Highland Connector Corridor

Highland Connector Corridor

Enhancements Short-term improvements to keep Austin moving. Investments Long-term projects to support our future. Mobility Hubs MetroRapid MetroRail MetroExpress Commuters Connectors Circulators Project Connect Project Connect is a plan to create a system of high capacity transit options that will connect people, places, and opportunities in an affordable, efficient, and sustainable way. Two teams have been working closely with residents, workers, and community groups to addresses our short and long-term needs. The Enhancements Team is working to identify projects that will ensure our existing transit network will operate efficiently as the Austin area grows. The enhancement projects will improve MetroRail, MetroRapid, and MetroExpress services, as well as create Mobility Hubs across the area. The Investments Team is developing plans for a transit system capable of maximizing the amount of people that can move through key corridors. Introducing new transit options will create a more balanced transportation system that benefits all Austinites. Connectors The Connector investment corridors are intended to serve multiple trip purposes and connect people with activity centers primarily within Central Austin. Over 30 corridors were identified by reviewing plans and studies completed by Capital Metro and its partners. Those corridors were narrowed down through a tiered evaluation process that explored each corridor s potential to successfully implement HCT. The eight Connector corridors advanced to Phase 2 are: orth Lamar/uadalupe South Congress Riverside South Lamar Manor/Dean Keeton* Highland/Trinity/Red River 7th/Lake Austin *The MLK connector corridor was included with Manor/ Dean Keeton as an alignment option Key Terms HCT ROW LRT BRT CVC TOD P&R TC PER UT ACC High Capacity Transit Right-of-Way Light Rail Transit Bus Rapid Transit Capitol View Corridor Transit Oriented Development Park & Ride Transit Center Preliminary Engineering Report University of Texas Austin Community College

Highland Corridor Corridor Overview Corridor Overview The Highland corridor connects the eastern side of Downtown Austin (including the soon-to-be expanded Downtown MetroRail Station) to the ACC Highland campus, which represents a mixed-use redevelopment of the former Highland Mall site. The corridor also provides an opportunity to connect the emerging UT Medical School district to several of central Austin s most popular neighborhoods. Copperfield Park ACC Highland Corridor Quick Look Corridor Start and Endpoints: Downtown to ACC Highland Corridor Length: 5.60 Miles Existing Transit Services: Routes 10, 350, 653 Current Bus Ridership: 4,123 Jobs (1/2 Mile from Stations): 101,741 Jobs Residents (1/2 Mile from 24,076 Residents Stations): Zero-Car Households: 1,400 Households Households Below Poverty: 2,491 Households Legend Priority Corridor 2016 Mobility Bond Eligible? Yes (Airport Blvd Segment) Other Priority Corridors Priority Extensions Bike Lanes Partial (Red River) Possible Extensions Alignment Options Long Term Extension Options Sidewalks Mostly Continuous Potential end of line Connections 2025 High-Frequency etwork one (Airport, Middle Fiskville); ROW Constraints Few (Trinity, San Jacinto); Moderate (Red River) Major Roads Capital Metro Service Area 3

Corridor Character Corridor Character Source: Flintco 2018 ACC Highland Since its purchase by Austin Community College, Highland Mall has begun a transformation from a decaying indoor shopping mall to a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood anchored by a new ACC campus. Source: 512 Living 2018 Hancock Center Formerly the back nine holes of the public Hancock olf Course, the Hancock Shopping center features a large HEB grocery store and serves as a neighborhood anchor. It also presents an opportunity to develop a mixed-use TOD. 4

Corridor Character Source: Sparksight 2018 St David s St. David s main hospital campus lies just north of the UT campus and serves as a major trip generator along the corridor. Source: Towers 2017 Downtown Austin The heart of the region, downtown Austin has seen tremendous growth in both employment and residents recently, and features the expanding State Capitol Complex. University of Texas UT is one of the largest trip generators in the region, with over 50,000 students and nearly 20,000 employees at the main campus. Source: Texas Sports 2017 5

Options Considered HCT Options Service Assumptions To better gauge the level of investment warranted along the Highland corridor, the project team created options that assumed different combinations of transit service and guideway profiles. Transit service profiles were developed that would satisfy a range of potential transit demand depending on the capacity and frequency of the vehicles. Vehicles have a wide range of person carrying capacity, but also have different limitations on the space needed at stations, operating speed, or type of guideway required. The Lower Investment option assumes smaller vehicles operating individually, while the Higher Investment option assumes larger vehicles operating in pairs. Emerging Technologies ew technologies, such as autonomous or electric transit vehicles, may introduce new efficiencies for HCT. Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology could be adapted to both bus and rail vehicles and will be considered as Capital Metro advances each corridor through the project development process and as the technology evolves. Lower Investment Service Assumptions Vehicle Assumption Up to 100 people per vehicle Peak Frequency 10 Min (6 vehicles/hour) Off-Peak Frequency 20 Min (3 vehicles/hour) Source: etty 2018, Shenzen AV HCT Source: ACTO 2018, antes Busway Peak Capacity 600 passengers/hour/direction Higher Investment Service Assumptions Vehicle Assumption Peak Frequency Up to 225 people per vehicle, two vehicles per pair 10 Min (12 vehicles/hour) Off-Peak Frequency 20 Min (6 vehicles/hour) Source: Rail Life 2018, Tempe LRT Source: Jon Bell 2013, DART Peak Capacity 2,700 passengers/hr/direction 6

Options Considered HCT Options uideway Assumptions The project team tested two guideway profile options on the Highland corridor that were combined with the service profiles to generate a range of HCT performance indicators. The Lower Investment option assumes 100% of the dedicated guideway is at street level. The Higher Investment option introduces grade separation at key locations to overcome physical barriers - in this case, at the Airport/45th St/Red Line crossing. Lower Investment Higher Investment Street Level uideway rade-separated uideway 7

CAMERO 51ST 34TH Highland Corridor High Capacity Transit Overview TOM MILLER SIMOD HCT Overview (Downtown Convention Center to ACC Highland) ADERSO BRIARCLIFF BERKMA HARMO ACC Highland 53RD Airport/ 51st DUVAL RED RIVER Hancock St D ST JOHS SPEEDWAY R BLVD ACC Highland Opportunity to maximize multimodal connections at the ACC Highland station to optimize connectivity to the region. DESO LAMAR 46TH Red Line and IH 35 Crossing Constrained geometry and regulatory restrictions would require grade separation for HCT crossing the existing Red Line. UADALUPE 38TH 8

TH 12 Highland Corridor High Capacity Transit Overview AV CESAR CH D OO W SE RO R DA 2016 Mobility Bond CE Trinity Street Conversion Trinity Street can be reconfigured to accommodate HCT at street level with minimal impacts to existing traffic patterns. EZ Opportunities exist along Airport Blvd to coordinate HCT improvements with potential bond construction projects. CO Medical School HARMO Downtown Station/ Convention Center I CH 32D Capitol 8TH 11TH Stadium 7TH St Davids 15TH 0 0.25 0.5 Mile Implementing HCT on San Jacinto provides an opportunity to re-imagine one of the few streets that still bisects UT s campus for better bicycle and pedestrian accessibility. Parks Existing Red Line & Stations Alignment Option Hospitals rade Separation Option (See Alternatives Description) Roads 1/2 Mile (10-Min Walk) Station Area Other Connections 2025 Route Connections 2025 High-Frequency 38TH 29TH UADALUPE Highland Corridor Potential Station (Exact Location TBD) UT Campus D 22 H 25T 34TH LEED ES WEST LY 9

Extension Opportunity Extension Opportunity (Cameron/Dessau) The 2014 Urban Rail proposal did not contemplate any further extension of the Highland corridor beyond its terminus at ACC Highland, but Project Connect explored the potential for the Highland Corridor to extend further north to serve the growing Cameron Road/Dessau Road corridor at some point in the future. The future Highland extension would transition from ACC Highland to the east side of IH 35 via a new crossing or the existing St John s bridge, allowing it to serve the relatively dense multifamily/ commercial area along Camino La Costa road. The corridor would then turn north along Cameron Road/Dessau Lane an Imagine Austin corridor serving emerging development nodes at Rutherford, Rundberg, and Parmer lanes. The northern terminus of this extension could be at Parmer Lane, or future studies could explore connecting this corridor west to the existing Tech Ridge Park & Ride, or further north along the MoKan ROW to Pflugerville, Round Rock, and eorgetown. Source: oogle Earth 10

Highland Corridor Extension Opportunity O ER M CA HARRIS BRACH WE OLA LOY RK PA FAIRFIELD LAMAR BLVD 0 0.25 0.5 Mile Parks Existing Red Line & Stations Alignment Option Hospitals ET rade Separation Option (See Alternatives Description) Roads 1/2 Mile (10-Min Walk) Station Area Other Connections 2025 Route UR CR B EE Connections 2025 High-Frequency K BE PAR BU LL BU ADERSO LL RRE Highland Corridor Potential Station (Exact Location TBD) 45TH LEED OHLE KRAMER BRAKER BROADMOOR ADERSO O SS CR ER AK BR YAER H ACC Highland EORIA METRIC A Camino La Costa St. Johns 35 BE H PERS KM R Rutherford Braker Y LE TIL Rundberg Parmer V SPRIDALE A D RI SP LE ER HOWARD BB 11 EEK

Street Sections Street Sections Segment 1: Koenig to 45th (Airport Blvd) Segment 2: 41st to Medical Arts (Red River) ACC Highland Airport/51st Hancock St Davids Segment 1: Koenig to 45th Street Level HCT Side Running Street Level HCT Center Running Existing Segment 2: 41st St to Medical Art Street Level HCT (Reversible Lane) Street Level HCT Existing Segment 3: Dean Keeton to MLK Street Level HCT South of 24th Street Level HCT orth of 24th Existing *Reversible HCT lane would operate SB in the AM peak and B in the PM peak 12

Street Sections Segment 3: Dean Keeton to MLK (San Jacinto) Stadium Segment 4: MLK to 4th Street Medical School Existing Street Level HCT Center Running Street Level HCT Side Running Segment 4: MLK to 4th Street (Trinity) Capitol Downtown Station The cross sections at the left display potential ways that the Highland corridor could be reconfigured to accommodate high capacity transit (HCT). The part of the corridor that uses Airport Blvd lies directly adjacent to the existing Capital Metro Red Line, which provides greater flexibility for accommodating the transit guideway at street level either between Airport and the rail line or within the median of Airport Blvd. The most constrained part of the corridor occurs along Red River Street between Medical Arts and 41st Street. Here, the existing ROW is too narrow to accommodate transit and the two existing vehicular travel lanes. Providing for street-level transit will likely require a lane reduction in each direction, although the Lower Investment option also considers a short segment of reversible lane in this section to minimize the impacts to ROW. The University of Texas Campus Master Plan envisions re-imagining San Jacinto Boulevard through campus to limit access for vehicles while enhancing the pedestrian realm and providing for street-level transit. Through Downtown, Trinity Street can be reconfigured to be bi-directional, which would provide opportunities to introduce transit guideway in either the median or the outside lanes (like the existing BAT lanes along uadalupe and Lavaca). Certain segments of the corridor could also provide for parking and/or station locations. 13

Comparing Options Comparing Corridor Options Capital Metro compared the corridor investment options to further inform the evaluation process. Estimated costs are based on recent and similar transit investments in other U.S. cities. Anticipated ridership was obtained using FTA s Simplified Trips-on- Project Software (STOPS) model. Travel time was estimated using assumptions about roadway speed limits vs. grade separated speed limits. Throughput capacities are based on assumed vehicle capacities and service frequencies. ROW and travel lane impacts are based on the street sections analysis and are rated as low, moderate or high. The results of the comparison of investment options suggest that the Highland corridor could support a lower HCT investment. The expected ridership for the Higher Investment option does not seem to justify the implementation cost. The Lower Investment option provides enough people carrying capacity to meet the demand in this corridor. The project team will continue to gather feedback on community preference for the mode and guideway combination that can best serve Highland as the Project Connect system plan is refined during Spring 2018. Lower Investment Higher Investment Average Daily Boardings (2025): 4,500 7,500 Peak Hour Boardings: 160 250 Peak Hour Passenger Capacity: 600 2,700 Annual Trips (2025): 1.4M 2.2M Capital Construction Cost (2018): $340M $876M Annual Operations & Maintenance Cost (2018): $6.6M $27.9M Travel Time: 22 min 21 min ROW Impacts: HIH MOD Travel Lane Impacts: MOD MOD *Preliminary planning-level evaluation results; subject to change during preliminary engineering 14

Comparing Station Areas Comparing Station Areas Capital Metro conducted an analysis of possible stations along the Highland corridor to inform the options evaluation process. Stations were rated as High (3 points), Medium (2 points), or Low (1 point) in transit-supportive character for each of the seven metrics (listed below). The H/M/L point values were aggregated into an Overall Score that describes the transit supportive quality of each station given current conditions. The Highland corridor runs mostly within central Austin and therefore performs relatively well for most metrics, although population density and affordability along the corridor are both consistently low for almost every potential station. Walkability throughout the corridor could be enhanced, although the low score for the ACC Highland station may be addressed as the Highland development builds out. High Medium Low ACC Highland Airport/51st Hancock St Davids Stadium Medical School Capitol Downtown Station/CC Overall Score Population Density Employment Density Major Destinations Transit Connectivity Affordability Walkability Market Strength 15

Led by Capital Metro with support from the City of Austin. Want to learn more? o to capmetro.org/projectconnect to read more about the work we re doing through Project Connect. Tell us what you think, take the Phase 2 Survey https://www.capmetroengage.org/en/provide-input Prepared by Alliance Transportation roup, AECOM, and elson\ygaard Consulting Associates with support from Bronner roup and Robin O Connell Design Cover Image Source: Alliance Transportation roup Additional Project Connect briefing books: High Capacity Transit 101 Briefing Book Long-Term Investment Program Briefing Book and corridor flip books Short-Term Investment Program Briefing Book and project flip books Project Connect Funding and Financing Briefing Book