State Route 160 (Blue Diamond Road) Corridor Study Final Report August 31, 2006 Booz Allen Hamilton with Civilwise Inc. Table of Contents RTC SR-160 Corridor Study TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................... 1-1 2.0 CURRENT CONDITIONS OF STUDY AREA ................................................... 2-1 2.1 Description of SR-160....................................................................................2-1 2.2 Geographic Boundaries ..................................................................................2-1 2.3 Communities Served......................................................................................2-1 2.4 Current Zoning and Community Plans ..............................................................2-3 2.4.1 Clark County ......................................................................................2-3 2.4.2 2004 Land Use Plan for Enterprise.........................................................2-3 2.5 Current Land Use ..........................................................................................2-4 2.5.1 Public Facilities Needs Assessment ........................................................2-5 2.6 Future Growth ..............................................................................................2-6 2.6.1 Transit-Supportive Land-Use Actions .....................................................2-7 2.6.2 Recent Growth Management Activities .................................................2-13 2.6.3 Potential for Future Growth ................................................................2-13 2.7 Study Area Demographics ............................................................................2-14 2.7.1 Population ........................................................................................2-15 2.7.2 Employment .....................................................................................2-16 2.8 Study Area Transportation System ................................................................2-17 2.8.1 Daily Volumes...................................................................................2-18 2.8.2 Congestion Index ..............................................................................2-19 2.8.3 Level of Service (LOS) .......................................................................2-19 2.9 Highways and Major Arterials........................................................................2-22 2.9.1 Major Highways ................................................................................2-24 2.9.2 Major Arterials ..................................................................................2-25 2.10 Transit Services ..........................................................................................2-27 2.10.1 Route Descriptions, Service Levels, and Ridership .................................2-27 3.0 OVERVIEW OF TRANSIT MODES ................................................................ 3-1 3.1 Conventional Bus Transit................................................................................3-1 3.1.1 Overview............................................................................................3-1 3.1.2 Vehicle Characteristics .........................................................................3-2 3.1.3 Infrastructure Elements .......................................................................3-4 3.1.4 Service Characteristics.........................................................................3-5 3.1.5 Costs .................................................................................................3-5 i Table of Contents RTC SR-160 Corridor Study 3.2 Bus Rapid Transit ..........................................................................................3-6 3.2.1 Overview............................................................................................3-6 3.2.2 Vehicle Characteristics .........................................................................3-7 3.2.3 Infrastructure Elements .......................................................................3-8 3.2.4 Service Characteristics.......................................................................3-10 3.2.5 Costs ...............................................................................................3-10 3.3 Light Rail Transit / Diesel Multiple Unit Transit ................................................3-12 3.3.1 Overview..........................................................................................3-12 3.3.2 Vehicle Characteristics .......................................................................3-13 3.3.3 Infrastructure Elements .....................................................................3-14 3.3.4 Service Characteristics.......................................................................3-15 3.3.5 Capital Costs ....................................................................................3-15 4.0 EVALUATION METHODOLOGY .................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Factors Guiding Transit Expansion ...................................................................4-1 4.2 Screening Methodology ..................................................................................4-3 5.0 ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT.................................................................... 5-1 5.1 Radial and Cross Town Alignments ..................................................................5-1 5.2 Physical Characteristics of Specific Alignments ..................................................5-2 5.2.1 Radial Alignments ...............................................................................5-3 5.2.2 Cross-Town Alignments........................................................................5-8 5.3 Modal Options.............................................................................................5-10 5.3.1 Light Rail/DMU..................................................................................5-11 5.3.2 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) .....................................................................5-12 5.3.3 Conventional Bus Transit....................................................................5-12 5.4 Alternative Refinement ................................................................................5-13 6.0 SR-160 CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT PLAN .................................................. 6-1 6.1 Current conditions and SR-160 expansion project..............................................6-1 6.2 Future Highway Lane Configuration .................................................................6-3 6.3 Signaled Intersection Configuration .................................................................6-3 6.4 Optimizing movement of transit vehicles ..........................................................6-4 6.4.1 Queue-Jumping Intersections ...............................................................6-4 6.4.2 Left Turn Lanes...................................................................................6-6 6.4.3 Bus Signal Priority...............................................................................6-7 6.5 Congestion Management Strategies.................................................................6-8 6.5.1 Transportation System Management......................................................6-8 6.5.2 Future Roadway System Performance ....................................................6-8 ii Table of Contents RTC SR-160 Corridor Study 6.6 Representative Intersection Diagram ...............................................................6-9 6.7 Union Pacific Railroad Right-of-Way ...............................................................6-11 6.7.1 Overview..........................................................................................6-11 6.7.2 Analysis by Segment .........................................................................6-12 6.7.3 Conclusions ......................................................................................6-15 7.0 PROPOSED PARK AND RIDE FACILITIES ................................................... 7-1 7.1 Park & Ride Site and Design Criteria ................................................................7-1 7.1.1 Location .............................................................................................7-1 7.1.2 Configuration......................................................................................7-1 7.1.3 Other Factors......................................................................................7-2 7.2 Candidate Park & Ride Sites ...........................................................................7-2 7.3 Recommended Park & Ride Sites.....................................................................7-4 7.3.1 SR-160 east of S. Hualapai Way............................................................7-6 7.3.2 SR-160 west of S. Durango Drive ........................................................7-11 7.3.3 SR-160 between Rainbow and Torrey Pines ..........................................7-15 7.4 Land Acquisition Options ..............................................................................7-19 7.5 Bus Stops...................................................................................................7-20 7.5.1 SR-160 at S. Buffalo Drive .................................................................7-21 7.5.2 SR-160 at Arville Street .....................................................................7-21