Why Light Rail Was Selected for the Durham- Orange Corridor. Orange County Board of County Commissioners February 16, 2017

Transcription

1 Why Light Rail Was Selected for the Durham- Orange Corridor Orange County Board of County Commissioners February 16, 2017

2 Presentation Overview Matching Transit Technology to a Particular Corridor Key Travel Data for Durham and Orange Counties LRT & BRT performance in the USA Transit & the Environment Discussion 2

3 3 Data Source: TJCOG, Nov 2016

4 Lessons from Seattle-Tacoma and Minneapolis-St Paul Multiple transit providers Several modes of transit The right transit tool differs from one corridor to another 4

5 Minneapolis-St. Paul metro: 3.5 million people Bus Bus Rapid Transit Light Rail Commuter Rail 5

6 Seattle-Tacoma metro: 3.7 million people Bus Bus Rapid Transit Light Rail Commuter Rail 6 Also: Ferries

7 How These Communities Decided Which Mode Goes Where 7

8 Key To Travel Markets: Density of Jobs and Housing Jobs + Housing Density >>> Key Data Measure: Trips Per Acre 8

9 Mode Profile: Conventional Bus Where It Works: All major roadways, arterials, collector streets, and some neighborhood streets Demand for service every 20 to 60 minutes at rush hour Trip intensities of trips/acre Operating Characteristics: Operates in mixed traffic with cars Stop spacing: every ¼ mile to every ½ mile Typically 40-foot bus Avg speed at rush hour: 6-12 mph, depending on traffic conditions 9

10 Mode Profile: Bus Rapid Transit Where It Works: Major roadways and urban arterials within bus-only lanes, with limited travel in mixed traffic. 60-foot articulated buses do not fit on neighborhood streets and some collector streets. Demand for service every 10 to 30 minutes at rush hour Trip intensities of trips/acre Operating Characteristics: Operates mostly in dedicated bus lanes Stop spacing: every ½ mile to every 1 mile Articulated buses for busway-only service, 40-ft bus for buses that use part of busway Avg speed at rush hour: ~14 mph in recent USA installations 10

11 Mode Profile: Light Rail Transit Where It Works: Dedicated tracks in separate right-of-way or rail-only segment of major roadways. Demand for service every 5 to 15 minutes at rush hour Trip intensities of trips/acre Operating Characteristics: Operates on dedicated tracks out of traffic, limited lane sharing with buses/first responder vehicles Stop spacing: every ½ mile to every 2 miles 90-foot cars that can be joined together in trains Avg speed at rush hour: ~21 mph in recent USA installations 11

12 Mode Profile: Commuter Rail Where It Works: Only mainline railroad corridors Demand for service every 20 to 60 minutes at rush hour, limited or no off-peak or weekend service Serving long-haul trips for large regular workday employment market to dense job center in city CBD Operating Characteristics: Shares tracks with freight, Amtrak trains Stop spacing: every 2 miles to 5 miles Typically 3 or more coach cars hauled by diesel locomotive Avg speed at rush hour: mph 12

13 Measuring Trips Per Acre in Durham and Orange Counties 13

14 Key To Travel Markets: Trip Intensity Map of Triangle (TJCOG) Trips Per Acre by Location (see handout) 14 Data Source: DCHC-MPO, CAMPO, TJCOG Map by GoTriangle

15 D-O LRT Corridor Trips Per Acre, 2040 Gateway: 98 Patterson Place: 104 UNC Hospital: 385 Ninth St: 181 Duke/VA: 236 Downtown Durham: 209 NCCU: 160 MLK/South Square: Woodmont: 70

16 North Hills, Raleigh- Projected 2040 Trip Intensity: 75 trips/acre Durham-Orange LRT will have 11 stations with 100+ trips/acre in Data Source: TJCOG

17 The Major Trip Generators in the Durham-Orange Corridor Are Strongly Related to Each Other 17

18 Transit Onboard Survey, Durham & Orange Counties, Data Source: 2014 Transit Onboard Survey, RSG, Inc.

19 Transit Onboard Survey, Durham & Orange Counties, Data Source: 2014 Transit Onboard Survey, RSG, Inc.

20 Transit Onboard Survey, Durham & Orange Counties, 2014 More than 50 trips between two Travel Market Places 20 Data Source: 2014 Transit Onboard Survey, RSG, Inc.

21 Transit Onboard Survey, Durham & Orange Counties, 2014 More than 50 trips between two Travel Market Places 21 Data Source: 2014 Transit Onboard Survey, RSG, Inc.

22 The reasons the Durham- Orange corridor is the largest transit market in the Triangle 22

23 What Drives Transit Ridership Outcomes Growth Patterns Policy Choices Level of Service Provided 23

24 Key Durham & Orange Decisions That Made the D-O LRT Corridor 1789 UNC founded 1855 NC Railroad begins operation Greensboro-Goldsboro 1892 Duke University moves to Durham from Trinity, NC 1910 NCCU founded 1974 Jordan Lake completed, limiting access to Chapel Hill from East, pushing future traffic towards NC UNC and Duke Hospital designated Level 1 Trauma Centers. Only 6 such centers in North Carolina, but 2 along D-O LRT corridor 1980s Orange County & municipalities adopt Rural Buffer; Durham creates Rural Tier 1988 Interstate 40 built, limiting crossing points between Durham & Chapel Hill 24

25 25 25

26 Why BRT Was a Good Fit for Wake County, and LRT Was a Good Fit for Durham-Orange Project Average Trips Per Acre- All Station Zones Durham-Orange LRT North-South BRT Wake BRT (All lines) 68 Project Average Trips Per Acre-Remove Downtowns/Colleges Durham-Orange LRT 53.4 North-South BRT 34 Wake BRT (All lines)

27 Policy Choices FARES Chapel Hill Transit: $0 GoDurham: $1.00 GoRaleigh: $1.25 GoCary: $

28 Transit Service Hours By Metro Area Transit service revenue hours per urban resident Seattle, WA Durham-Orange Denver-Aurora, CO Portland, OR-WA Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Salt Lake City, UT Austin, TX Cleveland, OH Charlotte, NC-SC Virginia Beach, VA Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL Sacramento, CA Kansas City, MO-KS Urban Wake Nashville,TN Indianapolis, IN 2x hours of Urban Wake 3x hours of Urban Wake Source: 2012 National Transit Database for Ferry services excluded Bus service All other transit services 28

29 Recent Transit Ridership Durham-Orange: ~72,000 boardings per day (Chapel Hill Transit, GoDurham, Duke Transit, GoTriangle Durham/Orange routes) Wake County: ~38,000 boardings per day (GoRaleigh, GoCary, NCSU Wolfline, GoTriangle Wake routes) Durham and Orange have roughly half the population of Wake County, but generate nearly double the transit ridership 29

30 Transit Usage by Metro Area Annual ridership per urban resident Seattle, WA Durham-Orange Portland, OR-WA Denver-Aurora, CO Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Austin, TX Cleveland, OH Salt Lake City, UT Charlotte, NC-SC Virginia Beach, VA Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL Urban Wake Kansas City, MO-KS Nashville,TN Sacramento, CA Indianapolis, IN Source: 2012 National Transit Database for Ferry services excluded. Unlinked passenger trips

31 Key Take-aways Durham & Orange counties have been investing in transit at a higher level for a long period of time, and have built a large transit market responding to their compact growth choices and job centers Wake County is investing to catch up to Durham- Orange, using a plan and technologies that complements their more suburban growth choices Different transit technology choices can match transit markets in the different counties, and still become a fully integrated system 31

32 LRT and BRT rarely provide a similar type of service. BRT is a term used for many things. BRT Guangzhou, China BRT Seattle, WA 32

33 Travel Speeds of Light Rail and BRT in the USA, Projects Built or Added to Since 2000 BRT LRT Average Length 8.8 miles 18.5 miles Average Speed 13.9 mph 21.3 mph Why Is Speed Important? In a large, continuing study of upward mobility based at Harvard, commuting time has emerged as the single strongest factor in the odds of escaping poverty. The longer an average commute in a given county, the worse the chances of low-income families there moving up the ladder. Transportation Emerges as Crucial to Escaping Poverty, New York Times, May 7, 2015 (see BRT/LRT Performance characteristics handout) 33 Data: Transit agency timetables and websites

34 Bus transfer access Work trip to Duke 1. Take rerouted Chapel Hill Transit Route T from Northwoods to Gateway Station 2. Take D-O LRT to Duke Hospital 34

35 35 Operating Costs of Bus & Light Rail

36 Economic Development & Rail Rail sends signal of permanence because buses can be re-routed 36

37 Projected Economic Impact of D-O LRT Add $4.7 Billion in economic output in Durham and Orange Counties each year Add $600 Million in additional economic impact statewide Estimated 750 of direct construction related jobs, + over 1,000 indirect construction related jobs Add $175 Million in new tax revenue (per year) due to economic impacts 37 *Development Planning & Financing Group (DPFG), 2015

38 BRT and LRT both offer environmental benefits. LRT benefits demonstrate increasing efficiency with greater use, just like operating cost. 38

39 Emissions of Transit Modes Per Passenger Mile 39 Data: USDOT, 2010

40 Emissions Benefits Facilitated By Compact, Focused Growth More walking means fewer short vehicle trips, fewer cold starts trips Each 1% of short-trip mileage reduced typically reduces air emissions by 2-3%. 40 Todd Littman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute

41 Mixed-Use Developments Reduce Traffic Mixed use generates far less traffic than single - use suburban development Experiences of 6 large - scale US Suburban Mixed Use Developments: 30% Internal Capture On average, 15% of external trips by foot, bike, transit Thus 45% of trips put no strain on external road network Franklin Street: 1997: 19,000 cars/day 2015: 14,000 cars/day 41 R. Ewing, R. Cervero, et al Traffic Generated by Mixed-Use Developments. Journal of Urban Planning and Development;.

42 Public Health Benefits Facilitated Before and-after surveys of Charlotte, North Carolina LRT passengers found: Body Mass Index (BMI) declined an average of 1.18 kg/m2 compared to non-lrt users in the same area over a month period, equivalent to a loss of 6.45 lbs for a person who is 5'5. By Rail LRT users were also 81% less likely to become obese over time.. 42 MacDonald, et al. 2010

43 Summary Durham-Orange corridor is already a large, robust transit market, in a high-growth metropolitan area. LRT can provide capacity to meet current & future demand in a way BRT cannot LRT supports the compact growth & economic development strategies of Durham/Orange that preserve farms/forests, reduce emissions LRT will provide faster service and more opportunity/social mobility than BRT over 17 miles LRT will provide lower cost per passenger trip 43

44 Review: 2011 AA Document vs Dec 2016 FEIS/ROD to NCCU 15,350 System-wide trips: 148,000 44

45 LRT Vehicle Capacity: ~180 passengers per car Standard Bus Capacity: ~50 passengers per bus

46 What We ve Learned Since 2011 AA GoPass use increased LRT ridership by making transit feel free If BRT had been chosen, ridership would have risen for BRT, too Lower bus capacity + Higher BRT ridership = More buses/higher operating cost Introduces new, significant traffic impacts Then, A Tough Choice: BRT in mixed traffic slower, less reliable service Spending more on capital cost to add up to 40 bridges LRT remains a better fit for high-demand corridor 46

47 Discussion