Connect Long Island Suffolk County Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study Prepared for Suffolk County Prepared by In Association with: Parsons Brinckerhoff B. Thayer Associates CJ2 Communication Strategies Final Report May 2014 The preparation of this report has been financed through the U.S. Department ofTransportation’s Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council in the interest of information exchange. The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration or the State of New York. This report does not constitute a standard, specification or regulation. Suffolk County Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study was funded through the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council SFY (2013-2014) Unified Planning Work Program project (Suffolk County BRT Study and PTSU13D00.H02). This report was funded through matching grants from the Federal Transit Administration and from the Federal Highway Administration. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SUFFOLK COUNTY DEPARTMENT SUFFOLK COUNTY DEPARTMENT Cover and inside cover image: OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS The rendering on the cover AND PLANNING depicts the Bus Rapid Transit Joanne Minieri Gilbert Anderson, P.E. station at Stony Brook University Deputy County Executive Commissioner as proposed by the Suffolk County and Commissioner Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Garry Lenberger Study, including the Stony Brook Sarah Lansdale Transportation Division University Hospital expansion in Director of Planning Director of Transportation the background. The rendering Operations inside the front cover depicts what Louis Bekofsky Bus Rapid Transit might look like Senior Project Manager Christopher McVoy, P.E. in Patchogue. Source of both Transportation Division renderings: AECOM Civil Engineer Executive Summary Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................ 4 Capital Cost ..................................................... 45 ES 1. Introduction ................................................. 4 Operating Cost ................................................ 45 ES 1.1 Context ...................................................... 4 Preferred BRT Corridor Profiles ............................ 45 ES 2. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) ............................. 6 Amityville-Huntington (via NY Route 110) ........... 46 ES 2.1 BRT Characteristics ............................ 7 Summary of Findings ....................................... 47 ES 2.2 Land Use .............................................. 8 Service Plan .................................................... 49 ES 2.3 Benefits ................................................ 9 Potential Roadway and Traffic Signalization ES 3. Study Methodology ..................................... 10 Improvements .................................................. 50 ES 4. Key Findings ............................................... 12 Ridership ......................................................... 50 ES 4.1 Proposed BRT Corridors ...................... 12 Capital Cost ..................................................... 51 ES 4.2 Phased Implementation Plan ............... 13 Operating Cost ................................................ 51 ES 4.3 Ridership .............................................. 14 Deer Park-Kings Park (via Sagtikos Parkway) ... 52 ES 4.4 Travel Time Savings ............................. 15 Summary of Findings ....................................... 53 ES 4.5 Capital and Operating Cost Estimates 15 Service Plan .................................................... 55 ES 5. Next Steps ................................................... 17 Potential Roadway and Traffic Signalization Chapter 1: Foundation for Success ...................... 18 Improvements .................................................. 56 Inventory of Assets, Demographics Ridership ......................................................... 57 and Systems .........................................................18 Capital Cost ..................................................... 57 Suffolk County Trends .......................................... 22 Operating Cost ................................................ 57 Demographics Trends ..................................... 22 Patchogue-Stony Brook (via Nicolls Road) ........ 58 The Transportation System .............................. 23 Summary of Findings ....................................... 59 Chapter 2: What is BRT? ........................................ 25 Service Plan .................................................... 61 BRT Characteristics and Attributes...................... 25 Potential Roadway and Traffic Signalization Peer BRT Systems ................................................ 28 Improvements .................................................. 62 The Benefits of BRT .............................................. 29 Ridership ......................................................... 63 Chapter 3: Building a 21st Century Capital Cost ..................................................... 63 Transportation System ........................................... 33 Operating Cost ................................................ 63 Identification and Prioritization of BRT Corridors 33 Chapter 4: Moving Forward .................................... 64 Methodology .................................................... 34 Recommendations ................................................. 65 BRT Service Characteristics ................................ 36 1. Coordinate Land Use and Intersection Typology for Queue Jump and Transportation Planning...................................65 TSP Implementation ........................................ 40 2. Analyze Individual Corridors and Select Potential Phasing for Queue Jump and a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) ...........67 TSP Implementation ........................................ 42 3. Engage Agencies and Officials to Advance Fare Collection ................................................ 43 Implementation................................................69 Service Plan .................................................... 43 4. Develop Funding Strategy..............................70 Service Operator ............................................. 43 Conclusion ............................................................... 75 Ridership ......................................................... 44 Footnotes ................................................................. 77 1 Bus Rapid Transit Feasibility Study Tables Table ES-1: Cost per Mile Comparison by Mass Transit Technology ($ million) ....................................... 9 Table ES-2: Proposed BRT Corridors ....................................................................................................... 12 Table ES-3: Existing and Projected Phase 1 Corridor Ridership.............................................................. 14 Table ES-4: Estimated Capital Cost by Phase ......................................................................................... 16 Table ES-5: Estimated Annual Operating Cost by Phase ......................................................................... 17 Table 1: Cost per Mile Comparison by Mass Transit Technology ($ million) ............................................ 27 Table 2: Comparison of Four BRT Systems .............................................................................................. 28 Table 3: Amityville-Huntington (via NY Route 110) Corridor Ridership ................................................... 50 Table 4: Amityville-Huntington (via NY Route 110) Corridor Capital Cost ............................................... 51 Table 5: Amityville-Huntington (via NY Route 110) Corridor Annual Operating Cost .............................. 51 Table 6: Deer Park-Kings Park (via Sagtikos Parkway) Corridor Ridership ........................................... 57 Table 7: Deer Park-Kings Park (via Sagtikos Parkway) Corridor Capital Cost ....................................... 57 Table 8: Deer Park-Kings Park (via Sagtikos Parkway) Corridor Annual Operating Cost ..................... 57 Table 9: Patchogue-Stony Brook (via Nicolls Road) Corridor Ridership ................................................ 63 Table 10: Patchogue-Stony Brook (via Nicolls Road) Corridor Capital Cost .......................................... 63 Table 11: Patchogue-Stony Brook (via Nicolls Road) Corridor Annual Operating Cost ......................... 63 Table 12: Potential Funding Sources ......................................................................................................... 72 Figures Figure ES-1: Elements of BRT ................................................................................................................... 7 Figure ES-2: Suffolk County Land Use ..................................................................................................... 8 Figure ES-3: Corridor Evaluation Process ................................................................................................ 11 Figure ES-4: Proposed BRT Corridors ...................................................................................................... 12 Figure ES-5: Queue Jump Types .............................................................................................................