Newberry – Columbia Alternatives Analysis Final Report Newberry – Columbia Alternatives Analysis Final Report March 2014 Prepared by In association with Community Design Group Connetics Transportation Group Hatch Mott MacDonald Planners for Environmental Quality SR Concepts Newberry – Columbia Alternatives Analysis Final Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………..ES 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Corridor Description ............................................................................................... 2 1.2 Transportation Network Facilities .......................................................................... 3 2.0 Planning Context ................................................................................................................ 5 2.1 Roadways ................................................................................................................ 5 2.1.1 Physical Roadway Conditions ..................................................................... 5 2.1.2 Traffic Volumes and Patterns...................................................................... 6 2.1.3 Congestion .................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Transit Services ..................................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 SmartRide .................................................................................................. 12 2.2.2 Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (The COMET) ..................... 14 2.3 Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities ........................................................................... 17 2.3.1 Pedestrian Pathways ................................................................................. 17 2.3.2 Bicycle Facilities ........................................................................................ 18 2.3.3 Walkability ................................................................................................ 19 2.4 Rail Service ............................................................................................................ 19 2.5 Employment Patterns ........................................................................................... 19 2.5.1 Major Employers ....................................................................................... 19 2.5.2 Employment Growth ................................................................................. 22 2.5.3 Employment Commuting Patterns ........................................................... 25 2.6 Population and Household Conditions and Trends ............................................. 27 2.6.1 Demographic Profile ................................................................................. 27 2.6.1.1 Population ......................................................................... 27 2.6.1.2 Race and Ethnicity ............................................................. 33 2.6.1.3 Age .................................................................................... 35 2.6.1.4 Income .............................................................................. 37 2.6.2 Housing ..................................................................................................... 40 2.7 Transit Dependent Populations ........................................................................... 43 i Newberry – Columbia Alternatives Analysis Final Report 2.7.1. Zero-Vehicle Households .......................................................................... 43 2.8 Additional Contextual Information ...................................................................... 44 3.0 Purpose and Need ............................................................................................................ 45 3.1 Purpose of the Proposed Action ........................................................................... 45 3.2 The Problem Statement ........................................................................................ 45 3.3 Need for the Proposed Action .............................................................................. 45 3.3.1 Travel Demand .......................................................................................... 45 3.3.2 Economic Development ............................................................................ 47 3.3.3 Existing Transit Service Opportunities ...................................................... 49 3.3.4 Land Use Integration ................................................................................. 50 3.4 Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................. 51 3.5 Evaluation Criteria................................................................................................. 53 4.0 Fatal Flaw Analysis ........................................................................................................... 56 4.1 Alternative Development and Evaluation Process ............................................... 56 4.2 Transit Modes ....................................................................................................... 58 4.2.1 Increased Access and Mobility .................................................................. 59 4.2.2 Transit Capacity ......................................................................................... 62 4.2.3 Economic Development ............................................................................ 63 4.2.4 Capital Costs .............................................................................................. 64 4.2.5 Consistency with Local and Regional Plans .............................................. 65 4.2.6 Community Support .................................................................................. 68 4.2.7 Summary of Initial Screening: Modes ....................................................... 70 4.3 Alignments ............................................................................................................ 72 4.3.1 Probable Right-of-Way Acquisition ........................................................... 74 4.3.2 Traffic Impacts .......................................................................................... 79 4.3.3 Potential Environmental Impacts ............................................................. 81 4.3.4 Community Support .................................................................................. 87 4.3.5 Summary of Initial Screening: Alignments ................................................ 88 5.0 Path Forward .................................................................................................................... 90 ii Newberry – Columbia Alternatives Analysis Final Report TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1-1: Newberry-Columbia Corridor ....................................................................................... 4 Figure 2-1: Existing Congested Corridors ...................................................................................... 10 Figure 2-2: Forecasted Congested Corridors ................................................................................ 11 Figure 2-3: Newberry Express SmartRide Route........................................................................... 13 Figure 2-4: Newberry Express SmartRide Ridership (Jan 2010 – Oct 2011) ................................. 14 Figure 2-5: The Comet Route 34 ................................................................................................... 16 Figure 2-6: Existing Employment Density ..................................................................................... 24 Figure 2-7: Existing Population Density (2000/2005) ................................................................... 30 Figure 2-8: Future Population Density .......................................................................................... 31 Figure 2-9: Population Density: Percent Change .......................................................................... 32 Figure 2-10: Percent of Non-White Population ............................................................................ 34 Figure 2-11: Existing Elderly Population ....................................................................................... 36 Figure 2-12: Percent of Population Under the Poverty Line ........................................................ 38 Figure 4-1: Distribution of Major Employers and Destinations .................................................... 61 Figure 4-2: Newberry-Columbia Study Corridor Segments .......................................................... 73 TABLE OF TABLES Table 2-1: Traffic Volumes .............................................................................................................. 7 Table 2-2: Level of Service Descriptions ......................................................................................... 8 Table 2-3: Level of Service in the 3-County Region ........................................................................ 9 Table 2-4: Level of Service in the Corridor ...................................................................................... 9 Table 2-5: CMRTA Annual Ridership ............................................................................................. 15 Table 2-6: CMRTA Average Monthly Ridership ...........................................................................