NY 5 Bus Rapid Transit Conceptual Design Study
Project History and Current Study Description
The
NY 5 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Conceptual Design Study is
a joint effort by the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) and the
Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA). CDTC is administering the contract with TranSystems,
the study consultant, and is serving as overall project manager on behalf of
CDTA. This $175,000 study is funded
through CDTC's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and was included in the
2003-2004 Unified Planning Work Program as a follow-up task to the NY 5 Land
Use and Transportation Concepts Study. The study began in September 2003 and is
expected to be completed by the end of 2004.
NY 5 Land Use
and Transportation Concepts Study – Project History
The NY 5 BRT Conceptual Design Study grew out of the
NY 5 Land Use and Transportation Concepts Study
initiated by CDTC following the
development of the New Visions regional long-range transportation plan. The NY 5 Study sought to evaluate land use
and transportation issues along Route 5 in
Land Use
Concept
·
Incrementally reconfigure land use along the
Corridor to enhance quality of life & economic vitality
·
Encourage mixed-use & pedestrian-friendly
infill and reuse
·
Encourage a mix of local & regional serving
commercial uses
·
Encourage a range of housing types and levels of
affordability
·
Encourage creation of new jobs
·
Scale new development to be compatible with its
surroundings
·
Do not rely on increased regional growth to
achieve the Future Vision
Transportation
Concept
·
Provide for all modes of transportation
·
Implement Bus Rapid Transit with feeder and
regional bus connections
·
Provide pedestrian connections to adjacent
neighborhoods and safe crossing of Route 5
·
Improve safety by consolidating curb-cuts and
implementing other design solutions
·
Provide bicycle access along and parallel to
Route 5
To implement the concepts developed in the NY 5 Study, a Preferred
Future Action Plan was developed. Twenty
actions were identified in the creation of the plan, summarized under four
primary goals. The main goals of the
action plan are to:
·
Encourage Economic Growth
·
Facilitate Development
·
Require Quality, Coordinated, &
Pedestrian-friendly Development and Revitalization
·
Create A Multi-modal Transportation System For
Pedestrians, Transit, Autos,
Bicycles & Service Traffic
Specific actions relating to each of the
four goals as well as additional details regarding the NY 5 Land Use and
Transportation Concepts Study can be found on the web at www.ny5.org. The NY 5 study was adopted by CDTC in October
2001. In addition, each of the five corridor
municipalities endorsed the recommendations by city council or town/village
board resolution and pledged to work with CDTC, CDTA and NYSDOT on
implementation activities.
BRT
Project Development/Current CDTA Initiatives
From the NY 5 Study, a key action identified under the
transportation goal is to finalize a BRT system design and begin incremental
implementation. Implementing BRT in
the Route 5 corridor will not only bring
high quality transit to the corridor but will also offer the potential for
revitalized neighborhood, village and town center development surrounding
transit stations.
The current NY 5 Bus Rapid Transit Conceptual Design Study represents Phase 1 of a two phase effort to address this action item. Phase 1 is focusing on identifying, locating and costing BRT stations; identifying feasible and desirable transit priority features (which may include treatments such as dedicated bus lanes, queue jumpers, etc.); and developing an operations plan and sketch level ridership estimates. Once Study Phase 1 is completed, Study Phase 2 of the BRT effort will produce additional detail on various elements emerging from Study Phase 1, such as detailed station design and priority measures for implementation. Study Phase 1 is currently scheduled for completion late in 2004. For more information on the current status of the NY 5 BRT Conceptual Design Study please go to www.ny5.org there you will find Study Advisory Committee meeting notes, PowerPoint presentations from those meetings, interim study products and other information.
The conceptual design report emerging from Study Phase 1, as well as the more detailed designs developed through Study Phase 2, will ultimately define the scope of the BRT project at a level that would permit CDTA to call for proposals and commence preliminary and final engineering design. They would also be able to procure rolling stock (buses), shelters and other hardware.
The timing for completing the Phase 1 effort is important
on several fronts. First, CDTC has funds
set aside on the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for use by CDTA
toward the development of BRT stations and the purchase of BRT vehicles and
other components. These funds can not be
accessed by CDTA until the plan for BRT service has been completed. In addition, identification of locations for
BRT stations and other elements related to streetscape and pedestrian
accommodation, etc. along the corridor are important to the development and
phasing of current and future roadway improvement projects such as the
There are various CDTA initiatives currently underway that will not only enhance existing bus transportation service along NY 5 and other corridors, but will also function as key components to BRT service as well. These include: