IMPROVEMENT CONCEPTS for the South Novato Transit Hub Study Prepared by: January 11, 2010 DKS Associates With Wilbur Smith Associates
IMPROVEMENT CONCEPTS Chapter 1: Introduction 1. INTRODUCTION The strategic plan for improving bus patron access and transfers in Novato consists of upgrading three current transit stop facilities, rather than investment in a single major transit center. This strategy best serves bus riders, would involve virtually no major adverse changes to current bus routings, and would involve minimal impact on land uses. Improvements would be made in the following three areas: the existing Downtown Transit Center on Redwood Boulevard at Grant Ave, stops near the Rowland Boulevard and Highway 101 interchange, and stops near the Igancio/Bel Marin Keys and Highway 101 interchange. These are existing high use stops (> 100 boarding a day) that serve multiple bus lines and have impediments that limit the local bus to regional bus transfers (Table 1). A brief overview of current problems at the bus stops in these areas is provided in this introduction section. This is followed by a description of the proposed improvements at each of the three bus hub locations. Figure 1 - Improvement Site Locations Downtown Transit Center, Redwood Blvd at Grant Ave This location was selected because it is the existing transfer location in the City of Novato. The site is well located with respect to passenger destinations and works well for bus routing, but needs to be upgraded to meet current standards and allow additional transfer opportunities. The current Downtown Transit Center has poor sight lines for passenger safety and cannot accommodate loading two buses simultaneously southbound or northbound. Page 2
IMPROVEMENT CONCEPTS Chapter 1: Introduction Rowland Interchange Regional and Local Stops This location was selected because of the proximity to passenger destinations including the Vintage Oaks shopping center. The walking distances from the Southbound bus pad stop to the local stops on Rowland Boulevard are longer than desired and make transfers difficult. The regional stop is 850 feet (five minute walk) from the local eastbound stop and 550 feet (three minute walk) from the westbound Rowland Boulevard local bus stops and separated from them by a traffic signal. The southbound bus pad stop for Highway 101 buses is located adjacent to shrubs and is not well connected to the area sidewalk system. Near the northbound freeway bus pas, high traffic volumes and difficult pedestrian crossings create unsafe conditions for passengers needing to walk between local and regional stops and destinations. The northbound and southbound bus stops for Highway 101 buses are located on the north side of the interchange, while the sidewalk on the freeway overcrossing is located on the south side. The high volume northbound off-ramp dual right-turn movement creates a very unsafe conflict for pedestrian crossings of Rowland Boulevard. Ignacio/Bel Marin Keys Regional and Local Stops This location was selected because it is the southern connection point between local at regional transit routes in Novato and current site limitations require local buses to make significant detours to allow connections. The unusual configuration of this interchange, combined with the high volumes of turning traffic, have resulted in very inefficient bus routings for local buses connecting with trunk Highway 101 bus services. In order to minimize transfer walking distances, local buses connecting between Nave Drive and Ignacio Boulevard divert one mile north on Highway 101 and back (another mile) to serve the freeway bus pad stops. During peak traffic congestion this diversion onto the freeway impairs schedule reliability of the local bus service. When traffic is moving well on Highway 101, the current divertion takes an additional five minutes, when Highway 101 is congested, the divertion can take 10 minutes or more. This longer running time adversely impacts schedule reliability on Routes 49 and 51. In addition to the access issues, there are pedestrian safety issues at the Bel Marin Keys northbound on-ramp intersection where the current northbound bus pad stop is located. Table 1 Passenger and Vehicle Activity at Improvement Locations Location Rowland Interchange Ignacio/Bel Marin Keys Interchange Downtown Transit Center Redwood/Grant Passengers per day Routes Buses per Weekday Buses per Weekend ~250 51, 52, 56, 70, 71, 80 81 82 ~640 ~1200 49, 51, 52, 54, 70, 71, 75, 80 51, 52, 58, 70, 71, 80, 101 183 94 185 119 Page 3
2. DOWNTOWN TRANSIT CENTER IMPROVEMENT CONCEPTS Chapter 2: Downtown Transit Center The location and footprint of the current transit center works well and should be retained. Minor changes to the bus stop area, which is located in the median of Redwood Boulevard, are suggested to allow loading of two buses simultaneously in the northbound and southbound direction. One of these loading positions should be for an articulated bus. Bus entry and exit to the transit center would remain unchanged, with a single exception. Realignment of the pedestrian crossing of Redwood Boulevard, which also provides access to the transit center, is proposed to provide a straight path. Figure 2 describes the concept. The transit center shelter design would be upgraded to provide better security and traffic lines of sight. The design motif and details of passenger amenities for the new shelter would be defined with input from the local community, a next step in the planning process. The costs for the upgrade will depend on these yet to be defined elements of the project, but probably would be near $3 million. Figure 2 - Downtown Novato Transit Center 1. Extend platforms to allow for loading of multiple buses and articulated vehicles 4.. Provide 15 bus by-pass lane 2. Improve safety include better pedestrian sight lines 3. Upgrade passenger amenities Page 4
3. ROWLAND BOULEVARD BUS PADS The Rowland Interchange Bus Pad facilities are split into southbound and northbound elements. Passenger transfers can be accomplished between local and Highway 101 bus services on either side of the interchange. For passengers walking to the freeway bus pad stops, however, they must walk across the overcrossing for either their initial or their return trip. This project proposes to improve pedestrian safety, patron security and local and regional transfer convenience to address current problems. Figure 3 - Overview of Rowland Boulevard Interchange 2) Northbound: Improve Pedestrian Safety 2 1 1) Southbound: Relocate Westbound Local Stop to Improve Transfer Connections Southbound - The transfer distance between the southbound freeway bus pad stop and the local bus stops, which are located west of Redwood Boulevard are longer than desired 850 feet to the eastbound local stop and 550 feet for the westbound local bus stop. Transfer patrons are also delayed by the Redwood Boulevard traffic signal, which separates the local and freeway bus pad stops. Page 5
While it would be desirable to move both local stops closer to the southbound freeway bus pad stop, there is no safe place to relocate the eastbound local stop. The westbound local bus stop, however, would be moved nearer to the southbound off-ramp (150 feet) and provide a shorter walking distance for patrons of either bus routes 51 and 52 who wish to transfer to the regional buses at the bus pad stop, as shown in Figure 4. As a result of moving the westbound local bus stop the stop for the Southbound Route 58 which currently stops at the farside of the Rowland Blvd/Redwood Blvd intersection along Rowland Blvd, would be discontinued. This is a Golden Gate Transit commute Route with four southbound trips in the morning and three northbound trips in the evening and relatively few boarding in this location. The high volume of right-turns from the southbound off-ramp and the high volume of right-turns from Rowland Boulevard to northbound Redwood Boulevard can cause potential conflicts with buses stopped at the relocated bus stop on Rowland Blvd. Therefore, the traffic signal placed may need to employ a queue jump for departing buses. A paved 8 foot sidewalk is proposed to connect the southbound freeway bus pad stop with the local stops and the sidewalk system west of Redwood Boulevard. The new curb and gutter for the walkway along the north side of Rowland, would be sited to maintain a 10-foot shoulder lane to allow buses to stop at the new local stop without impeding the flow of westbound Rowland traffic. Preliminary investigation indicates that there is sufficient room to make the sidewalk improvements without additional right of way. The last improvement would be to create a fence to separate the freeway bus pad shelter area from the adjacent shrubs. The new fence and trimming the shrubs will increase visibility in the area and reduce security concerns. The cost for these improvements would be about $150,000. Northbound The improvements at the northbound freeway bus pad stop would primarily be focused on pedestrian improvements at the intersection of Rowland Boulevard and northbound freeway on/off ramps. The improvements would redirect the high volume right turn off-ramp traffic movement away from the crosswalk across Rowland Boulevard (Figure 5) and create a pedestrian refuge island. This will create a safer crossing for passengers needing to use the pedestrian sidewalk on the south side of the Rowland overpass. The dual northbound right-turn movement would continue to be signal controlled. Walking distances between the northbound bus pad stop and the westbound local stop is about 350 feet (2 min walk) and the distance between the northbound bus pad stop and the eastbound stop is about 450 feet (2.5 min walk). The current locations of the eastbound and westbound bus stops are outside of the vehicle traffic flow and are very convenient for patrons who are visiting the adjacent commercial developments and transferring to the regional northbound bus stop. Page 6
The cost for this improvement would be about $600,000. Figure 4 - Southbound Improvements at Rowland Boulevard Page 7
Figure 5 - Northbound Improvements at Rowland Blvd Page 8
4. IGNACIO/BEL MARIN KEYS BUS PADS Due to the lack of conveniently located local bus stops on both the east and west side of this freeway interchange, the local bus Route 49/51 makes a circuitous deviation onto Highway 101 to service the freeway bus pads and allow for local to regional transfers. On the east side, there is not a convenient southbound stop on Nave Drive for passenger transfers and the northbound local stop is located 1,000 feet south of the northbound freeway bus pad stop. On the west side, there are no bus stops on Ignacio Boulevard east of Alameda del Prado, which is 1,500 feet from the southbound on-ramp. Figure 6 shows the circuitous routings for local Routes 49, and 51and their relationships to Highway 101 bus services (Routes 54, 70, 71, 75 and 80). On weekdays, Route 49 and Route 51 buses are interlined (connected together). Northbound Route 49 buses on Nave Drive connect to northbound 51 buses on Ignacio Boulevard via the northbound Bel Marin Keys Highway 101 on-ramp, a U-Turn at Highway 37 s interchange, southbound Highway 101, the Enfrente Road off-ramp and a right-turn onto Ignacio Boulevard. Southbound Ignacio Boulevard Route 51 buses destined for southbound Nave Drive connect via an even more circuitous path. They crossover Highway 101, turn right onto Nave Drive, right again to the northbound on-ramp, make a U-Turn at the Highway 101 interchange, travel southbound on Highway 101, exit to Enfrente Road, turn left onto Ignacio Boulevard, cross the freeway for the second time and then make a right-turn onto Nave Drive. All of this circuitous travel is to co-locate local and express bus stops to facilitate passenger transfers. The proposed Southbound and Northbound improvements would eliminate the need for local Route 49 and 51 buses to loop north to the Highway 37 interchange and would therefore reduce travel times and improve schedule reliability. Figure 9 describes the more direct routing. Southbound - The proposed improvement is to relocate the Enfrente Road southbound freeway bus stop to the Ignacio Boulevard intersection and reactivate the westbound local bus stop nearside of the Enfrente Road intersection (Figure 7). Reactivation of the eastbound local bus stop near Enfrente Road is not recommended due to the high volume of off-ramp traffic and pedestrian safety concerns. The relocation of the southbound freeway bus stop on Enfrente Road has two complications. There are class 2 bike lanes striped on either side of the roadway and there is a fire station located midblock in the vicinity of the proposed improvements. Currently there is a 50-foot roadway section between curbs. To place the southbound Enfrente Road bus stop near the intersection, some widening may be required in proximity of the intersection of Enfrente Road and Ignacio Boulevard. A bus pad would be constructed along the existing easterly curb. The bike lane would merge into the bus pad and extend to the corner. The striping of the intersection would be changed such that the existing southbound lanes would be configured such that lane number 1 would become a dedicated left turn lane and lane number 2 would be a through right turn lane. The bus stop would be available for bikes as well as buses. Pavement buttons would be installed along with DO NOT BLOCK driveway markings for the fire station driveway area. Due to right turning traffic volumes at the intersection, there is a potential for the turning vehicles Page 9
trapping the regional buses and the US 101 buses at the new bus stop. One solution to this problem would be to add a queue jump phase at the intersection which would allow regional buses to merge onto Hwy 101 prior to allowing the vehicles to make a right turn. An extinguishable no-right turn sign would be added to the traffic signal. The existing stop on Enfrente located about 400-feet north of the Enfrente- Ignacio Intersection would be kept in service to only serve the proposed Route 58 bus and the weekend Route 52 southbound bus because these two routes turn left at Ignacio Boulevard from Enfrente Road and would be unable to use the new southbound stop. These southbound weekend buses, however, could make needed transfer connections on the eastside of the interchange near the northbound off-ramp. Figure 6 - Local and Regional Bus Service at Ignacio Blvd and Bel Marin Keys Blvd. Page 10
Figure 7 - Pedestrian and Bus Stop Improvements at Enfrente Road and Ignacio Page 11
IMPROVEMENT CONCEPTS Chapter 4: Ignacio/Bel Marin Keys The resulting transfer distances between the southbound bus pad stop and the westbound local stop would be 150 feet. Connection distances to the eastbound local stop on Ignacio Boulevard would be 600 feet and 900 feet to the northbound Alameda Del Prado bus stop. The cost for this concept would be about $100,000. Northbound - The proposed concept is to locate the local and Highway 101 freeway bus stops near each other as shown in Figure 8. The current distances between the northbound freeway pad stop and the local southbound stop and the local northbound stop are 1,500 feet and 1,000 feet respectively. This concept would entail developing a nearside stop at the ramp terminal for the northbound off-ramp and relocating the current southbound local stop north along Nave Drive so that it would be a farside stop at the NB 101 off ramp intersection. This would place the local and regional stops in close proximity. The new bus stop on southbound Nave Drive would serve the local bus routes, 49 and 51. A new island would be constructed at the ramp end to divide the off ramp traffic and provide room for two buses at the new regional stop at the ramp end. The island would also provide sufficient length along Nave Drive to accommodate the bus stop, and crosswalk The relocated crosswalk will serve transfer transit patrons between the regional and local buses that require crossing Nave Drive. A bus activated signal phase is recommended to assist buses exiting northbound onto Nave Drive. The location of the regional bus stop provides a favorable amount of safe stopping distance between the end of the bus stop and the freeway off ramp. The current STOP bar for the southbound traffic would remain at its current location. The current northbound express bus pad stop on the northbound on-ramp would be retained to serve Bel Marin Keys passengers. A bus only left-turn for eastbound traffic onto the northbound on-ramp is also proposed. This bus only left turn would enable the weekday northbound route 52 to make convenient connections. The cost for this improvement would be about $700,000. Page 12
Figure 8 - Pedestrian and Bus Stop Improvements at Nave Drive and Northbound 101 Off-ramp Relocation of Bus Stop Routes 49 &51 Page 13
Figure 9 - New Local Route at Ignacio Blvd. and Bel Marin Keys Blvd. Page 14