RV 2014: Urban Circulator Roundtable: Shaping Cities one Challenge at a Time -All Presentations

Portland’s Streetcar: Challenges of a Maturing System

PPARTNERSHIP • Operating Agreement: day-to-day responsibilities and

costs • Master Agreement:

• City responsible for capital funding • Both share operating funding, but for successful

lines TriMet’s share increases based on policy-based targets

• Both must agree for future projects to move forward

• Template for potential other lines in the region

FFOCUS SHIFTS OVER TIME

Development Focus

Access/ Mobility Focus

Development Ridership Tax Receipts

Lessons Learned

1. Design standards must be tailored to fit the intended functions of the project.

2. Strong, clear partnerships are crucial to success.

3. Branding the project gives the public ownership and creates an identity.

Embedded Track

Minimal Setback

No Z-Gates and Non-Standard Tactile Color

Multi-Modal

Create a “Green” way

Partnering = Strong Alliances

Branding

Brand Implementation





Urban Circulator Roundtable: Shaping

Cities One Challenge at a Time Project Connect Central Corridor –

Clarifying the “Problem” in Austin, Texas

Derek Benedict, PE URS Transit & Railroads

Austin, Texas

• Regional High-Capacity System Plan

• Includes local and regional rail and other HOV services

• Established priorities • Central Corridor

Study

• 4 “C”s, “G”, and “S” – Congestion – Core – Constraints – Centers – Growth – System (added for the

Central Corridor)

• Study area (Central Austin) divided into 10 “sub-corridors”

• About 60 different data sets were used to represent the problem statements (4 Cs, G, and S)

• An interval-scoring and ranking tool was developed

“Poor – Fair – Good – Best” Harvey Balls

…Good for more discrete comparison of better-defined corridors

LLamar Highland Mueller ERC

3 2 4 152 61 51 70

Congestion 1 3 5 3 6Congestion Index 2 5 22 20 25Travel Demand Index 5 38 55 29 60

Constraints & Growth 4 18 23 19 19Growth Index 4 36 55 38 56Constraint Index 2 32 33 33 16

Core 2 2 6 9 8Affordability Index 3 10 17 27 25Econ Development Index 2 7 25 40 33

Centers 3 8 8 7 10Centers Index 4 20 24 25 40Consistency with Plans 1 20 16 12 12

System 5 21 19 12 27Future Ridership Potential 5 19 21 8 29Current Ridership Potential 3 18 10 4 16Connectivity Index 5 15 13 16 22Transit Demand Index 4 11 12 9 15

Weighting/ Importance

Prob

lem

Crite

ria

- Allowed the use of many different sets of data

- Allowed sensitivity testing

- Allowed for simple prioritization of corridors/future corridors

- Allowed clear defense of the methodology - Allowed for the development of an

interactive tool for public involvement

– There were some surprises, but the results elegantly reflected the Project Connect problem statements and the priorities of advisory group stakeholders

– Sensitivity & scenario testing – Some critics felt the method was a “black box” or

too complicated in general – On the other hand, the tool was flexible, efficient,

and a good platform for interactive public involvement

- The recommended “sub-corridors” were advanced and a locally preferred alternative developed.

- Bond referendum this November

A Neighborhood Circulator For North Minneapolis

CONTEXT


CONTEXT -LOCATION


CONTEXT -LOCATION -HISTORY


CONTEXT -LOCATION -HISTORY -PRESENT


TRANSPORTATION -EXISTING ASSETS

BUS SERVICE


TRANSPORTATION -EXISTING ASSETS -PROPOSED PROJECTS


TRANSPORTATION -EXISTING ASSETS -PROPOSED PROJECTS -CIRCULATOR


TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE 1. WORKFORCE AGREEMENT WITH METRO TRANSIT 2. WORKFORCE AGREEMENT WITH UTILITIES 3. BENEFITS TO RESIDENTS

Atlanta BeltLine // © 2014

• In the heart of the Atlanta region

• Connects many of Atlanta’s cultural destinations

• Utilizes historic freight rail rights of way around the center of town

// Where is the Atlanta BeltLine?


33 MILES of Trails

22 MILES of Transit & Transportation Infrastructure

Historic Preservation

Streetscapes & Public Art

1,300 ACRES of Greenspace

Jobs & Economic Development

1,100 ACRES of Environmental Clean-up

// The Atlanta BeltLine: Key Elements

5,600 UNITS of Affordable Workforce Housing


// Housing

Goal:

• Create a mix of housing for a variety and mix of incomes and household types

• 30,000 total additional housing units

• 5,600 affordable workforce housing units

1st Generation (2009-2014)

• $8.8M Trust Fund capitalized • Downpayment Assistance (86 units created) • Incentives for Developers (committed to 173

units) • Property Acquisition (see Lofts at Reynoldstown

Crossing)

• Over 500 affordable workforce units within ½ mile.


// Housing

What Worked Well?


// Housing

Challenges and Lessons Learned

• Scale: Need to double production to meet goals (~200-300 annually).

• Funding: Existing Trust Fund is 100% committed. Need to recapitalize, align with other funding sources, and establish funding and financing for land acquisition and incentives.

• Land: ABI owns land for infrastructure, but limited land for adjacent development. Increased control of land is key to ensure affordable housing and other outcomes adjacent to Atlanta BeltLine.

• Low Income Housing Tax Credit: Limited projects funded annually in the City of Atlanta

• Incentives are insufficient in high land price areas: Land and partnership with mission driven developers is key to production in these areas.

Nicollet–Central Modern Transit Streetcar Project | Rail-Volution 2014

Nicollet-Central Modern Streetcar Project

MModern Streetcar for a World-Class Downtown

Urban Circulators: Shaping Cities One Challenge at a Time

Presenter: April Manlapaz, AECOM,

and for the City of Minneapolis

Nicollet–Central Modern Transit Streetcar Project | Rail-Volution 2014 Nicollet Central Modern Tra

• 3.4 miles • 9,000 rides • 55k residents and 118k jobs

within ½ mi • Special trip generators

– Eat Street – Minneapolis Institute of

Arts – Downtown Minneapolis:

6,000 hotel rooms; Convention Center

– Mississippi River and Nicollet Island

– East Hennepin Business District

• First modern streetcar line in the Twin Cities

Project Facts

1

ppppppppppppppppppp gat SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

Minneapolis Institute of


Is Streetcar a Local or Regional Benefit? Consider… • Corridor’s trip generators

serve regional economy • Major connections to

regional transit – All transit in downtown

Minneapolis – Major east-west bus

connections outside downtown

• High ridership demand for short trips where light rail doesn’t fit

2

Concentrate development where desired by City and Region

eetcar Project | Rail Volution 2014 2

desired by City and Regiondesired by City and Region…and where transit would efficiently serve development

Green and Blue LRT Orange Line (BRT)


Integration with Dense Bus Corridor • Long and short trips

– Bus routes cover 25 mi – Nearly half of rides

within 3.4-mi streetcar line

3

Solutions • Workshops to develop service

plans and costs • Ridership modeling used

regional base, rail mode share, and special generators

• Very helpful to have a lot of data from transit agency

Diverse Stakeholders • 20% of population have no

vehicles • 24% live in poverty • 4,200 legally-binding affordable

housing


Choosing a Streetcar Vehicle

4

Considerations • Urban scale • Fleet consistency• Operating and maintenance cost • Street impacts and platform design• Passenger capacity and service

frequency Discussions are ongoing


Acknowledgments

Anna Flintoft – City of Minneapolis Charleen Zimmer – Zan Associates

Dan Meyers – URS Corporation

www.minneapolismn.gov/nicollet-central

5

Signalization Challenges of Urban circulators. PAUL ZEBELL

CITY OF PORTLAND

Goals

Safety for all modes of travel

Preemption for emergency vehicles

Priority for transit vehicles

Accessibility for disabled users

Reasonable maximum delays for all modes

Maintaining some capacity for private vehicles

Tools IMPROVED CONTROL SOFTWARE

MOVING TRANSIT BOARDING LOCATIONS

CHANGING OPERATING RULES

NON-STANDARD DETECTION SCHEMES

Train’s here

Serve the Bus

Dist

ance

Time

Offset

• Cars travel through without stopping

Progression Speed: Faster for cars

Dist

ance

Time

Offset

• Signal timing set for 19 mph • bicycle traffic travels through without stopping

Progression Speed: Slower for Bikes

Services

RV 2014: Urban Circulator Roundtable: Shaping Cities one Challenge at a Time -All Presentations