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North-South Bus Rapid Transit Traffic Analysis.
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Staff:
Department:
Brian Litchfield, Director
Transit
Matt Cecil, Transit Development Manager
Overview: The North-South Bus Rapid Transit (NSBRT) project was initiated in January 2014 as one of the results of the Chapel Hill 2020 Comprehensive Plan. The study is managed by Chapel Hill Transit and guided by a Policy Committee, Technical Committee, Transit Partners Committee and a substantial public involvement process. During its January 16, 2019 Council Meeting, the Council adopted an updated Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for the NSBRT project and asked staff to conduct a traffic analysis to evaluate converting or constructing dedicated bus-only lanes between Eubanks Road and North Street along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The LPA is the transitway alternative that the project sponsor (Town of Chapel Hill) and stakeholders prefer and expect to be competitive and achieve support at the federal level. The LPA is a general description of the type of transit that will be used (mode), runningway (curb running, median, dedicated lane, mixed traffic, etc.) and the location (alignment and termini). The LPA definition is general; LPA design specifics and definition of additional elements of the project, including station locations, are decided during subsequent engineering and planning efforts.
Identification of an LPA is a critical step in pursuit of federal funding. The selection of an LPA tells the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) which alternative the local agency (Chapel Hill Transit) expects to be the most competitive in achieving support at the local, regional, and federal levels. It is expected that Chapel Hill Transit will pursue federal funding for the NSBRT project through the FTA Small Starts program.
Following a review of the January 16, 2019, LPA, the FTA notified Chapel Hill Transit that a final LPA, defining construct or convert for the section of the corridor between Marti...
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