Appendix A Project Development Decision Points
DRAFT TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM APPENDIX A-1: PROJECT DEVELOPMENT DECISION POINTS To: Jay Kline, AICP DART Project Manager From: Jerry Smiley, AICP Project Manager Reggie Herman, AICP Deputy Project Manager Date: May 20, 2011 RE: Project Development Decision Points General Planning Consultant Services - Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Contract ID C-1017751-01 Task Order #14: TIGER Streetcar EA/PE INTRODUCTION This Technical Memorandum documents the evolution of the Union Station to Oak Cliff Dallas Streetcar Project from the initial Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant alignment to the proposed build alternative. It also provides a narrative of the multiple decision points that have occurred throughout project development. Although the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is the grantee of the TIGER Grant, the Project has become a collaborative endeavor among local entities. As grant recipient, NCTCOG is providing financial oversight for the project. The City of Dallas is the owner of the project and has engaged Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) to advance all technical analyses regarding the project s planning, environmental impacts, engineering, and construction management. The project partners have defined their roles and responsibilities through an Interlocal Agreement (ILA). To ensure timely expenditure of the federal grant dollars, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has stipulated that key milestones be met. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is overseeing the fulfillment of grant requirements during implementation of the project. TIGER GRANT APPLICATION The TIGER Discretionary Grants are a component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) an act created to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery through investment in our transportation infrastructure. These grants were selected on a competitive basis for capital investments in surface transportation projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area, or a region. As shown in Figure 1, the original TIGER Grant application submitted by NCTCOG identified two streetcar alignments to enhance connectivity within downtown Fort Worth and Dallas,
respectively. Furthermore, these two streetcar systems would provide a seamless transit connection from the regional scale to the neighborhood scale. The Fort Worth streetcar alignment would be a starter segment, providing circulation in the central business district. The Dallas streetcar alignment would be a starter segment, enhancing access to Union Station from North Oak Cliff and portions of downtown Dallas. Union Station serves as a transit hub for DART bus service and light rail transit (LRT) for both the Red and Blue LRT lines; the Dallas terminal for AMTRAK; and the eastern terminus for the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) Commuter Rail Service. 1 Figure 1 Regional Connection Map from ARRA TIGER Application Source: North Central Council of Governments, 2009 1 A downtown Dallas streetcar system has been proposed as an alternative mode of transportation since 2005. Several stakeholders, including the City of Dallas and DART, have identified streetcar as a feasible alternative to promote downtown circulation, economic development, and connectivity of near downtown communities to the urban core. The proposed action is derived from a series of studies that served as the basis for the TIGER grant application: City of Dallas Comprehensive Plan, Forward Dallas!, 2006 Study of Future Streetcar Options Final Report, 2007 Downtown Dallas Transit Study, 2009 D2 Downtown Transit Study, 2010 2
The TIGER Grant application requested $96 million ARRA funding for implementation of both the Fort Worth and Dallas streetcar starter segments ($48 million each). Streetcar service on the proposed Dallas starter segment would originate in downtown Dallas at Harwood and Main Streets. As shown in Figure 2 (labeled in orange), the service would extend west along Main Street to Houston Street. At this intersection the streetcar line would extend south along Houston Street to Union Station. From this location the streetcar line would continue south on Houston Street, traversing the Trinity River via the Houston Street Viaduct. Once south of the Trinity River, the streetcar line would make a triangular loop, utilizing Zang Boulevard, Beckley Avenue, and Greenbriar Lane, which is known as the Greenbriar Loop. On February 17, 2010, the NCTCOG was selected for a potential $23 million TIGER Grant for the implementation of the Dallas streetcar. The grant excluded the City of Fort Worth streetcar portion detailed in the application. The awarded amount was less than half of the federal funding requested to implement the Dallas streetcar project. Due to NCTCOG receiving only a portion of the requested funding, the project was evaluated to determine which segment of the project would be constructed first. This evaluation considered public support, potential for future funding, and ability to leverage the TIGER grant. A base conceptual alignment was developed focusing on streetcar service from North Oak Cliff to Union Station. Figure 2 ARRA TIGER Application Dallas Segment Source: North Central Texas Council of Governments, 2009 3
REVISED TIGER PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Dallas segment of the TIGER grant application was strongly supported by the Oak Cliff community. In fact, the Oak Cliff Transit Authority was formed in 2008 by a group of Oak Cliff residents and businesses interested in revitalizing a segment of original Oak Cliff streetcar rail line in an effort to: Aid in Oak Cliff's economic redevelopment Facilitate a pedestrian friendly work, live, and play environment Support area businesses by creating park-and-ride options for merchants who are unable to acquire Certificate of Occupancies due to restrictive parking issues Assist in reducing the area s auto emissions Link downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff's burgeoning arts districts and the future Oak Cliff Gateway This grassroots effort also was supported by Oak Cliff s two councilmembers, Dr. Elba Garcia and David Neumann. One of the most critical aspects of developing this streetcar segment is establishing a rail crossing over the Trinity River, which separates the North Oak Cliff neighborhood from the downtown core. A new rail crossing on the Houston Street Viaduct would provide the most direct connection. Because of the length of the bridge and its approaches (more than one mile), there is no ridership or adjacent development potential along this portion of the corridor. This makes this segment non-competitive for future funding, federal or otherwise. While the $23 million TIGER Grant would fund only a small portion of the overall proposed streetcar system, leveraging the grant with regional toll road revenue funds, allows the city and its partners to construct a portion of the streetcar system that would be difficult to fund through traditional means. Alignment Refinement Based on this post-grant evaluation, the project, as reflected in Figure 3, was modified: The downtown terminus was moved from Harwood Street and Main Street to Union Station, a multimodal and regional transportation hub The proposed alignment would cross the Houston Street Viaduct and create the Greenbriar Loop via Zang Boulevard to Colorado Boulevard to Beckley Avenue to Greenbriar Lane, and reconnecting with Zang Boulevard The revised project eliminated the need to construct a new streetcar maintenance facility and considered several design options to connect with existing LRT track to access the existing Central Rail Operating Facility Potential stop locations were identified at the following locations: Union Station City Parking Garage Stop located on the Houston Street Viaduct Riverfront Stop (future stop to be determined on the Houston Street Viaduct, which would be coordinated with the opening of the Trinity River Park) Greenbriar Lane and Zang Boulevard Colorado Boulevard and Beckley Avenue 4
Beckley Avenue and Greenbriar Lane (Greenbriar Loop) Alignments for future expansion were identified and shown in relation to the initial conceptual alignment to assess compatibility in the study area Figure 3 Post-grant Refined Alignment Source: URS, 2010 5
PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING PROJECT DEFINITION Prior to commencement of the preliminary engineering (PE) and environmental documentation, an analysis was performed to develop an accurate scope of work. The initial study area and alignment were again refined to correlate with the limited funds. The following assumptions were included in the scope of work: Project definition consists of a single at-grade track operating in a dedicated, bidirectional travel lane within the roadway right-of-way (ROW). Track placement would displace automobile traffic and would be located primarily in the outside travel lane with stops located within the ROW. Construction would use the shallow slab design to reduce costs and construction time For initial project design, the conceptual alignment was divided into several segments to establish the base alignment. These segments are shown in Figure 4: Segment 1 is a 1.04-mile segment between Union Station and Greenbriar Lane (the Houston Street Viaduct is 0.90 miles in length) Segment 2 is 0.39 miles from Greenbriar Lane to Colorado Boulevard Segment 3 is 0.19 miles from Colorado Boulevard to Beckley Avenue Segment 4 is 0.14 miles along Zang Boulevard to Beckley Avenue Four alternative LRT connections would be considered for access to the Central Rail Operating Facility. The conceptual alignment does not include the Greenbriar Loop since an evaluation revealed it would not be financially feasible due to infrastructure needs and limited benefits to the surrounding properties. Furthermore, there would be negligible increase in ridership and added travel time on the return trip to Union Station. Therefore, the conceptual alignment was refined to include two possible southern termini, Colorado Boulevard and Beckley Avenue or Zang Boulevard and Beckley Avenue. Both termini would ensure streetcar service would be provided in proximity to the Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Based on these modifications, the following stops were evaluated as part of the PE effort: Union Station City Parking Garage Stop Riverfront Stop Greenbriar Lane and Zang Boulevard Zang Boulevard and Oakenwald Street Colorado Boulevard and Beckley Avenue (alternate terminus) Zang Boulevard and Beckley Avenue (alternate terminus) 6
Figure 4 Conceptual Alignment Source: URS, 2011 7
FINAL PROJECT DEFINITION The final project definition was established during PE and initial environmental documentation efforts. As the detailed engineering was developed, the alignment was refined to primarily reflect operational decisions and context sensitive design considerations. Operational Decisions During the PE effort, an analysis was conducted to develop the operational characteristics of the proposed action. Operational characteristics focused on several factors: Time of operation Frequency of service Selection/location of stops Connectivity to LRT To not compete with the morning peak-hour LRT pull-out, the project partners agreed that the streetcar would operate between 5am and 7pm. The analysis determined that a two-vehicle fleet could adequately serve this initial segment. Peak headways of 20 minutes and off-peak headways of 30 minutes were established based on operating one vehicle in the corridor. A spare vehicle would be stored on the non-revenue connection to the LRT tracks and could be switched, when warranted. Further details are provided in Appendix C-1:Operations Analysis of Proposed Action. The Union Station stop was moved from the north side of Young Street to the southwest corner of Houston and Young streets. This action would eliminate traffic conflicts with the existing bus traffic in front of Union Station and avoid a serious reduction in level of service due to the future conversion of Houston Street to accommodate two-way traffic. Furthermore, this site was selected to lower the construction cost (less tail track) and lessen visual impacts to Union Station, Ferris Park, and The Dallas Morning News building. Lastly, it preserves the option to expand the future streetcar along either Young or Houston streets. The City of Dallas Parking Garage stop was also eliminated since no development is currently proposed for the former Reunion Arena site. Eliminating this stop improves run times and reduces capital costs. The final design would not preclude a stop at this location in the future. The Riverfront stop on the Houston Street Viaduct was intended to interface with the recreational and transportation elements of the Trinity River Corridor. This stop was eliminated to reduce initial capital cost and improve run times as the Trinity River project is delayed. Provisions would be made for a future stop at this location. Due to its proximity to the Methodist Dallas Medical Center, the Colorado/Beckley intersection was selected as the southern terminus for the proposed action. This location does not preclude future extensions in any direction and directly serves the highest employment center in North Oak Cliff. In addition, it provides better hospital access for mobility-impaired transit riders compared to the Zang Boulevard/Beckley Avenue stop. The following stops were included in the final project definition: Union Station 8
Zang Boulevard and Greenbriar Lane Zang Boulevard and Oakenwald Street Colorado Boulevard and Beckley Avenue To provide direct connectivity to the Central Rail Operating Facility, four options were evaluated. Three of these options focused on the LRT tracks closest to Union Station near the surface parking lot owned by Woodbine Development Corporation. The fourth option included a street-running, non-revenue line from Union Station through the historic West End District. Early analysis and subsequent coordination with the developer supported the preferred option that would run parallel to Houston Street (east side of Woodbine property) to the LRT tracks beneath the Houston Street Viaduct. This option is cost effective, provides the most direct connection to the LRT tracks with the least amount of impact (minimal property acquisition), and avoids construction in the Dallas Historic West End. Additionally, due to the connectivity to the DART LRT, there would be the opportunity to draw power from the LRT traction power. This could eliminate the need for an additional substation on the north end of the project. Further detail regarding this analysis can be found in Appendix C-3: Non-revenue Connection to DART LRT. Figure 5 illustrates final project definition. Figure 5 Final Project Definition Source: URS, 2011 9
Context Sensitive Design Decisions As determined early in the evaluation phase of the project, the Houston Street Viaduct is listed as a historic resource on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This approximately 100year-old structure is afforded certain protection and may only be significantly modified through coordination with the Texas Historical Commission (THC). Any significant modification would trigger additional Section 4(f) evaluations and Memorandum of Agreement between the project partners, FTA, and the THC. Early in the project, one of the cost savings measures considered was the interim use of a DART Super Light Rail Vehicle (SLRV). In the course of evaluating alternative vehicle technologies, it was determined that a hybrid vehicle would eliminate the need for an overhead contact system on the viaduct. Use of this technology would constitute an avoidance measure and possibly obtain THC concurrence without a finding of adverse impact. This approach was approved by the FTA and is critical to saving time in further coordination with the THC and U.S. Department of Interior. Best Lane Analysis Throughout the project development process, an iterative analysis of the best lane was conducted for the streetcar. This further defined the horizontal alignment (lane allocation and placement of track) for the streetcar. This analysis was critical in two areas: the Houston Street Viaduct and Zang Boulevard. Currently, the historic Houston Street Viaduct is a three- to four-lane, one-way thoroughfare with varying sidewalks widths of four to 13 feet on the north side and a four to six-foot sidewalk on the south side. It has an approximate length of a mile and roadway pavement width of 42 feet (total width is approximately 50 feet). The alternatives developed considered the structure s geometric constraints as well as the need to balance the City s future plans for twoway traffic. The following table briefly summarizes the five alternatives for lane allocation on the viaduct. 10
Table 1 Houston Street Viaduct Lane Allocation Alternative Sidewalk Width Remaining Pavement Width 1 4- foot 42 1 bi-directional exclusive streetcar lane and 3 outbound traffic lanes 2 12-foot 34 1 bi-directional exclusive streetcar lane and 2 outbound traffic lanes 3 10-foot 36 1 bi-directional exclusive streetcar lane and 2 outbound traffic lanes 4 8-foot + 10foot bikeway 28 1 bi-directional exclusive streetcar lane and 1 outbound traffic lane 5 9-foot 37 1 bi-directional exclusive streetcar lane and 2 outbound traffic lanes Lane Allocation Source: URS, 2011 These alternatives were evaluated for both the interim and ultimate condition. The interim condition would add streetcar to the viaduct and maintain one-way traffic. The ultimate condition would occur when the Houston Street Viaduct accommodates two-way traffic (no schedule has been determined for this condition). Evaluation criteria used to select the preferred alternative are as follows: Must allow flexibility for the ultimate build condition Traffic level of service must be acceptable in the interim and ultimate conditions Stops on the viaduct must be of sufficient width to accommodate streetcar boarding and alighting Pedestrian traffic must be accommodated in the interim condition Bicycle traffic should be accommodated in the ultimate condition Impacts to the historic resource must be minimized Alternative 3, as shown in Figure 6, was selected because the configuration minimizes construction impacts to the historic structure and preserves two southbound lanes in the interim condition. The ultimate condition would support bi-directional, shared-lane streetcar service in three lanes, with a reversible, peak-hour middle lane. 11
Figure 6 Cross Section of Interim Condition Source: URS, 2011 The initial design along Zang Boulevard aligned the streetcar in the far right, southbound lane. Upon further analysis, a significant utility conflict was identified. The relocation of a 16-inch water line would cost nearly $1 million and would potentially result in construction delays. During the 5% design Visioning Workshop, a median-running alternative alignment along Zang Boulevard was introduced. Figure 7 shows a cross section of this alternative. This alternative presented significant cost savings and mitigated driveway and intersecting street traffic conflicts. The Oakenwald Stop, now located within the center median, would provide pedestrian access via a new crosswalk, thereby serving both the residents on the north side of the roadway and the park users on the south side of Zang Boulevard. Figure 7 Cross Section of Zang Boulevard Median Source: URS, 2011 DOCUMENTATION OF OTHER KEY DECISIONS The project development process, PE efforts, and environmental analyses have defined a project that is supported by both the project partners and the community. The efforts summarized in 12
this technical memorandum are the culmination of numerous analyses, coordination with the FTA, and community outreach. The following design technical memoranda, included in the EA as Appendix C, outline these other key decisions. Design Consideration Technical Memoranda Operational Analysis of Proposed Action Rationale for Wireless Streetcar Operations Non-revenue Connection to DART LRT Traction Power Substation Location Analysis Alternatives Analysis Best Lane Evaluation Roadway Capacity Analysis Proposed Off-site Construction Staging Areas Detailed Inspection and Structural Analysis of the Houston Street Viaduct Environmental Resources Technical Memoranda As the project design and definition progressed, existing conditions within the project area were evaluated. To maintain a very aggressive schedule, environmental impacts were preliminarily ascertained concurrent with the development of conceptual engineering. A re-evaluation of the impacts was required as the project definition and engineering progressed. All environmental analyses have been documented in the environmental resource technical memoranda included as Appendix D in the EA. These memoranda discuss the methodology, existing conditions, and potential impacts of the proposed project. Using the PE Project Definition, a one quarter mile buffer was delineated as the study area for identifying environmental constraints associated with the proposed project. The existing conditions analyses conducted for these resources include this study area. The impacts analyses assess the Final Project Definition as outlined in this technical memorandum. The following Resource Technical Memoranda outline existing conditions and anticipated impacts: Assessment of Land Use Impacts Assessment of Cultural Resources Impacts Assessment of Hazardous Materials Impacts Assessment of Socioeconomic Impacts Assessment of Indirect and Cumulative Impacts Assessment of Visual and Aesthetic Resources Assessment of Parkland and Recreational Resources Assessment of Soils and Geology Assessment of Biological Resources Assessment of Water Resources Air Quality Impact Assessment Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment 13
LITERATURE/SOURCES CITED North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG). 2011. Mobility 2030 2009 Amendment (Chapter 16 Regional Rail Map). Accessed April 20. http://www.nctcog.org/trans/mtp/2030/2009amendment.asp 14