped with TSP. It is recommended to implement full TSP in the corridor in the Phase I period. Thus an additional 40 intersections will be outfitted with TSP in the first 1 to 3 years of the project. The cost of adding TSP to these intersections is estimated to be $520, Queue Jumper In Phase I, it is recommended to implement a queue jumper at the Central Avenue/Wolf Road intersection in the westbound direction. The Roadway Priority Treatments report provides a significant amount of detail on this intersection, including two alternatives for how to implement the queue jumper. In conjunction with roadway alterations at the proposed Colonie Center BRT station (estimated at $270,000), this queue jumper will provide substantial travel time benefits for the BRT service. This location also provides high visibility for the BRT, helping to raise awareness of the improved transit service. The estimated cost of implementing the queue jumper at Wolf Road, including the construction of a new right-turn lane, is $455,000. This project will serve as a prototype for future queue jumpers in the corridor and along other state highways in New York Park and Ride Within Phase I, it is recommended to provide up to 250 park-and-ride spaces, some 20% of the ultimate total. Due to the lower cost and faster implementation of the capital leasing alternative over land acquisition and construction, it is recommended that the Phase I spaces are provided through the former. The estimated cost of providing these spaces through capital leasing ($2,000 per space) is $500,000. These spaces should be built/leased at the following stations, in descending order of importance: Balltown Colonie Center Washington (Travel Center in Schenectady) North Allen McClellan 13

14 3.2 Phase II (4 to 6 years) After the initial implementation of BRT in Phase I, the second implementation phase will include further investments in all six of the essential components. The total estimated cost for Phase II is $3.5 million. The expenditures for the individual elements in Phase II are described below. Stations All of the rest of the station investments will be made in Phase II. This will include all of the amenities that were delayed from Phase I (as listed above). The total cost for station investments in Phase II is estimated to be $1.5 million Vehicles The minibuses that operate the feeder services to the BRT corridor will be painted during this phase to help to tie them to the BRT service. The exact timing of this painting will be determined by operational considerations. These decisions will be made in the context of the Transit Development Plan. The painting cost will be approximately $75,000. Queue jumper Assuming that the Wolf Road queue jumper is successfully implemented in Phase I, a second queue jumper at New Karner Road in the westbound direction will be implemented in Phase II. The estimated cost for this project is $420,000. Park and ride An additional 30% (375 spaces) of the total park-and-ride spaces will be provided in Phase II. The estimated cost to provide these spaces is $1.5 million, assuming that half of the spaces would be provided through capital leasing and half through land acquisition and construction. It is not assumed that all spaces could be provided through capital leasing due to lack of supply of desirable spaces near the corridor. However, as redevelopment around some of the stations occurs, it may be possible to negotiate with developers to lower the construction cost of park-and-ride spaces for CDTA. Some of these spaces would be added to the locations listed for Phase I, but some will be constructed near the next set of priority stations: Lawnwood, New Karner, and Colvin. These Phase II investments will bring the BRT system close to full implementation. The travel time savings due to TSP and the queue jumpers will be able to be fully realized, leading to operating cost savings and increased ridership. The stations will be complete, enhancing the customer experience. 3.3 Phase III (7 to 10 years) The final phase of BRT implementation in the NY 5 corridor includes three elements: new vehicles for the feeder routes, additional park-and-ride spaces, and off-vehicle fare collection. The total estimated cost of these elements is $11.3 million. The BRT feeder plan, described in a separate report, estimates that 21 minibuses will be required to operate the feeder services recommended to complement the BRT express route. With a 20% spare ratio and an assumed cost of $200,000, the total cost will be $5.0 million. In the earlier phases, it was assumed that the feeders will be operated by vehicles already in the CDTA fleet that could be repainted with a BRT-related theme if so desired. For the third implementation phase, it is assumed that the remaining 625 park-and-ride spaces will be provided adding to the stations already mentioned in the previous two phases plus the Village of Colonie station. Using the same unit costs as for earlier phases, 14

15 the total cost of providing the spaces (half through capital leasing and half through land acquisition and construction) would total some $2.5 million. The new element of BRT introduced in Phase III is off-vehicle fare collection. The main benefit of this element, as described above, is that it speeds up the boarding process, allowing passengers to board at both doors, bypassing the time-consuming farebox. This is a costly element, as it would require either ticket vending machines (TVMs) to be installed at all BRT stations, or barrier-entry stations to be built at selected locations. Some or all of these barrier-entry stations would need to be attended by a fare collector, significantly raising the operating cost. TVMs would be used if a proof-of-payment policy were instituted. In this case, riders would need to show some proof of payment to roving fare inspectors either a pass or a valid ticket. It was estimated that some 63 TVMs would be needed among the 20 stations to handle the forecast passenger volume efficiently. The estimated cost of installing the recommended number of TVMs is $3.8 million. There would also be a significant operating and maintenance cost associated with the TVMs, since it would be vitally important to keep them in working order. Barrier-entry stations would be built only at the highest volume stations, such as Pearl and Lark. At other stations, riders would continue to use the farebox. The rationale here is that at lower volume stations, there would not be enough of a reduction in dwell time to justify the expense of building the barrier station and staffing it with a fare collector. The cost of building the barrier-entry stations has not been estimated. It should be noted that as an alternative to a barrier-entry station (at a location such as Pearl Street), CDTA could assign a fare inspector to the station during the afternoon peak period to allow passengers with Swiper passes to board through the rear door. This option would capture much of the dwell time benefit of a barrier-entry station without the significant capital cost. While off-vehicle fare collection is an important element of BRT in many applications and does help to distinguish it from regular local bus services, it is not considered an essential element for the NY 5 corridor. Once the rest of the recommended BRT system is put in place, the best approach to off-vehicle fare collection can be determined. At that point, a decision can be made whether the benefits would justify the cost. Continued growth in the use of Swiper passes may make the need for expensive off-vehicle fare collection systems less important. 3.4 Cost summary of phasing plan Table 4 shows the capital costs associated with each phase of the implementation plan presented above. The table shows that the total capital costs for the project in the long run are approximately $27 million. The total cost was divided into the three phases of implementation described above. The first phase includes the majority of the amenities at the station, the bulbouts, the queue jumper at Wolf Road, the uni-directional stations at Colonie Center, 20% of the park-andride spaces, the TSP expansion, and the acquisition of new 40-foot buses for the BRT express service. The cost of this phase would be approximately $12.0 million. 15

16 Phase II includes the remaining amenities at the stations, the queue jumper at New Karner Road, 30% of the park-and-ride spaces, and the paint scheme of the feeder buses to amount approximately $3.5 million. Phase III consists of adding 50% of the total park-and-ride spaces, implementing the offvehicle fare collection system, and replacing the feeder vehicles at an approximate cost of $11.3 million. Table 4 Phasing plan for elements with capital costs associated Item Total Phase I Phase II Phase III Stations (a) $6,352,000 $4,879,000 $1,473,000 Queue Jumpers Wolf Road (b) $455,000 $455,000 New Karner - Long alt (b) $420,000 $420,000 Improvements at Colonie Ctr Uni-directional stations (b) $268,000 $268,000 Park and Ride (c) 20% 30% 50% Capital Leasing $1,500,000 $500,000 $375,000 $625,000 Land acquisition and Construction $3,000,000 $1,125,000 $1,875,000 TSP (d) Phase I $520,000 $520,000 Vehicles Replacement 40-foot $5,400,000 $5,400,000 Painting minibuses $75,000 $75,000 Replacement Minibuses $5,000,000 $5,000,000 Off-vehicle fare collection $3,780,000 $3,780,000 Total $26,770,000 $12,022,000 $3,468,000 $11,280,001 Notes (a) Includes Contingency, Design & Engineering, Bulbouts, Site costs, and Traffic Management costs. See Stations table for details. (b) Includes 20% Contingency, 15% Design & Engineering, and ROW cost. Does not include environmental costs. (c) Assumes 1,250 required spaces, including land acquisition and construction costs. (d) Cost of expanding TSP to entire corridor beyong what is currently under implementation. 16

17 4 Organizational Responsibilities The implementation of the elements discussed above calls for the involvement of and coordination between various organizations, institutions, and private parties. Table 5 shows the responsible organizations for the implementation of each element as well as other parties that would be affected by the project and should be involved during the planning, design, and implementation of the elements. Naturally, CDTA has the primary responsibility for all elements of the BRT implementation. Table 5 Organizational responsibilities Element Responsible Parties Other parties involved/affected Stations CDTA, CDTC, City of Land owners, neighbors. Albany, Village of Colonie, Town of Colonie, City of Schenectady. Bulbouts CDTA, CDTC, NYSDOT, City of Albany Queue Jumpers CDTA, NYSDOT, Village of Land owners. Colonie, Town of Colonie. Improvements at Colonie CDTA, CDTC, Town of Land owners. Center Colonie. Vehicles CDTA Mainline services CDTA Users, Community. Feeder routes CDTA Users, Community. AVL/GPS CDTA TSP CDTA, NYSDOT, City of Albany, City of Schenectady Off-vehicle fare collection CDTA Marketing and Promotion CDTA Users, Community. 17