TRANSIT TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM FOR RTD SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR EXTENSION PROJECT January 2010 Prepared By Southwest Corridor Extension Project Team In some cases, information in this Environmental Technical Report may have been refined or updated as preparation of the Draft EE advanced. In such cases, the information and conclusions presented in the Draft EE supersede all previous background material included in this Technical Report.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION... 1 1.1 Regulatory Environment... 1 2.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT... 3 3.0 IMPACT EVALUATION AND MITIGATION... 4 3.1 Corridor Level Transit Service and Ridership... 4 3.2 Station Boardings... 6 3.3 Station Access by Mode... 7 3.4 ing Supply... 7 3.5 Travel Times... 8 3.6 Mitigation... 8 4.0 REFERENCES... 9 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Transit Service Frequency in the Southwest Corridor... 4 Table 2: Transit Ridership in the Southwest Corridor... 6 Table 3: Average Weekday Daily Boardings by Station... 7 Table 4: Station Mode of Access: Build Alternative, 2035 Average Weekday... 7 Table 5: -and-ride Supply in the Southwest Corridor... 7 Table 6: Travel Time During Morning Peak Hour, 2035 Average Weekday... 8 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Project Location Map... 2 Figure 2: No Action Alternative, Transit Service and Facilities... 5 i
1.0 INTRODUCTION This Technical Memorandum focuses on information existing and future transit service in the Southwest Corridor Light Rail Extension project area (see Figure 1). 1.1 REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT A variety of data and analyses is used to evaluate and compare the alternatives transportation impacts. The DRCOG 2015 and 2035 Regional Travel Demand Model, also known as Compass, provides much of the travel demand forecasting and future transportation system conditions. The model represents the region s fiscally constrained long range transportation plan (2035 Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan), incorporating regionally adopted forecasts for population and employment, and facility improvements to highway and transit networks. Impacts to parking and traffic circulation are additionally examined in the opening year of the project using DRCOG s model for the 2015 horizon year. RTD adapted DRCOG s travel demand models to simulate the following scenarios: 2015 Build Alternative; 2035 No Action Alternative; and 2035 Build Alternative. 1
Southbridge e South P la tt k Jac MINERAL ass H ill Rd Ave Ja G e Lin ck as s gh Hi Mine ra l u Southpark W Fe Dr Can al Ci ty Ditc h h lc Southbridge n Lo g nt a South Platte LITTLETON Jackass Hill pa RTD rk n-r id Ri v e er C D Aspen Grove Shopping Center Sa r Ci lch Writers Vista Wolhurst Sou thp a rk Cir u rk G d C la Low er D a 85 McLellan Reservoir County Line Rd Eri ck so n B lv d ARAPAHO E CO DOUGLAS CO Cit y of Little to n c Lu en t vd Bl INTERMEDIATE STATION Line Can al Pl az a Dr C-470/ LUCENT Rd Hig h SF Wind Crest BN U PR R (Not part of FasTracks Plan) Vista Highlands Ranch Golf Club 0 500 1,000 bo ns rou gh Dr Wa y ee Gr Creeksi de Mill HIGH LANDS RAN CH 2,000 Feet Source: Southwest Corridor Extension Project Team, 2009 Stations Existing Southwest Light Rail Line County Boundary Southwest Light Rail Extension City Boundary Freight Railroad Proposed Future Figure 1 Southwest Corridor Extension
2.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT Existing transit service in the study area is a combination of light rail and fixed route bus service centered on the end-of-line light rail station at Mineral Avenue. Light rail routes C (to Denver Union Station) and D (to 30 th /Downing via downtown Denver) operate from Mineral Station. The station area includes a 1,227-space park-n-ride, bus bays, a kiss-n-ride drop-off area, and a pedestrian bridge spanning US-85 (South Santa Fe Drive). Fixed-route bus service is operated along five routes. Route #77 provides cross-town, east/west service from the Dry Creek and Arapahoe light rail stations to the Ken Caryl park-n-ride facility. Routes #401, #402Ltd and #403 primarily serve the Highlands Ranch community, with route #403 continuing through to the Lincoln light rail station. Finally, Route #63X makes three a.m. and four p.m. trips between the Mineral Station and Lockheed Martin s Waterton Canyon facility. Further, a new local feeder route, 470L, will operate between the future Lucent Station and the C- 470/University Boulevard park-n-ride. RTD offers Access-a-Ride service throughout the study area. Access-a-Ride provides transportation to passengers with disabilities who are unable to use RTD's regular lift-equipped fixed route bus service and who qualify for certification under the eligibility guidelines established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. RTD does not offer call-n-ride service a curb-to-curb shuttle service in the study area. 3
3.0 IMPACT EVALUATION AND MITIGATION This chapter examines each alternative s impact on transit service and ridership in the corridor, including implications for station activity, station access, parking, and travel times. The assessment includes those transit routes that would interface directly with the Southwest Corridor light rail line, as displayed in Figure 2. 3.1 CORRIDOR LEVEL TRANSIT SERVICE AND RIDERSHIP Table 1 shows the headways for the existing corridor transit services, as well as for those services provided under the No Action and Build Alternatives. Both light rail routes would have improved headways in 2035 but without a marked difference between alternatives. TABLE 1: TRANSIT SERVICE FREQUENCY IN THE SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR Transit Line 2008 Peak/Off-Peak Headways (Minutes) No Action Alternative 2035 Build Alternative 2035 Light Rail Line C at Mineral Station 30/- 1 15/15 15/15 Light Rail Line D at Mineral Station 10-15/15-30 10/15 10/15 Route 0 Not in service Not in service 30/30 Route 75 Not in service 40/120 40/120 Route 77 30/- 30/- 30/- Route 401 30/60 30/60 30/60 Route 402Ltd 30/60 30/60 30/60 Route 403 30/60 2 30/60 30/60 Route 470L Not in service 30/- 30/- Route 63X 50/- 3 50/- 50/- Route AT Outside of study area 75/60 75/60 Source: RTD 2008 Published Schedule; RTD 2035 Travel Demand Model. Notes: 1. No off-peak service from Mineral Station; 2. No evening service; 3. Three AM and PM trips, no off-peak service. The operations plan will be optimized as the design progresses such that the project minimizes operational costs while maximizing ridership. The change to the operational plan that is most likely will be the reduction of train frequencies. The reduction of train frequencies would reduce traffic, parking, and noise impacts. Therefore, the train frequencies of 10 minutes during the peak, and 15 minutes in the off peak, assumed in this document, represent worst case from an environmental impact perspective. The Build Alternative would bring improvements to area local bus operations. Route 0 would be extended into the study area to terminate at Lucent Station. Routes 403, 470L and AT would be rerouted to terminate at Lucent Station, improving trip times to the new light rail line. Route 401 would operate between Mineral Station and Highland Ranch Town Center via Lucent Boulevard, instead of South Broadway. Together, these bus routes form the feeder bus network for the Southwest Corridor Extension. 4
Aspen Grove Shopping Center C D Southbridge 75/77 South Platte River 63X RTD park-n-ride MINERAL 401/470 Jackass Hill Jackass Hill Rd Mineral Ave Jackass Gulch LITTLETON Light Rail Line Headway Frequency C 15 min 4 /hr D 10 min 6 /hr South Platte City Ditch Santa Fe Dr W Long Cir Southpark High Line Canal Southbridge Local/Regional Bus Service Low er Dad Clark Gulch Writers Vista Bus Route 403 SkyRide Route AT Bus Route 402L Ci r Bus Route 63X Wolhurst 85 Sou thpa rk McLellan Reservoir Bus Routes 75 & 77 Bus Routes 401 & 470 Erickson Blvd County Line Rd AT City of Littleton Lucent Blvd ARAPAHOE CO DOUGLAS CO 402L UPRR BNSF Wind Crest High Line Canal Plaza Dr Mill Vi sta Rd GreensboroughDr 0 500 1,000 2,000 Feet Source: RTD, 2009 Stations Existing Southwest Light Rail Line Freight Railroad Highlands Ranch Golf Club HIGHLANDS RANCH County Boundary City Boundary Creekside Way 403 Figure 2 No Action Alternative Transit Service and Facilties, 2035
Transit ridership in the corridor will increase in future years as the area population and employment increase. Corresponding increases in transit service levels in the Build Alternative will also result in transit patronage increases. Route level ridership information is provided in Table 2. The table shows ridership gains in the No Action Alternative are attributed to light rail and bus routes. In particular, light rail route D gains nearly 7,000 riders over the current condition. TABLE 2: TRANSIT RIDERSHIP IN THE CORRIDOR Average Weekday Ridership Transit Line No Action Alternative Build Alternative 2008 Light Rail Line C at Mineral Station 4,803 11,792 12,529 Light Rail Line D at Mineral Station 23,625 21,557 22,231 All Southwest Light Rail Lines 28,428 33,349 34,760 Route 0 -- -- 3,193 Route 75 156 228 241 Route 77 250 1,490 1,616 Route 401 353 2,476 2,005 Route 402L 561 1,883 2,280 Route 403 297 1,734 1,245 Route 470L -- 117 94 Route 63X 39 17 17 Route AT -- 707 684 System-wide Linked Transit Trips 434,378 436,957 Source: RTD 2008 Bus and Light Rail Transit Ridership Data; RTD 2035 Travel Demand Model. The Build Alternative would shift more market share to transit. Average weekday ridership along the Southwest Corridor Line is projected to approach 35,000 in 2035, which is a 1,411-rider increase over the No Action Alternative and a 22 percent increase over current ridership. The supporting bus routes serving Highlands Ranch and the new Lucent light rail station would see moderate changes in ridership levels. RTD system-wide linked transit trips indicate the total number of patrons using transit. The forecast difference in linked transit trips between the No Action Alternative and Build Alternative indicate the net gain in transit riders caused by the Southwest Corridor Extension. The total system wide linked transit trips in the Build Alternative would exceed those in the No Action Alternative by 2,579 trips, meaning the Southwest Light Rail Extension would attract over 2,500 new transit patrons. 3.2 STATION BOARDINGS Daily boarding information was projected for the Lucent and Intermediate Stations, as well as for the Mineral station. These data indicate the relative attractiveness of a transit station. Mineral Station is included because, as the current end-of-line station, it stands to be most affected by the Build Alternative. Table 3 shows that, under the Build Alternative, Lucent and Mineral Stations would be equally attractive; each would draw more than 2,000 average daily boardings. Boardings at Mineral Station 6
would be lower by 1,150 in the Build Alternative, indicating that Lucent Station effectively balances area demand for the Southwest Corridor light rail line. TABLE 3: AVERAGE WEEKDAY DAILY BOARDINGS BY STATION LRT Station Light Rail Lines Serving Station 2008 1 Average Weekday Daily Boardings No Action Alternative Build Alternative Build Alternative with Intermediate Station 2 Lucent C, D -- -- 2,152 1,997 Intermediate C, D -- -- -- 770 Mineral C, D 2,811 3,372 2,222 2,176 Source: RTD 2008 LRT Station Activity-Weekday; RTD 2035 Travel Demand Model. Notes: 1. Boardings averaged across 12-month period from August 2007 to August 2008; 2. Intermediate Station is not part of FasTracks Plan. If the Intermediate Station is implemented, total boardings in this area south of and including Mineral Station would increase by about 570. Given that 770 boardings are forecast at the Intermediate Station, this station will draw about 200 boardings combined from the Lucent and Mineral Stations. 3.3 STATION ACCESS BY MODE The mode split for access to each station in the Build Alternative was estimated for 2035. Three modes of access are possible: drive, bus, and walk/bike. Drive access would be included only when parking will be available at the station. The mode splits in Table 4 show that driving would be the predominant access mode for all three stations, with both the Mineral and Lucent Stations near 60 percent. When the Intermediate Station is in place, the proportion of drive access at the Mineral and Lucent Stations is reduced to 57 percent and 56 percent, respectively. TABLE 4: STATION MODE OF ACCESS: BUILD ALTERNATIVE, 2035 AVERAGE WEEKDAY Station Drive Bus Walk/Bike Lucent 63% / (56%) 29% (34%) 9% (10%) Intermediate 1 -- / (78%) -- / (11%) -- / (11%) Mineral 59% / (57%) 34% / (35%) 7% / (8%) Source: RTD 2035 Travel Demand Model. Notes: 1. Intermediate Station is not part of FasTracks Plan. Numbers in parentheses detail the mode split if the Intermediate Station were implemented. The Intermediate Station would have a higher drive-access share than the Lucent and Mineral Stations because of a less rich feeder bus service to the Intermediate Station and because it also draws some drive-access trips from the Lucent and Mineral Stations. 3.4 PARKING SUPPLY Table5 shows the anticipated changes in park-n-ride supply in the study area. Currently, the Mineral Station park-n-ride is the only such facility in the immediate study area of the Southwest Corridor Extension. In total, the Southwest Corridor light rail line has four park-n-ride facilities that all receive heavy use, filling to over 97 percent of total capacity on average. The Ken Caryl, Highlands Ranch Town Center, and C-470/University park-n-rides offer connecting local bus service to Mineral Station and average more moderate usage levels. 7
TABLE 5: PARK-AND-RIDE SUPPLY IN THE SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR -and-ride 2008 Southwest Corridor Line Build Alternative (2015) No Action Alternative Build Alternative Build Alternative with Intermediate Station 2 Lucent -- 1,000 -- 1,000 1,000 Intermediate 1 -- -- -- -- 404 Mineral 1,227 No Change No Change No Change No Change Connecting Buses Highlands Ranch Town Center 177 No Change No Change No Change No Change Ken Caryl 268 No Change No Change No Change No Change C-470/University 440 No Change No Change No Change No Change Source: RTD 2008 Data. Notes: 1. Intermediate Station is not part of FasTracks Plan. The Build Alternative would add 1,000 parking spaces at the Lucent Station park-n-ride on opening day. The new end-of-line park-n-ride would intercept transit patrons from Highlands Ranch and those arriving from northbound US-85. The Build Alternative s additional parking supply also would relieve parking demand at Mineral Station. 3.5 TRAVEL TIMES Travel times from the C-470/Lucent Boulevard interchange to Denver Union Station were forecast for the year 2035. Automobile and transit travel times are calculated under the No Action Alternative, the Build Alternative and the Intermediate Station scenario in the morning peak hour and peak direction. These travel times point to the relative attractiveness and viability of a given mode. The results presented in Table 6 confirm that worsening congestion along the region s major highways increasingly makes transit the more efficient mode. Whereas a trip to Denver Union Station in 2035 would take a driver 46 minutes, riding light rail reduces the trip time by 13 minutes (28%). TABLE6: TRAVEL TIME DURING MORNING PEAK HOUR, 2035 AVERAGE WEEKDAY C-470/Lucent Boulevard to Denver Union Station (Minutes) Alternative No Action Alternative Build Alternative 2005 Auto 32 46 46 Transit 36 47 33 Source: RTD 2005 Travel Demand Model; RTD 2035 Travel Demand Model. 3.6 MITIGATION Based on the above analysis, no mitigation is warranted. 8
4.0 REFERENCES No references were cited. 9