TRANSFORMING AN URBAN CORRIDOR Bus Rapid Transit Along Lake Street EMILY NEUENSCHWANDER TRANSFORMING AN URBAN CORRIDOR Bus Rapid Transit along Lake Street A Design Thesis Submitted to the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture of North Dakota State University By Emily Neuenschwander Ƥ for the Degree of Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Primary Thesis Advisor ThThesis i CCommittee itt ChChair i May 2013 Fargo, North Dakota TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF INTENT THESIS PROPOSAL CONCLUSION Thesis Abstract User/Client Description Previous Design Studio Experience Problem Statement Project Elements Reference List Project Typology Site Information Personal Identification Project Emphasis Research Results Thesis Goals Design Development Final Design Work STATEMENT OF INTENT ABSTRACT The Midtown Corridor is a culturally diverse, commercial district within the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota that is currently undergoing analysis for proposed transit alternatives. This site was selected because of its potential to provide access and connect to many important local and regional transit networks. The Midtown Corridor needs to improve mobility, increase ridership, and enhance transit connections, so that automobile traffic can subside and the urban street-life can be restored. Because this area has the potential to connect to other transit networks, it is important that it be frequent and reliable, as well as user-friendly. Transforming an Urban Corridor: Bus Rapid Transit Along Lake Street study suggests that Bus Rapid Transit would be a viable solution for this area. The study collected both qualitative data and quantitative data from city archives and involved organizations, as well as relevant case studies and literature. The information was used to evaluate if Bus Rapid Transit would be the best solution for revitalization of Lake Street. PROBLEM STATEMENT Minneapolis, specifically the Midtown Corridor, has a lack of efficient public transportation, therefore cars are heavily utilized. The Midtown Corridor is a unique area within the city of Minneapolis that has the op- portunity to improve its street vitality and reconnect regional transit networks. PROJECT TYPOLOGY: URBAN STREETSCAPE & TRANSPORTATON PLANNING THEORETICAL PREMISE: PROJECT JUSTIFICATION: Questions to seek Answers for: WHY TRANSPORTATION??? WHY BUS RAPID TRANSIT??? How can an adapted transportation system aid in the revitalization Transportation is more than just the means by which we get around, A Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus offers faster bus service, compared of an urban corridor? but is rather a way of life in urban areas. The modes and methods of to that of a traditional bus, with a faster schedule, fewer stops, and transportation we use, not only impact the air we breathe, but the a more direct route (Deng & Nelson, 2011). The BRT system has ad- How can we create a more vibrate and vital street atmosphere, that communities we live in and the relationships we have. Transporta- opted many of the same elements from LRT and Metro to achieve gets users out of their cars and interacting amongst each other and tion is at the heart of many of the most pressing issues we face to- high-capacity and high-reliability. This emerging form of mass transit surrounding businesses? day, and we need to invest in sustainable, cost efficient, and viable has shown to be extremely efficient with the speed and reliability of transportation systems in order to ensure a high quality of life and rail service and the operating flexibility and lower cost of a conven- health of our planet. tional bus service (Deng & Nelson, 2011). There is adequate evidence to support that BRT can increase ridership and attract modal shift From 1998 through 2008, the most recent year for which complete from private cars. For this reason, many cities in more recent years data are available, showed that transit ridership grew at a faster rate have implemented BRT systems into their cities’ transportation net- than transit service (Wise, 2010). According to the Institute for Trans- works including the TransMilenio in Bogota Colombia; Metrovia in portation and Development Policy (ITDP), “among core infrastruc- Guayaquil, Ecuador; as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles. ture in the US (electricity, education, medicare), the return on in- vestment in transport is one of the highest. After education, it is the In an economic crisis where federal funding may be hard to come by, biggest factor in economic growth. Designing infrastructure with BRT systems may prove to be the answer to public transport issues the protection of pedestrians and cyclists in mind, enhancing public in the United States. It is this system that this thesis examined more transport, and improving automobile behavior on the roads reduces in depth. injuries and creates safer, more livable communities” (IDTP). BUS RAPID TRANSIT HISTORY Curitiba is the capital city of the State of Parana in Southern Brazil. The city is located about 250 kilometers [150 miles] southwest of Sao Paulo near the coastal mountain range. During the 1960s to early 1980s, Curitiba grew at a rapid rate, with a population growth rate of approximately 4% per year. (Robert Cervero, 1995) The rapid growth and development of the city, eventually led the city to yield a new transportation system, known as Bus Rapid Transit. DEFINITION According to the National Bus Rapid Transit Institute (NBRTI, 2012), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), “is an innovative, high-capac- ity, lower-cost public transit solution that can achieve the performance and benefits of more expensive rail modes.” Ac- cording to the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA, 2004), “BRT is a rubber-tyred rapid transit service that combines stations, vehicles, running ways, a flexible operating plan, and technology into a high quality , costumer focused service that is frequent, fast, reliable, comfortable and cost effective”. The term ‘BRT’ originated in North American and is now a widespread term. Other terms used in substitution for BRT include: high-capacity bus systems, high quality bus systems, metro-bus, surface metro, express bus systems, busway systems, high level bus service (Deng & Nelson, 2011). Curitiba’s Bus Rapid Transit system has shown so much success that it has become a model for other BRT systems in cities includ- ing the TransMilenio in Bogotá, Colombia; Metrovia in Guayaquil, Ecuador; as well as the Orange Line of Los Angeles. This emerging form of mass transit ties the speed and reliability of rail service, with the operating flexibility and lower cost of a conventional bus service (Deng & Nelson, 2011). APPLICABILITY IN THE U.S It is clear that in the years coming public transport will be a growing market, but many areas in the United States still lack adequate public transport. “75 percent of the people in Curitiba, get to work on a bus every morning.” Says Kenneth Krunkemeyer, of the Center for Transportation and Logistics. “A city like Phoenix, has the exactly the same population as Curitiba, over the past 250 years. Yet in Phoenix, 1 percent of people get to work on a bus”. (Press, E. (2009). Street- films) BRT has been shown to be very successful as an economically efficient mass transit mode in developing countries with large populations of low-income residents. (Pucher et al., 2005) In an economic crisis where federal funding may be hard to come by, BRT systems may prove to be the answer to public transport issues in the United States. Ridership figures from existing systems show that BRT is comparable with LRT in terms of capacity, but cost a fraction less. There is adequate evidence to support that BRT can increase ridership and attract modal shift from private cars. This transport type is worth further study in its applicability in the U.S. BRT CONSIDERATIONS URBAN LIFE There is a growing concern with the effect BRT systems have on urban life. Because BRT systems run at ground level, some find COST this type of transport more intrusive than below ground Metro. It was found through multiple sources that overall capital and op- Bogota’s BRT system TransMilenio, which began in 2000, is consid- erating costs of BRT systems are less than similar rail-based solu- ered one of the most successful models of BRT in the world. After tions. Wright and Hook found constructing a BRT system typically several years of progress, TransMilenio has achieved impressive cost 4-20 times less than a LRT system and 10-100 times less than a results in travel time saving, accident and emission reduction, op- Metro system (Wright & Hook, 2007). Because of the lower cost, PERCEPTION eration without subsidy and is the highest capacity BRT system in SPEED, RELIABILITY & PASSENGER FLOW BRT systems are able to be implement in budget-constrained cit- An important element in BRT is its users perception and how people the world (Cain, Darido, Baltes, Rodriguez, & Barrios, 2007). Trans- BRT systems are measured by three key attributes – travel speed, ies. The lower cost also means that with the same budget, BRT identify with the system. With the improvement of service quality milenio can carry up to 45,000 pphpd (people per hour per direc- reliability and passenger volume (Deng & Nelson, 2011). A critical can deliver greater network coverage than a rail (LRT) or metro (high speed, reliability, safety, comfort and user-friendly design), tion), but even with its success there are still complaints with the issue in implementing BRT is how to provide right-of-ways for ve- system. A study from the US General Accounting Office (US GAO, BRT systems have a positive impact on customer satisfaction (Cain system. During peak times , extreme crowding problems often oc- hicles. This becomes an essential part of the design. Performance 2001), suggested that BRT capital costs were generally lower than et al., 2009). The 2008 academic journal, Bus rapid transit identity cur, which causes passengers dissatisfaction. This however, is not of a BRT system greatly depends on the quality of the busway.