Transit on the SC Rail Corridor

Transcription

1 Transit on the SC Rail Corridor Framing the Debate Premature Question: Rail or BRT? Rather Transit or no Transit Rail AND BRT more likely Save the Rails becomes Save the ROW for now Unified Corridors Investment Study (UCIS) will address relative merits of Rail, BRT, or none of the above on Hwy 1, Soquel, rail corridor Dogma and Data: I m 98% confident rail is the call

2 The Big Picture: Setting the Stage Population is Increasing Land use and transport are inseparable GHG emissions must be addressed We re drowning in cars We ve got this nifty rail corridor Can SC County make use of BRT or Rail? Can we afford it? Can we afford not to?

3 CA GHG Reduction Goals

4 Density Maps (Santa Cruz) 250k people, 1/2 in mid-county Fewer people, but linear settlement pattern, high density close to rail line. (Densities comparable to Seattle/Oakland/Portland)

5 Density Maps ( Fresno) 972,000 people in picture Lots of people, but low density and not a linear pattern Hard to make rail work except for very short distance

6 Santa Cruz County Population Growth Projected 350, , , , , ,000 50, Registered Vehicles Licensed Drivers Population 2040

7 General thoughts on BRT and Rail BRT cheaper upfront, more expensive operating cost per passenger-mile Buses don t last as long More drivers needed (buses can t change length) Not as efficient, even if electric BRT is often used as an intermediate step to rail (Van Ness Ave. in SF under construction right now) Most commonly used where there is no rail in the first place (Van Ness planned with eventual rail in mind) few exceptions Considerations: Capacity, Commitment, Constancy

8 Specific Observations I: Capacity Branch Line corridor is wide enough for one set of tracks (or paved lane) and a 12 to 16 foot wide trail. Transit on the corridor needs to have significant capacity to be worthwhile. Fewer trains are required to provide capacity compared to BRT. (1 rail vehicle = 2 buses, 3 LRVs joined together = 6 buses) Two way traffic at capacity impractical for buses because of frequent passing (as little as 2.5 min) One way BRT service inadequate

9 Examples on Existing Rail Corridors SMART Rail 43 mi $548M Rail + Trail $12.7M/mile (1 track) DMU technology LA Orange Line BRT On rail corridor $27M/mile (2-way) 30k boardings/day near capacity Similar costs in Eugene Turning rail line into BRT not any cheaper than upgrading and using the rails

10 Specific Observations II: Commitment Rail typically generates more investment along lines than bus/brt routes, more permanent BRT generates more investment and ridership than standard bus lines that it replaces, not as much as rail. Both BRT and rail increase ridership over replaced bus lines, rail usually more.

11 Specific Observations III: Constancy BRT can leave rail corridor, LRV can t But: Dedicated ROW = reliable, predictable transit; You can bet your job on it As soon as BRT leaves ROW, becomes subject to traffic and unreliable Mixing reliable and unreliable with same vehicles = unreliable Need separate vehicles on streets and ROW to maintain reliability on ROW Diminished BRT advantage

12 Typical Efficiencies Source: James Strickland,

13 Noise issues

14 Sound measurement/vta

15 One car crosses the tracks

16 SMART R+T near Santa Rosa

17 LRV system in Potsdam, Germany 2-way traffic in 18 feet

18 Costs: None of this is cheap #1 Priority: Save the Transit Corridor! SMART cost (opens this year): Average cost of new corridor construction: $80M/mile for LRT, $50M/mile for BRT. Yikes! $556M/43 miles = $12.7M/mile Includes track upgrades, vehicles, signals, stations, part of bike/ped trail Our system would be about 20 miles from Westside SC to Watsonville ~$1B to widen Hwy 1 all the way to Watsonville

19 Cheaper solutions Rail on existing tracks Same or cheaper than converting tracks to BRT Higher capacity and commitment Cheaper to run BRT on Soquel w/o dedicated ROW VelociRFTA example (Aspen/Glenwood, Colorado) 150 buses/day, 826k riders in 2014, ev. 12 min. $48M capital cost, 41 miles, no guideway Lower population than SC County (80k vs 270k) Fewer traffic issues, prioritized signals BRT on freeway median (unknown cost, in study)

20 OCS Free Electric Rail Transit Vehicles Battery Electric (think Tesla) Diesel Electric Hybrid (think Chevy Volt) OCS Free: without overhead wires

21 In summary Build the Trail Save the ROW! Complete the UCIS Explore Options Imagine how ROW transit can improve your life Thanks for listening!