Category / Transit/Transportation

by Leo Suarez

Suds and Speculation: Light Rail Alternatives and Hybrids

Suds and Speculation posts are ideas I came up with usually while drinking and socializing with friends or people I meet. It is usually paired with real data leading to some idea, or dream, that we can speculate on for downtown Raleigh.

I attended this month’s Downtown Living Advocates meeting and trains were a hot topic. The timing was nice cause it came after the city’s passenger rail task force (PRTF) made their recommendation to the Raleigh City Council on which light rail alternative they prefer for the downtown Raleigh section. To watch the presentation, jump back to this Municipography post on July 6th, 2011.

To continue my intro on this, take another step back to March 2011 where many alternatives for the downtown Raleigh light rail route were on the table. At this point, planners and citizens could weigh in on each plan. Around that time, there were four alternatives that were being seriously considered and have moved on to the next round. Those four alternatives, D2, D3, D5 and D6, are shown on this map. (click for larger)

It has been a couple of months now and decision time is coming up. The city, Triangle Transit and the PRTF all have opinions on this and the city council will narrow things down to a final winner with their approval. So far, of the four plans that moved forward earlier this year, we seem to have support behind just two plans. The alternative called “D6” looks tempting because it involves no elevated flyovers, a stop for the government district a short walk away and is projected to be the cheapest alternative. The second alternative with some backing is the PRTF recommended “D6A”, called that because it is a hybrid of two routes. Let’s add D6A to the map of alternatives.

If you can’t already tell, D6A was not on the list and now makes it five possible alternatives to choose from at this point. After some initial study, if deemed feasible then D6A gets a chance in the ring and we’ll go through a process of analyzing it against the other recommended alternatives.

Now here’s where you come in. There will be a public workshop and lecture about this plan and the others. Don’t comment on this blog post about your thoughts until after you have sent them in to the city for or against D6A. You can attend this lecture to hear more about the plan and drop some comments about it. Details are:

Monday August 1st, 2011
5:30pm – Workshop
7:00pm – Public hearing
Council chamber, Upchurch Government Complex
222 W. Hargett St.

Now that the info is in front of you and I’ve passed along the details for the meeting, we can move on to some thoughts and discussion. It’s D6 versus D6A at this point. The D5, D2 and D3 alternatives are more expensive than D6, most likely because of the flyovers that need to be built. I also want to remind readers that the vehicles of choice here are three vehicle, 90 foot train cars for a 270 foot long train set. A typical city block is about 400 feet so the trains would take up half the length when rolling on downtown streets. Here’s a map of just the two alternatives for a more direct comparison.

I added the D6A route line on those maps so please feel free to send me a pat on the back for my talent with Paint.NET. Kidding, it’s horrible but hopefully it helps.

Light Rail in Raleigh, think of the big picture

To pick which route you like best, I think one has to start by looking at the whole system and the people on it. If you zoom out and look at this light rail line going from Cary through downtown and up to North Raleigh, you’ll see that the proposed stops are miles apart. This is how a light rail system works, moving people from one area of town to another. Larger than a light rail line, a high-speed train moves people between cities and going smaller, streetcars drop people off as often as every 400 feet. Now the tricky part of the downtown Raleigh light rail section is that it will cruise down the streets like a streetcar. Does this mean that it should behave like a streetcar when in downtown?

If your answer is yes, then I think D6A is your route of choice. This route offers more opportunities for bunched up stops and pedestrians can jump on and off more freely. The route penetrates downtown more than the D6 alternative, bringing a rider to the head of Fayetteville Street at the Capitol and right alongside the state government district. The rider catchment area is also greater, giving east Raleigh easier access to light rail.

On the flip side, if you believe that the light rail should drop people off in downtown and continue on it’s merry way down the streets then the D6 alternative is for you. Union Station should be a grand entrance to downtown and therefore riders can transfer to other modes of transit to get to where they are going. Looking at the big picture of the Raleigh light rail, this alternative also gets people in and out of downtown faster.

So each has its strengths but not without some weaknesses.

The weakness of D6, from my perspective, is that it doesn’t bring people into the core of downtown Raleigh. Riders from Cary and North Raleigh don’t have access to the middle of town and have a little more of an obstacle or another transfer to get to their final destination.

I’m not letting D6A off the hook though. The D6A route makes a 270 foot train act like a streetcar in a city grid where 30 foot streetcars roamed nicely over a hundred years ago. The streets haven’t changed much so fitting this behemoth onto downtown streets could be a bit tight. For reference, the modern streetcars in the city of Portland are 66 feet long, their MAX cars are 92 feet long and only operate as single vehicles.

So which one should Raleigh build?

In my opinion, the D6 route serves the entire city best if it makes a stop or two in downtown and does not try to act like a streetcar. The light rail is part of a multimodal transit network, one that has to compliment the other modes of travel. Downtown streets are best served by true streetcars, a network that should come much later in Raleigh’s transit planning future. To force the light rail line to act like one is risky and may not set a good foundation for future transit growth.

Building a Multimodal Network

So this is where I start to pitch my support for D6 over D6A. I had to think about it for awhile but I’m pretty set at this point.

I think those that are looking for that streetcar experience in D6A are losing sight of what a full transit network should be for Raleigh. The light rail line alone is not the answer to getting people to using transit. Along with the light rail, we’ll have upgraded bus routes, circulators and better accommodations for cyclists and pedestrians to get to and from transit stops and final destinations.

Transit, by nature, is multimodal so that is how everyone must think when imagining using a transit network that doesn’t exist yet. Riding will always involve, for 99.9% of people, a walk or bike ride to the nearest bus or rail stop, travel to another stop, then get off and ride or walk to their final destination. There may be one or two transfers, or connections as it’s called outside of this country, to ultimately get you to where you are going.

I feel D6 sets this possible network up in the future. Imagine a spiderweb of streetcar lines coming off the D6 line to move people around downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. That would be possible, and the natural next step for Raleigh, if the light rail is successful in helping spur development around her stations.

How does D6A set up this future multimodal network when it tries to do it partly on its own? Think of the new obstacles in creating connections around a light rail line that has multiple stops in a congested downtown with narrow streets. You don’t get that natural ease of mode change with D6A and we may be setting ourselves up for future lines to run on top of each other, which isn’t an efficient way to run a transit network.

If you look at the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, the light rail line is for moving people between the planned growth nodes and to spur transit oriented development in those areas. I feel the best use of the light rail line is to move people between these nodes according to the plan, not within the nodes as D6A tries to do in the downtown piece.

One More That May Seal It For You

This one kind of hit me when I was riding the bus home and stared out at the NC State Capitol as we drove past it. Aesthetics are very important to some so let me remind you that the light rail cars will be electrified with overhead catenary wires, like the first picture in this post. D6A wants to run the trains right down Hillsborough Street from Salisbury to Harrington Street, a street with a nice view of the Capitol building. Now it’s no Fayetteville Street but long time readers or anyone following downtown may remember the Plensa fiasco of 2006. For a recap, jump to:

Collision of complex forces defeated plaza via newsobserver.com

Back then there were great concerns with the design of the plaza and how it would block the view down Fayetteville Street. If I recall correctly, the city even paid $10,000 to set up a mock up of the design so that they could see how it looked first. We ultimately couldn’t make a decision on it, making the process take so long that the $2.5 million gift was retracted and the project eventually died.

Anyway, that is in the past and may not be an issue this time but I swear people get really upset about overhead wires so maybe this is important to you.

by Leo Suarez

Municipography, Light Rail Through Downtown Raleigh

Recommendation from the Passenger Rail Task Force (PRTF)


Get Microsoft Silverlight

From the agenda:

Triangle Transit Light Rail System

At their June 20, 2011 meeting, the Passenger Rail Task Force deliberated on alternatives for the proposed light rail system relative to downtown Raleigh. After discussing the item and reviewing data provided by City staff and by Triangle Transit, the Task Force voted 6-1 to recommend endorsing Alternate D6a, a hybrid alternative proposed by the Task Force during their deliberations. A complete explanation of the Task Force’s deliberations is included in the agenda packet.

Recommendation:
The City Council may wish to schedule a workshop to discuss the recommendations of the Passenger Rail Task Force in detail.

At the meeting yesterday, Will Allen of the Raleigh PRTF went through a brief presentation on the transit mode and route through downtown that they recommend. They agree with Triangle Transit’s preferred vehicle, that being “rail cars electrically powered by overhead wires”. Their route recommendation for the downtown Raleigh portion of the light rail piece is what they refer to as plan D6A.

Before we dive in, let’s be clear. This is a recommendation on Light Rail Transit, not high speed rail, whose drama series seems to be on hold for now. For a refresher on the latest light rail plans and where we last left this discussion, go ahead and jump back to March 2011’s “Light Rail in or over downtown Raleigh?”

The post back in March talks about a few plans that were on the table for light rail through downtown. The D6A plan, the one recommended by the PRTF, was only mentioned lightly at the transit meetings that took place earlier this year. If you watch the video, the presentation recommends this plan:

The PRTF belives the D6a route through downtown Raleigh will best serve Raleigh citizens for the present and future by providing the best oppurtunities for ridership and economic development while ensuring safe transportation and minimizing impacts to traffic, urban design, noise, contextual planning, historic resources, and long term options for roadway and to connectivity improvements, all at a reasonable cost compared to other alternatives.


View D6A in a larger map

I threw together this Google map to show the proposed D6A route. In addition to recommending D6A, the PRTF also recommended the already talked about D6 plan but only if D6A was seen as too impractical.

Triangle Transit likes D6. The City of Raleigh likes D6 as well.

I did some searching and found this little gem of a pdf. “Memorandum: Issues Regarding Proposed Light Rail Alternatives in Downtown Raleigh” dated June 30, 2011. Eric Lamb, Manager of the Office of Transportation Planning sent this to our city manager, Russell Allen, and other interested peoples.

You can read as much or as little as you like but here are some highlights which I’ll quote.

Overview & Alternatives
….
There are several alternatives that TTA has presented to the task force and to the public with multiple options for traversing downtown. As a result of their deliberations, the task force chose to develop a hybrid alternative called D6A that was not previously considered or studied by TTA.”

D6A is introduced and described in text and hard to read black and white maps.

Value Capture & Redevelopment
….
The majority of land along the Salisbury/Wilmington corridor north of Union Square is owned and controlled by the State of North Carolina. It is unknown as to whether or not consideration of Alternatives D5 or D6A would induce the State to divest itself of these properties for the purposes of re-development.

An issue seen with running light rail through the government district is that it won’t encourage redevelopment because it is state owned land. Development from light rail is needed, to an extent, to help pay for the system.

Dawson/McDowell Corridor Conflicts
….
Triangle Transit anticipates operating train sets composed of up to three 90-foot vehicles, making each train set a maximum of 270 feet in length. An Average city block in downtown Raleigh is approximately 400 feet long. It is also anticipated that operating this system streetcar-style will occur in mixed traffic, i.e. it will not be within a dedicated lane exclusively for transit use. If queues or more than four to five passenger cars already exist for eastbound or westbound traffic at either Dawson or McDowell Streets, an approaching train would queue across the previous intersection while waiting for the traffic signal.

Basically, NCDOT is worried that the back end of a train will stretch into it’s US 70/401 corridors and block traffic. At peak hours, almost every 10 minutes you’ll have a train cross a road that sees between 40,000 and 50,000 vehicles.

Impacts to On Street Parking
….
Please note that another major obstacle to removing on-street parking may occur adjacent to the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA). In 1998 the NCGA took control of these streets for the purpose of establishing exclusive use of on street parking for legislators and their staffs (see NCGS 120-32.1). Operating a light rail system along Salisbury and Wilmington may require the removal of this reserved parking and will ultimately require the permission of the Legislature as an encroachment on the legislative grounds.

Pretty self explanatory here. I’d love to sit it on this meeting if the city goes this route.

Cost Estimates

A summary of the system costs for each alternative is included below. Please note that TTA has not conducted any analysis of Alternate D6A and the cost estimates for this alternate have been extrapolated from costs for D5 and D6.

Table 2

I’m unable to properly copy Table 2 so I’l put it in list form below. Costs are in M, for Millions, B for Billions:

  • D2, Downtown segment cost $270M, total system cost $1.425B
  • D5, Downtown segment cost $435M, total system cost $1.590B
  • D6, Downtown segment cost $265M, total system cost $1.420B
  • D6A, Downtown segment cost $330-350M, total system cost $1.485-1.505B

Summary
….
The staff’s perspective is that this position does not appear to be directly supported by the data. Our analysis of existing and extrapolated data concludes that the hybrid Alternate D6A will likely cost more, will operate less efficiently, has potentially greater historic property impacts, and may not generate sufficiently higher ridership to warrant further consideration.

Well there it is. Lamb does recognize that the D2 and D6 alternates also have their own problems but claims they “appear to have fewer hurdles than Alternate D6A.”

As stated in the summary, the PRTF looked more at the “what” during their analysis where the city focused on the “how”. Any readers that are focused on the “when” may have to cheer on our neighbors in Durham County this fall.

by Leo Suarez

Possible $37 Million Bond Referendum For Transit On The Way

$37 million for Transportation improvements are being discussed for Raleigh and may be on this year’s October ballot. Sidewalk improvements, station upgrades, and greenway projects are just a few on the long list here. Downtown Raleigh would see some improvements if this is passed.

The list of projects that may get funded are below, starting first with downtown related ones, and how much of the pie each one would get. ($ in millions)

  • Preliminary engineering: Blount/Person corridor planning $0.25
  • Moore Square facility improvements $3.50
  • Rosengarten Greenway $0.50
  • South/Lenoir two-way conversion $2.00
  • City initiated new sidewalk $4.75
  • Transit corridor improvements (shelters & benches) $0.750
  • Tryon Road widening & realignment $1.8
  • Resurfacing Program $10.05
  • Petition projects $3.00
  • Sidewalk repair reserve $4.00
  • Streetscape: Hillsborough: Gardner to Rosemary $1.00
  • Walnut Creek Greenway – New Hope Road to Neuse River $3.20
  • Lumley/Westgate Road corridor (greenway & bike lane) $2.20

A public hearing about this referendum should be announced within the coming weeks.

We’ve discussed greenways coming through downtown before and the Rosengarten piece is a crucial connector from south of downtown into the warehouse district.

The Lenoir and South Street two-way conversion stretches the previous two-way conversion, completed in 2008, to the east and west out of downtown. For Lenoir Street:

  • Two-way conversion from Wilmington Street to East Street. This makes Lenoir two-way from Boylan Heights to South Park.
  • Sharrows from Dawson Street to East Street.

For South Street:

  • Two-way conversion from South Saunders Street to Dawson Street.
  • Two-way conversion from Wilmington Street to East Street. Both conversions make South two-way from Boylan Heights to South Park.
  • Striped bicycle lanes along South Street from South Saunders Street to East Street.

The description of the work for the two streets also mentions, “modification of traffic signals, turn lane improvements, installation of new pedestrian head signals, crosswalks, and raised landscaped medians.” The western side of South Street is pretty wide so medians would be an easy fit.

Source: N.C. Capital Area MPO, Roadway projects

by Leo Suarez

New Seating and Space At The Moore Square Bus Station

Recently, construction has finished on some new walkways and seating areas at the Moore Square bus station. The fountains that used to go along the sidewalks of Blount Street have been bricked over and now have a few more benches. More amenities are always welcome at the busiest transit stop in Raleigh. As a frequent bus rider, I see the station being pretty busy at the rush hour times during the week.

In the future, the station will become a major compliment to Union Station so look out for more improvements.

by Leo Suarez

Light Rail in or over downtown Raleigh?

As a reminder, there are some transit related events that are going on right now. Remind yourself by clicking here if you’re not sure what I’m referring to. Anyway, two events are taking place in Raleigh this week and the downtown portion of the light rail plan is sure to bring controversy.

Some of the presentation materials have been posted online and I’d like to cover some of it here.

An excellent read, with images that I will be linking to, is over at The Indy. I recommend reading that first.

Rail route is blurry through downtown Raleigh via Indyweek.com

To recap, planners have a few alternatives to work with when the light rail trains, coming from the west, head towards downtown Raleigh. If you look at the initial alternatives study, the map of those routes look like the spaghetti bowl below.


Click for full, larger view.

The next step planners took to eliminate some of these routes was to look at each one and evaluate them on five parameters:

  • Potential Transit Ridership
  • Consistency with Plans and Studies
  • Stakeholder Support
  • No Irresolvable Environmental Impacts
  • Technical and Financial Feasibility

If one of these parameters failed for the studied route, it was thrown out. After that elimination round, we were left with this map.


Click for full, larger view.

Four plans remain and it will be these four that are open for comment at the Triangle Transit events this week. We can step through each one and take a look.

D2 and D3

D2 and D3 are similar except for the street they head north on when leaving Union Station. D2 would have tracks on Harrington Street while D3 would put the tracks on West Street. Both routes bring the trains on a flyover over the Boylan Bridge and would result in something like you see here and here.

As the trains head to downtown from NC State in the NC railroad corridor, “difficulties” in having the light rail line play nice with freight and future high-speed rail are why the plans to go into the air are on the table. I’ll admit the Boylan Wye is a complicated cluster of tracks but the freight rail companies do have a reputation of being against anything that could possibly disturb their operation.

According to planners, D2 and D3 would make the light rail line go right into Union Station, giving us that very important connection to other modes of transportation. It also avoids headaches with the track layout of the Boylan Wye.

These plans were moved forward because each one:

  • Capitalizes on potential development opportunities on the west side of downtown.
  • Serves both Glenwood South and downtown.
  • Does not include additional overhead structures.
  • Supports location of proposed Raleigh multimodal center (Union Station) concept.
  • Meets the Purpose and Need for the project

I’m not quite sure I agree with these. A train that goes into the air and weaves through downtown blocks may actually take away from development opportunity because it is consuming so much space for itself. Once the train weaves through, that land cannot be developed.

I haven’t been to a meeting yet so I’ll find out for myself later this week.

D5

D5 involves the same flyover going over the Boylan Avenue Bridge but instead of heading to the northern end of Union Station it goes south, towards the convention center. The line would run through the core of downtown, along Salisbury and Wilmington Streets, and back into the NCRR corridor to the north.

My feelings are the same with the flyover over the bridge but I’m not quite sure when the train finally touches down. This rendering and this rendering suggests that the train will most likely continue to be elevated all the way to South Street. Another thing to note is that other routes were turned down because they impact traffic on Dawson and McDowell Street. This leads me to think that D5 will continue to be elevated on South to go over McDowell and come down before Salisbury Street.

Again, lots of elevated tracks that take away from development opportunity. This plan passed because it:

  • Does not cross McDowell and Dawson Streets at-grade.
  • Penetrates core of downtown Raleigh.
  • Does not impact Morgan, Hargett, and Martin Streets.
  • Provides more direct access to the Convention Center.
  • Meets the Purpose and Need for the project.

D6

No renderings are provided for this scenario. Interesting.

D6 avoids the Boylan Wye and the possibility of going over the Boylan Avenue Bridge. The plan has the light rail line coming out of the NCRR corridor down by Charlie Goodnight’s and it hits the street at Morgan. It continues East and takes a left turn onto Harrington Street and continues on its merry way. According to the report, the plan:

  • Avoids Raleigh Wye and does not interface with freight and Southeast High Speed Rail track issues.
  • Does not include additional overhead structures.
  • Capitalizes on potential development opportunities on the west side of downtown.
  • Serves both Glenwood South and downtown.
  • Meets the Purpose and Need for the project.

The negative with this plan is that if the light rail line went down Morgan Street, the optimal station stop would be at the intersection of Morgan and West Street, the Union Station stop. But if you’ve been out there to see it, Morgan is not quite so flat in that area, a requirement for a light rail station to be ADA compliant. I’ve heard this is also the more expensive alternative, but will confirm at the meeting, because a lot of road work would have to be done to get that Union Station stop, something that is very important to the connectivity of the system.

Wrapping Up

I like to see all the materials first before I choose which direction to take my opinion but from what I have seen so far, the D6 route seems to be the best choice on the limited amount of information available.

D6 is the most pedestrian friendly and turns downtown streets into more efficient modes of transit, moving more people through without building more roads or widening them. In my opinion, trains on elevated tracks that are not over roads take away from potential development.

I’d be really interested to see what kind of road modifications need to be done to Morgan to get that Union Station Stop at the West Street intersection. This will likely be my first question to answer at the meetings.

The Mayor’s Passenger Rail Task Force supports a route similar to D6 and the Downtown Living Advocates are speaking out for the same thing.

Whatever your opinion may be, make sure to send it in.

by Leo Suarez

Transit Related Events and Links You Need To Know About

Watch the video “Overview of the Triangle Regional Transit Program (TRTP)” on YouTube

Later this month are some transit related events that are worth talking about. This round of workshops are particularly important because they are the last ones of the Alternatives Analysis.

For those that are not caught up, the Alternatives Analysis has been going on throughout most of 2010 up until now. Each piece of all the proposed transit corridors in the Triangle have different plans for them, or alternatives, for us to choose from. (or not to) With a lot of research and public comment, we are close to creating what is called the Locally Preferred Alternative. (LPA)

To move forward with this LPA, you need to send in your comments towards the plans that are out there and these meetings this month are the best place to do it. They are the final round before the LPA’s are chosen. The dates and locations for the meetings are:

  • Tue, Mar 22, 4 – 7 PM | Triangle Town Center, space 1001, next to Dillard’s, Triangle Town Blvd, RALEIGH.
  • Wed, Mar 23, 4 – 7 PM | Durham Station Transportation Ctr, 515 W. Pettigrew St., DURHAM.
  • Thu, Mar 24, 4- 7 PM | The Friday Center, 100 Friday Center Drive, CHAPEL HILL.
  • Mon, Mar 28, 6 – 9 PM | Mt. Peace Baptist Church.1601 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., SOUTHEAST RALEIGH.
  • Tue, Mar 29, 4-7 PM | Cary Senior Center in Bond Park, 120 Maury O’Dell Place, High House Rd. between Cary Parkway and NW Maynard Rd, CARY.
  • Wed, Mar 30, 4-7 PM | McKimmon Center, NCSU, 1101 Gorman St, RALEIGH.
  • Thu, Mar 31, 4-7 PM | RTP Foundation, 12 Davis Drive, RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK.

There is no formal start time to these meetings and no presentations will be given. You can show up when you can, look at the large maps, read the information and ask questions. At the end, any comments you leave will be taken into consideration for the final plan.

From what I’ve heard, the downtown Raleigh piece has been the most difficult to fit into place. Trains heading east towards downtown inside the NC Railroad corridor will either stay inside it until Union Station or glide off onto Morgan Street, each scenario presenting its own types of problems. One alternative has the trains flying over the Boylan Bridge.

If you do take the time to look at each alternative, remember that these are just different scenarios and that comments not supporting any of them are OK. I hope what will be presented is promising and that this does not turn into another dramafest like last summer with the high-speed rail meetings.

To further get your transit on, here are some links for you to explore. This blog supports transit in the Triangle and now has the links in the sidebar for future use.

Also, dive into the videos in this post created by the TRTP to promote the transit plan and encourage public feedback.

Watch the video “TRTP Alternatives Analysis Process” on YouTube

by Leo Suarez

Salisbury Street Bicycle Lane

I stumbled upon this new bicycle lane on Salisbury Street yesterday. The lane goes from Peace to Lane Street which, right now, is not much but the Green Square construction kind of gets in the way. In the end, the bicycle lane should continue south down Salisbury and end at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

This is the beginning of some of the priority bicycle lanes that will be installed around Raleigh and you can see the plans at RaleighPedBikeMap.com.