BRT in Cincinnati?

City Council has a pending motion in the Livable Communities Committee to require the City Manager to work with SORTA to develop a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that works with current services and the proposed Streetcar system.

BRT allows more efficient use of buses and mimics light-rail by putting buses on exclusive rights-of-way.* Other systems implemented elsewhere have riders pay fares at the stops so that boarding is quicker and stops are set up more like rail platforms, giving a more comfortable experience for riders. Examples of this can be seen HERE, showing the level platforms more often associated with subway and rail, and HERE, showing a bus pulling up to a fully enclosed station. 

The motion would allow the City Manager to coordinate planning with SORTA, seek federal funding, and implement the plan. According to Metro, it would take about 4 years to implement. Federal funding is available and was used by cities like Chicago and Cleveland in the Midwest.

The motion identifies preferred routing along I-75 and 71, Reading Rd, Vine St, MLK, Madison, Queen City Blvd, and Harrison Rd and along publicly owned and abandoned rail rights-of-way.

What has me most excited about this is the use of abandoned rights-of-way. When I was in a studio in Spring of 2010, we worked on creating a comprehensive fixed rail transit system for the Cincinnati region. A major point of our routing was to use the existing public rights-of-way for the light-rail and commuter rail components. (Docs can be found HERE. From the link look at each separate neighborhood board. I will post the full map soon.)

It would be incredibly forward-thinking for council to leverage these existing rights-of-way for use in BRT. If, in the future, more money became available for true commuter rail and light rail lines, the BRT along the rail line and throughout the city could be converted to rail lines.

BRT is a great choice for today because it runs similarly to light rail with lower capital costs. It is not a true substitute for light rail, however. Conversion to true light rail in the future would be a best case scenario.

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* BRT runs on exclusive rights-of-way through a majority of their routing in most cases. This can mean anything from dedicated bus lanes alongside other vehicles as seen in this rendering of a proposed BRT line in New York or completely separate from other vehicular travel along independent rights-of-way as show in THIS image of a BRT line in Cambridge, UK.

$5 /gallon Gas by 2012??

The former President of Shell Oil is saying that Americans could be paying as much at $5 per gallon of gasoline by the year 2012. (Link Here) One other person quoted in the article stated that while he doesn't think that we'll see $5 per gallon by 2012, he does expect it within the next decade. 


What does this mean for Cincinnati?


For starters, the city currently supports no mode of transportation (other than bike) that doesn't run on petroleum-based fuels. This means that the populace is limited to modes that will be getting more and more expensive to operate. What we will see happen is increases in the costs of goods and services in the region. Because most products are delivered to their final destinations via truck, their costs are tied to the cost of transportation and the costs of fuel.


Currently, transportation costs range from under 15% to 20% of a household's annual income (HAI) within the City. Outside the city it ranges from 20%-28%. Housing costs average in the 15%-25% throughout most of the city. (Source) As fuel prices rise, more and more of a HAI will be used for transportation. With housing costs fairly stable currently, these increased costs will eat away at money that would be spend on other goods.

Since we already determined that those other goods are going to also get more expensive, this means that the households are going to have less money to spend on ever-more-expensive goods and services. 


How can we prepare?


The city needs transportation options that run on fuels other than petroleum based diesel and gasoline. Fixed-guideway transit such as streetcars, subway, and lightrail all run on electricity. As gas prices continue to increase, people will look more and more to alternatives to driving for their commuting needs. 


Cincinnati is currently planning on installing what is to be the first phase of a (hopefully) multi-phase multi-modal transportation system. The streetcar will work with existing Metro service to provide incentives for people to live and work in the center city where housing and transit costs are lower. Future projects that are already being explored include Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along major corridors and additional extensions of the streetcar lines. 


What can you do?


Call, email, snail mail our councilmembers and tell them that you support increased transit options and want transportation to continue to be a priority in this city.  

Brent Spence Bridge

There was an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer today regarding the Brent Spence Bridge rebuild project.
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2011 a big year for Brent Spence plans

"After years of talk but very little action tangible to the public, 2011 should be the year when Greater Cincinnatians and Northern Kentuckians finally learn what a new Brent Spence Bridge will look like.

People also can expect to see how the interstates leading to the bridge on both sides of the Ohio River will be reconfigured, where new entrance and exit ramps will be built, and which homes and businesses might be displaced by one of the biggest public works projects in the region's history.

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"Even the glacial-paced timetable that envisions the new bridge being completed by 2022 assumes there will be no major financing or design snags and that none of the dozens of things that could go wrong on a $2.3 billion-plus project will cause delays, an iffy proposition for a development of such magnitude."

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When I read the article in the paper, I was hoping to see some mention of transit in the article. The only use of the word was mention of the Transportation Reauthorization Bill that will need to be passed this upcoming year. I am still holding out hope that there will be inclusion of right-of-way or infrastructure for future light rail connection from Downtown Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky and possibly on to the airport. 

With the project being estimated to cost $2.3 BILLION, it would only make sense to include provisions for mass transit. There have been recent studies (here, here, and here) that have shown that driving is on the decline, and with gas prices expecting to rise ever higher (here, here, and here in the coming years, forward thinking transportation planning would behoove area engineers and planners regarding this project. The combination of higher prices and younger people generally driving less will have two impacts: the projection of higher vehicular traffic in the next 20 years will most likely not be met, and the demand for more transportation options - including fixed rail transit - is going to increase drastically. 

What is also frustrating is that fact that we have, between I-471 and I-71/75, 6 Ohio River bridges - 2 interstate, 1 pedestrian, and 3 local vehicular. The Taylor-Southgate, Roebling Suspension, and Clay Wade Bailey Bridges are relatively under-travelled. It is my opinion that it would be possible to route more local vehicle traffic to these three bridges and reduce the travel demand on the Brent Spence. This could potential save the region billions of dollars and prevent the construction nightmare that will exist over the next 10 years while construction on the new span occurs. 

This money would be much better spent by putting it toward a comprehensive regional commuter or light rail system that is integrated with local bus and streetcar service. This combination of services would serve the suburban commuters who work in the city as well as provide convenient and efficient local transportation options for the residents of the city to complete day-to-day tasks, travel to work, and visit friends and family.