DRAFT FINAL REPORT – VOLUME I APPENDICES August 2016 DRAFT DRAFT
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DRAFT DRAFT FINAL REPORT – VOLUME I APPENDICES August 2016 DRAFT DRAFT APPENDICES APPENDIX A REVIEW OF PREVIOUS PLANNING STUDIES APPENDIX B STAKEHOLDER INPUT APPENDIX C RIDER SURVEY ANALYSIS APPENDIX D SCENARIO COMPARISONS BY APPENDIX E ROUTE PUBLIC MEETING FEEDBACK APPENDIX F AIRPORT TRANSIT CASE STUDIES | i DRAFT APPENDIX A REVIEW OF PREVIOUS PLANNING STUDIES | 0 DRAFT PREVIOUS PLANNING STUDIES Over the past 15 years, a number of planning studies at the local, regional, and state-wide level have either directly focused on transit service in the Greater Hartford region, or have focused on related issues that can impact CT Transit’s services and operations. These documents provide context for the issues, challenges, and opportunities related to mobility in the Hartford area. The study team identified and reviewed the following seven studies that are directly relevant to the Comprehensive Service Analysis: . Connecticut DOT Statewide Bus System Study (2000) . CRCOG Regional Transit Strategy (2001) . Hartford East Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study (2004) . Northwest Corridor Transit Study (2007) . Buckland Area Transportation Study (2009) . NHHS Rail Service Development Project (2011 update) . CTfastrak 2015 Service Plan – Revision 1 The key findings and recommendations of each study are described below. Comparing these recommendations against the existing transit network will allow the study team to understand the origins of the current service approach, as well as the persistent challenges that have kept some recurring recommendations from being implemented. Connecticut DOT Statewide Bus System Study (2000) The Connecticut DOT Statewide Bus System Study was prepared for the State of Connecticut to analyze how effectively each of the state’s 20 urban and rural transit systems operate and determine opportunities for improvements in efficiency and service coverage. The study includes 21 individual reports, with one report completed for each system in Connecticut, including CTtransit’s Hartford system. The Study was conducted by a team led by Urbitran Associates and completed in July 2000. The study identifies statewide opportunity areas for improved service, including adjusting schedules to better match transit demand, improving interregional connections, and serving newer commercial, industrial or residentially areas that are currently unserved. The study’s proposed changes emphasize efficient reallocation of resources. The report focusing on Hartford recommends service modifications for many of CTtransit’s routes. These changes include increases in frequency, route modifications, and changes to hours and days of service. Another recommendation included in the study is the creation of two new cross-town routes, which would allow for direct suburb to suburb travel without requiring a transfer through downtown Hartford. The first recommended cross-town route would travel from Copaco to Buckland Hills Mall, creating an east- west corridor north of the center of Hartford. The second would travel from West Farms Mall to Copaco, creating a north-south corridor on the western side of the Connecticut River, which would provide access from numerous low- and moderate-income residential areas to the commercial areas along the corridor. | 1 DRAFT CRCOG Regional Transit Strategy (2001) The CRCOG Regional Transit Strategy (RTS) was developed by a team led by Parsons Brinkerhoff to help the Region’s decision-makers gain a better understanding of the implications, both transportation and fiscal, of future investments in public transportation. The RTS also sought to define a role for transit that addressed the known needs of the Region’s residents and employers, both current and future. The Strategy put forth recommendations for four major elements of a transit system: rapid line haul service; local feeder, distributor service; circulation within activity centers; and passenger portals such as bus stops, stations, and transfer centers. The development of exclusive transit facilities was recommended along five corridors. Four of these corridors were to be developed as busways: the New Britain Hartford Busway, the Griffin Busway, the Manchester Busway, and the Rocky Hill Busway. The final corridor, the New Haven Hartford Springfield corridor, would be developed for commuter rail service. A downtown circulation system was evaluated as part of the Strategy and found to be integral to the success of the rapid transit facilities. Such a system was being studied in another project at the time, so the RTS did not work to define the system; however, the document emphasizes the importance of a downtown circulator to provide means for people to move between activity centers downtown. Proposed enhancements to existing services were put forth, due to the recognition that despite investments in a fixed guideway system, local bus service would continue to function as a crucial part of the overall transit system. These recommendations include: . More hours of service . More timed transfer centers . Increased service frequency to provide timed transfers at new centers | 2 DRAFT . New routes that provide for greater suburb to suburb service, to provide circulators within activity centers, and to provider circumferential route in the region’s inner ring suburbs . Modifications to existing routes in order to create more direct service, improve operating efficiency, or prevent duplication of route segments . Integration of alternate fueled vehicles in the transit fleet The RTS recommended that four time-transfer centers be located throughout the region. These transit centers, which would create a “multi hub” system, were recommended at Copaco Plaza (Bloomfield), West Farms Mall (Farmington), Buckland Hills Mall (Manchester), and Wethersfield Shopping Center (Wethersfield). Hartford East Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study (2004) The purpose of the Hartford East Rapid Transit Feasibility Study was to build on a recommendation from the CRCOG Long Range Transportation Plan to retain the Hartford East Corridor as a high priority corridor and to reassess transportation improvement options in order to determine the most appropriate improvements for the corridor. Additionally, the study built on the Regional Transit Strategy (RTS), which identified the Hartford East Corridor as a location with high potential for successful implementation of Bus Rapid Transit. The Study was intended to further develop the alternative analysis conducted for the RTS by evaluating the need and feasibility of Bus Rapid Transit in this corridor. The study was conducted by a team led by Wilbur Smith Associates and was completed in December 2004. The Study evaluated two routing alternatives for a Bus Rapid Transit system in the Hartford East Corridor: routing along an existing HOV lane system and routing along existing railroad right-of-way. The HOV lane system alternative was developed as a near-term implementation alternative and would interface the BRT route with existing HOV lanes. The HOV-rail corridor alternative was developed as a long-term implementation alternative and would consist of portion of the BRT interfacing with HOV lanes and the other portion operating along the freight rail line that travels from Hartford through East Hartford. The near-term alternative would consist of six stops, traveling from Simmons to Rockville, while the long-term alternative would extend service from Rockville to Main Street. | 3 DRAFT Northwest Corridor Transit Study (2007) The Northwest Corridor Transit Study was prepared by a consulting team led by TranSystems. The Study was designed to increase transit ridership in the corridor, ensure the viability of Union Station as a busway terminus, and ensure that busway buses can be added to downtown transit traffic. Part 1 of the study covers the Day Hill Road area and was initiated in 2007. Part 1 describes the background conditions in the Day Hill Road study area, which includes suburban-style employment sites and low density developments, and sets forth a proposed transit service improvement program for the study area. Recommendations include: . Establish transfer hub at the Exit 38 “Poquonock” Park & Ride lot; . Improve CTtransit services to the Day Hill Road area and to the proposed transfer hub; and . Establish new cross-town CT Transit peak period bus routes on experimental basis. Part 2 of the study addresses upgrading and modernizing Union Station in downtown Hartford. This study evaluates the existing conditions at the station as well as ways the station could be improved. The study recommends a number of alternatives relating to Union Station and the creation of a new bus transit center, including: . A design for Union Station that would increase the Ground Transportation Center by around 10,750 square feet; . Concept of a Transit Center at the North Parking Lot in concert with a new Air Rights Garage to help provide additional parking for future commuter rail passengers and any transit oriented development that might occur; . TOD recommendations, including development of a residential high-rise building and other residential developments near Union Station; and . Recommendations to improve pedestrian conditions near the station. Part 3 was undertaken to better understand downtown Hartford travel patterns, which could then be used to develop a downtown circulation plan and select the location(s) of one or more downtown transit center(s). The key recommendation in this study is for the development of a Transit Center, due to the high volume