TRANSIT TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM FOR RTD SOUTHEAST CORRIDOR EXTENSION PROJECT. January Prepared By Southeast Corridor Extension Project Team

Transcription

1 TRANSIT TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM FOR RTD SOUTHEAST CORRIDOR EXTENSION PROJECT Jauary 2010 Prpard By Southast Corridor Extsio Projct Tam I som cass, iformatio i this Eviromtal Tchical Rport may hav b rfid or updatd as prparatio of th Draft EE advacd. I such cass, th iformatio ad coclusios prstd i th Draft EE suprsd all prvious backgroud matrial icludd i this Tchical Rport.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT IMPACT EVALUATION AND MITIGATION CORRIDOR LEVEL TRANSIT SERVICE AND RIDERSHIP STATION BOARDINGS STATION ACCESS BY MODE PARKING SUPPLY TRAVEL TIMES MITIGATION REFERENCES... 9 LIST OF FIGURES Figur 1: Projct Locatio Map... 2 Figur 2: No Actio Altrativ, Trasit Srvic ad Facilitis... i

3 1.0 INTRODUCTION This Tchical Mmoradum focuss o iformatio xistig ad futur trasit srvic i th Southast Corridor Light Rail Extsio projct ara (S Figur 1). 1.1 REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT A varity of data ad aalyss is usd to valuat ad compar th altrativs trasportatio impacts. Th DRCOG 2015 ad 2035 Rgioal Travl Dmad Modl, also kow as Compass, provids much of th travl dmad forcastig ad futur trasportatio systm coditios. Th modl rprsts th rgio s fiscally costraid log rag trasportatio pla (2035 Mtro Visio Rgioal Trasportatio Pla), icorporatig rgioally adoptd forcasts for populatio ad mploymt, ad facility improvmts to highway ad trasit tworks. Impacts to parkig ad traffic circulatio ar additioally xamid i th opig yar of th projct usig DRCOG s modl for th 2015 horizo yar. RTD adaptd DRCOG s travl dmad modls to simulat th followig scarios: 2015 Build Altrativ; 2035 No Actio Altrativ; ad 2035 Build Altrativ. 1

4 E F L ui Sa t ss LINCOLN (xistig) Mridia Golf Club Mridia Busiss Park Pa r k Hills Pkwy Mad ows Dr Hritag Hills Pa rk Licol Commos M DOUGLAS COUNTY Licol Av Mad ows Blvd Licol Av S LONE TREE vd Bl CITY OF LONE TREE E Oswgo St SH r i ta g ParkRidg Corporat Ctr ia rid RidgGat Plad Dvlopmt SKY RIDGE Sky Ridg Mdical Ctr LONE TREE CITY CENTER Commowalth Hights Ridg Gat 25 Pk y w Pkwy Cr k Ridg Gat w g t a Fro Cr Rd Ha ppy o Cot t RIDGEGATE PARKWAY ood Ca yo k Schwigr Rach ,000 2,000 Ft Sou rc: South ast Corrid or Ext sio Projct Tam, park--rid Statio without Parkig Southast Light Rail Li Southast Light Rail Extsio Futur Dvlopmt (by othrs) City Boudary Figur 1 Southast Corridor Extsio

5 2.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT Existig trasit srvic i th study ara is a combiatio of light rail, fixd rout bus, ad call-adrid shuttl srvic ctrd o th xistig d-of-li light rail statio at Licol/I-25. Light rail routs E (to Dvr Uio Statio), F (to dowtow Dvr) ad G (to Ni Mil Statio) 1 oprat from Licol Statio. Th statio ara icluds a 1,734-spac park--rid, bus bays ad drop-off aras o ithr sid of I-25, ad a pdstria bridg spaig th Itrstat. Thr fixd rout buss oprat i th ara: Rout #403 cocts Licol Statio to Miral Statio via Highlads Rach; Rout #410 oprats btw Licol Statio ad thr park-ad-rid lots ar Parkr; ad Rout #465 parallls I-25 from Sky Ridg Mdical Ctr i th south to th Dvr Tch Ctr i th orth, makig stops at four Southast Corridor Light Rail statios rout. Furthr, a w fdr bus rout, PRG, will coct Parkr with th Lo Tr City Ctr Statio. Th Lo Tr call--rid shuttl provids curb-to-curb srvic withi a ara boudd by Licol Avu o th south, I-25 o th ast, Couty Li Road o th orth, ad th North-South Trail o th wst. Th shuttl maks hourly stops at Licol Statio wh rsrvatios ar ot cssary; othrwis, usrs must prarrag thir pick-ups. Similarly, th Mridia call--rid srvs th busiss park ast of I-25 ad orth of Licol Avu. This shuttl maks frqut stops at Licol Statio East ad additioally oprats as a flx rout srvic with schduld tim poits o a circular rout through th busiss park. RTD offrs Accss-a-Rid srvic throughout th study ara. Accss-a-Rid provids trasportatio to passgrs with disabilitis who ar uabl to us RTD's rgular lift-quippd fixd rout bus srvic ad who qualify for crtificatio udr th ligibility guidlis stablishd by th Amricas with Disabilitis Act (ADA) of Light rail rout G srvic discotiud i May 2009, but RTD plas to ritroduc th srvic i th futur. 3

6 3.0 IMPACT EVALUATION AND MITIGATION This chaptr xamis ach altrativ s impact o trasit srvic ad ridrship i th corridor, icludig implicatios for statio activity, statio accss, parkig, ad travl tims. Th assssmt icluds thos trasit routs that would itrfac dirctly with th Southast Corridor light rail li, as displayd i Figur CORRIDOR LEVEL TRANSIT SERVICE AND RIDERSHIP Tabl 1 shows th hadways for th xistig corridor trasit srvics, as wll as for thos srvics providd udr th No Actio ad Build Altrativs. Both light rail ad som fixd rout bus srvics would hav improvd hadways i 2035, without a markd diffrc btw altrativs. Th opratios pla will b optimizd as th dsig progrsss such that th projct miimizs opratioal costs whil maximizig ridrship. Th chag to th opratioal pla that is most likly will b th rductio of trai frqucis. Th rductio of trai frqucis would rduc traffic, parkig, ad ois impacts. Thrfor, th trai frqucis of 7.5 miuts durig th pak, ad 10 miuts i th off pak, assumd i this documt, rprst worst cas from a viromtal impact prspctiv. Th Build Altrativ dos itroduc a w fdr bus rout, PRG, which will oprat btw th Southast Corridor Extsio ad th tow of Parkr. Routs 403 ad 465 would b modifid to coct with th Build Altrativ s thr proposd statios. TABLE1: TRANSIT SERVICE FREQUENCY IN THE SOUTHEAST CORRIDOR Trasit Li 2008 Pak/Off-Pak Hadways (Miuts) No Actio Altrativ Build Altrativ Light Rail Li E at Licol Statio 30/15 15/15 15/15 Light Rail Li F at Licol Statio 15/ /15 10/15 Light Rail Li G at Licol Statio 30/- 7.5/10 7.5/10 Rout /120 30/60 30/60 Rout /120 30/120 30/120 Rout / /30 30/30 Rout PRG ot i srvic ot i srvic 30/60 Sourc: RTD 2008 Publishd Schdul; RTD 2035 Travl Dmad Modl. Nots: miut mid-day ad 30-miut vig hadway; miut mid-day ad 60-miut vig hadway; 3. Rout 465 discotiud i May Trasit ridrship i th corridor will icras i futur yars as th ara populatio ad mploymt icras. Corrspodig icrass i trasit srvic lvls i th Build Altrativ will also rsult i trasit patroag icrass. Rout lvl ridrship iformatio is providd i Tabl 2. Th tabl shows ridrship gais i th No Actio Altrativ ar attributd to light rail rout ad bus routs. 4

7 (xistig) E F G L ui Sa t ss Light Rail Li LINCOLN (xistig) Pa r k Hills Pkwy Hadway Frqucy 15 mi 4 /hr F 10 mi 6 /hr G 7.5 mi 8 /hr Mridia E Golf Club Mad ows Dr Hritag Hills Mridia Busiss Park Licol Av Mad ows Blvd Licol Av S DOUGLAS COUNTY 410 CITY OF LONE TREE Pa rk 465 Licol Commos M vd Bl E Oswgo St SH r i ta g ParkRidg Corporat Ctr ia rid RidgGat Plad Dvlopmt LONE TREE 40 3 Commowalth Sky Ridg Mdical Ctr LONE TREE CITY CENTER Hights Ridg Gat Pk y Rout 465od wo g t a Fro Cr Rd Ha ppy o Cot t Pkwy k Ridg Gat Cr Rout 410 w Local Bus Srvic Rout Ca yo k Schwigr Rach ,000 Sou rc: RTD, ,000 Ft park--rid Southast Light Rail Li City Boudary Futur Dvlopmt (by othrs) Figur 2 No Actio Altrativ Trasit Srvic ad Facilitis, 2035

8 TABLE 2: TRANSIT RIDERSHIP IN THE SOUTHEAST CORRIDOR Trasit Li 2008 Avrag Wkday Daily Ridrs No Actio Altrativ Build Altrativ Light Rail Li E 6,592 16,557 20,420 Light Rail Li F 15,918 28,819 30,389 Light Rail Li G ,635 30,813 All Southast Light Rail Lis 23,262 64,011 81,622 Rout ,464 1,245 Rout ,159 1,560 Rout ,417 1,436 Rout PRG ot i srvic ot i srvic 2,443 Systm-wid Likd Trasit Trips 420, ,957 Sourc: RTD Bus ad Light Rail Trasit Ridrship 2008; RTD 2035 Travl Dmad Modl. Not: 1 Light rail rout G srvic discotiud i May 2009, but RTD plas to ritroduc th srvic i th futur. Th Build Altrativ would shift mor markt shar to trasit. Avrag wkday ridrship alog th Southast Corridor Li is projctd to xcd 81,000 i 2035, which is a 17,600-ridr icras ovr th No Actio Altrativ ad a 250 prct icras ovr currt ridrship. Th supportig bus trasit systm i th Build Altrativ would also xpric otabl gais i ridrship. Th modifid routs srvig Lo Tr ad th w light rail statios would xpric modrat chags i ridrship lvls. Th PRG rout, btw Parkr ad Lo Tr City Ctr Statio, would attract arly 2,500 daily ridrs. RTD systm-wid likd trasit trips idicat th total umbr of patros usig trasit. Th forcastd diffrc i likd trasit trips btw th No Actio Altrativ ad Build Altrativ idicat th t gai i trasit ridrs causd by th Southast Corridor Extsio. Th total systm wid likd trasit trips udr th Build Altrativ will xcd thos i th No Actio Altrativ by 16,129 trips, maig th Southast Light Rail Extsio will attract ovr 16,000 w trasit patros. 3.2 STATION BOARDINGS Daily boardig iformatio by statio is projctd for th thr w statios that ar part of th Build Altrativ, as wll as for Licol Statio. Ths data idicat th rlativ attractivss of a trasit statio. Licol Statio is icludd bcaus, as th currt d-of-li statio, it stads to b most affctd by th Build Altrativ. Tabl 3 shows that, i th Build Altrativ, th RidgGat Statio would b th busist of th thr w light rail statios, with mor tha 5,000 avrag daily boardigs. It would b followd by th Lo Tr City Ctr Statio at arly 2,800 boardigs. Boardigs at Licol statio ar lowr by ovr 4,000 i th Build Altrativ, idicatig that th w statios ar mor attractiv to ths pottial usrs. 6

9 TABLE 3: AVERAGE WEEKDAY DAILY BOARDINGS BY STATION Light Rail Statio Light Rail Lis Srvig Statio Avrag Wkday Boardigs No Actio Altrativ Build Altrativ RidgGat Parkway E,F,G 0 0 5,146 Lo Tr City Ctr E,F,G 0 0 2,753 Sky Ridg E,F,G Licol E,F,G 2,001 6,423 2,184 Sourc: RTD 2008 LRT Statio Activity-Wkday; RTD 2035 Travl Dmad Modl. Nots: 1. Boardigs avragd across 12-moth priod from August 2007 to August STATION ACCESS BY MODE Th mod split for accss to ach statio i th Build Altrativ was stimatd for Thr mods of accss ar possibl: driv, bus, ad walk/bik. Driv accss would b icludd oly wh parkig will b availabl at th statio. Th mod splits i Tabl 4 show that drivig would b th prdomiat accss mod for th RidgGat Statio, bus would hav arly a 2/3-shar at th Lo Tr City Ctr Statio, ad almost all patros would accss th Sky Ridg Statio by bicycl or o foot. TABLE 4: STATION MODE OF ACCESS: BUILD ALTERNATIVE, 2035 AVERAGE WEEKDAY Statio Driv Bus Walk/Bik RidgGat Parkway 92% 5% 3% Lo Tr City Ctr 0% 62% 38% Sky Ridg 0% 1% 99% Licol 33% 51% 16% Sourc: RTD 2035 Travl Dmad Modl. 3.4 PARKING SUPPLY Tabl 5 shows th aticipatd chags i park--rid supply i th study ara. Currtly, th Licol Statio park--rid is th oly such facility i th immdiat study ara of th Southast Corridor Extsio. Utilizatio thr is trdig upward, rachig 64 prct of capacity i Sptmbr 2008 ad avragig 50 prct ovr th prvious yar. Th No Actio Altrativ would ot supply w parkig i th study ara. TABLE 5: PARK-AND-RIDE SUPPLY IN THE SOUTHEAST CORRIDOR Park-ad-Rid Existig Coditio (2008) Build Altrativ (2015) No Actio Altrativ Build Altrativ Southast Corridor Li RidgGat Parkway 0 2, ,000 Lo Tr City Ctr 0 No Chag No Chag No Chag Sky Ridg 0 No Chag No Chag No Chag Licol 1,734 No Chag No Chag No Chag 7

10 TABLE 5: PARK-AND-RIDE SUPPLY IN THE SOUTHEAST CORRIDOR Park-ad-Rid Coctig Buss Highlads Rach Tow Ctr Existig Coditio (2008) Build Altrativ (2015) No Actio Altrativ Build Altrativ 177 No Chag No Chag No Chag Parkr 173 No Chag No Chag No Chag Licol/Jorda 102 No Chag No Chag No Chag Sourc: RTD 2008 Data. Th Build Altrativ would add 2,000 additioal parkig spacs at th RidgGat Avu park-- Rid, which would itrcpt most trasit patros from th Lo Tr s RidgGat Plad Dvlopmt ad thos patros travlig from orthboud I-25. Th Build Altrativ s additioal parkig supply also rlivs futur parkig dmad at Licol Statio. 3.5 TRAVEL TIMES Travl tims from th I-25/RidgGat Parkway itrchag to Dvr Uio Statio wr forcast for th yar Automobil ad trasit travl tims ar calculatd udr th No Actio ad Build Altrativ i th morig pak hour ad pak dirctio. Ths travl tims poit to th rlativ attractivss ad viability of a giv mod. Th rsults prstd i Tabl 6 cofirm that worsig cogstio alog th rgio s major highways icrasigly will rdr trasit th mor fficit mod. Whras a trip to Dvr Uio Statio i 2035 would tak a drivr 64 miuts, ridig light rail would rduc th trip tim by 20 miuts (31 prct). TABLE 6: TRAVEL TIME DURING MORNING PEAK HOUR, 2035 AVERAGE WEEKDAY Mod 2005 I-25/RidgGat Parkway to Dvr Uio Statio (Miuts) No Actio Altrativ Build Altrativ Auto Trasit Sourc: RTD 2035 Travl Dmad Modl. 3.6 MITIGATION Basd o th abov aalysis, o mitigatio is warratd. 8

11 4.0 REFERENCES No rfrcs wr citd. 9