ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: July 16, 2002
Author: Rod Malkin 604-873-7745
RTS No. 2881
CC File No. 5551
T&T: July 30, 2002

TO:	Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services in Consultation with the Director of City Plans
SUBJECT:	Bus Transit Priority Study

RECOMMENDATIONS

A. That the report `Transit Priority Corridors in the City of Vancouver', by Hamilton and Associates, be received for information.

B. That the westbound 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. HOV lane on Georgia Street be extended further east to begin at Richards Street.

C. That painted left-turn bays be installed on Fraser Street at King Edward Avenue.

D. That staff proceed with the installation of bus bulges at the following locations in consultation with local merchants/property owners, using funds previously approved and TransLink cost-sharing as available, and report back to Council for further funding as necessary:

- Fraser Street between King Edward and 28th Avenues, and between 43rd and 47th Avenues

- Main Street between 27th and 30th Avenues

E. That staff investigate further, in consultation with TransLink, as part of theVancouver Area Transit Plan program, with a report back as necessary:

- a transit signal priority system for the Hastings corridor between Renfrew Street and the Downtown, following an operational review of the 98 B-Line signal preemption system on Granville Street.

- bus-only queue jumper lanes combined with signal preemption in the peak periods, peak directions, on Main Street between National Avenue and 2nd Avenue.

- transit/HOV lanes on Burrard Street from Pacific to Pender, in the peak periods/peak directions only.

- improvements to bus reliability.

COUNCIL POLICY

The Vancouver Transportation Plan calls for increased transit usage and provides:

- Transit will be given greater priority to meet the needs of increasing demand for transportation across the City, especially in peak times and for journeys to and within the Downtown. In the future, if required, this may include designating some lanes on some primary arterials for transit only, for all or parts of the day.

- Intersection improvements, such as left-turn bays, may be required to improve safety at some intersections. These will be designed so as not to increase capacity and wherever possible will be accommodated within the existing roadway width.

- bus stops should be provided with safe, comfortable and convenient boarding areas, and bike racks.

- improvements in pedestrian facilities will be made to encourage pedestrian activity in neighbourhood centres and make crossings of busy roads saver.

Vancouver's City Plan proposes Neighbourhood Centres that are the heart of each neighbourhood and include good pedestrian amenities and connections to public transit as well as housing, jobs and services for local residents.

SUMMARY

A consultant's study was commissioned by the City, TransLink and Province in order to examine potential transit priority measures on Hastings, Main, Fraser, Burrard and Georgia Streets (see Appendix A). The measures that offered the most potential to improve transit service, while not unduly impacting other street users and businesses, are proposed in this report. In addition, staff plan to, in consultation with TransLink, begin a review of all bus transit corridors in the City, to identify transit priority measures and conduct further work regarding improving the traffic management and transit operational aspects of bus reliability, using the lessons learned from this study.

PURPOSE

This report discusses and recommends actions regarding a consultant's study on the potential for new bus transit priority measures on Hastings, Main, Fraser, Burrard and Georgia Streets.

BACKGROUND

Increasing the use of transit as a means to address the growth in regional and local travel demand is fundamental to TransLink and City long term transportation plans. Transit priority measures (described in Appendix B) give transit vehicles an operational advantage over other traffic and are intended to be an important part of the transportation strategy. The City has previously implemented a number of transit priority measures including transit actuated signals, bus bulges and Bus/HOV lanes (e.g., on Granville Mall, Georgia, McGill, Seymour, Howe and Granville in Marpole).

On July 4, 2000, Council approved a consulting contract to investigate the potential for installing new transit priority measures on the Hastings, Main, Fraser, Burrard and Georgia corridors. This study arose out of the Regional HOV Network Study which was examining a number of key transit priority and HOV measures in the Lower Mainland. Funding was provided by the City, Province (BCTFA) and TransLink. The City's share of the $100,000 consultant's budget was $25,000.

The consultant's study and associated public process are now complete. The report is in draft form and is scheduled for release after Council input. The draft report is available in the City Clerk's office for review.

PROCESS

The consultant's study process was essentially to:

- identify feasible transit priority measures for each of the 5 corridors
- develop criteria to evaluate the options
- determine the benefits and disbenefits of each option for stakeholders, including changes in travel times and safety for all travel modes
- select a preferred transit priority strategy for each corridor.

The public was encouraged to provide their input at all stages through three main forums:

- Downtown - through the Downtown Transportation Plan process
- East Hastings - two open houses and a workshop were held at the Hastings Community Centre
- Main/Fraser - two open houses and a workshop were held at the Moberly Arts and Culture Centre. As well, input was received from the Sunset Community Vision process.

The open houses and workshops were advertised in the newspapers. Community organisations and property owners affected by specific options were notified by mail.

More details on the public process and evaluative criteria are available in Appendices C and D.

RESULTS AND FUTURE ACTIONS BY CORRIDOR

Many options were identified by the consultant, staff and public for consideration. Based on the Consultants work and public feedback, these were narrowed for each corridor to a few options for more detailed analysis. These options and staff plans for action are presented below. The evaluation summaries for these options are presented in Appendices E to I.

Hastings Corridor

Hastings Street is identified as a major transit corridor in the City Transportation Plan, and serves high volumes of both local and suburban buses.

Three options were identified:

1. Bus lanes on Hastings Street in the peak period/peak direction (curb lane) between Renfrew and the Downtown (Appendix E.1) - approximate cost to implement$200,000.

The consultant's study indicated travel time savings to transit of about 2 minutes or less and some improvement in transit reliability along the length of the corridor. General purpose traffic would be delayed by approximately 2.5 minutes. There would also be about 25 more motor vehicle collisions per year. Further, there would be a diversion of Hastings Street traffic and impacts to other parallel corridors and potential shortcutting on local streets.

2. High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on Hastings Street in the peak period/peak direction (curb lane) between Renfrew and the Downtown (Appendix E.2) - approximate cost to implement: $ 200,000.

Cars with 2 (or 3) or more persons only (and bicycles and right turning traffic) would be permitted in the curb lane. The consultant's study indicated negligible benefits to transit (travel time savings of about 15 seconds and little improvement in reliability) and disbenefits to general purpose traffic including an approximate 1 minute extra travel time and about 13 additional motor vehicle collisions per year.

3. Transit Signal Priority System on Hastings between Renfrew and Dunlevy (Appendix E.3) - approximate cost to implement $ 220,000.

The study indicated marginal benefits to transit (travel time savings improvement of about 30 seconds) and generally no overall disbenefits.

At the Open Houses and Workshop, there was a mixed review for Bus and HOV lanes by attendees. The Hastings North Business Improvement Association is not supportive of Bus or HOV lanes. There was support from all stakeholders for a transit signal priority system.

Given the limited transit benefits and significant negative traffic and safety impacts, the Bus-only and HOV options are not recommended. However, it is recommended further work be undertaken by staff on a transit signal priority system on this corridor following the operational review for the new 98 B-Line Granville Street signal preemption system.

Main Street Corridor

Main Street is identified as a major transit corridor in the City's Transportation Plan and serves three bus routes (#8 Main, # 19 Metrotown and # 8 Fraser) North of Kingsway.

There were two options identified:

1. Bus-only queue jumper lanes combined with signal preemption in the peak periods, peak directions, on Main Street between National Avenue and 2nd Avenue (Appendix F.1) - approximate cost to implement $35,000.

Buses-only (and bicycles and right turning traffic) would be permitted in the curb lane in the time periods and directions described above. The consultant concluded there would be marginal benefits to transit and minor disbenefits to general traffic. However, further detailed traffic observations and analysis are needed to confirm the impacts in the context of the future land use and transportation plans in this sector. It is recommended this work be undertaken as part as part of TransLink's Vancouver Area Transit Plan process scheduled to start later this year.

2. Bus bulges - on Main Street between 28th and 30th Avenues (Appendix F.2) -approximate cost to implement $ 100,000 to $200,000 (depending on scope, design/amenities etc.).

As described in Appendix B, a bus bulge is a section of sidewalk that has been widened to allow buses to load and unload in the moving travel lane instead of pulling out of traffic into the parking lane. This saves travel time as bus operators do not have to find a gap in traffic when pulling back into the moving traffic lane. Wider sidewalks at bus stops also provide for:
- passenger amenities such as bus shelters, benches and bike racks
- additional space for landscaping and other community amenities that enhance the street environment
- shortened pedestrian crossing distances, and increased pedestrian comfort and safety.

Altogether, the bus bulges proposed would provide broad benefits and help support the City's strategies for Neighbourhood Centres. The consultant selected these locations as a higher priority on the corridor, e.g., regarding transit/sidewalk usage; however, other locations will be considered where benefits to adjacent communities can be realised.

It is recommended staff proceed with the design and installation of the proposed bus bulges including pedestrian realm enhancement designs, with input from local merchants/property owners. Funds have already been approved from the current capital plan to undertake much of this work, withcost-sharing by TransLink. Staff will report back regarding the need for further funding as necessary following the completion of designs and detailed cost estimates.

At the Open Houses and Workshop, there was general support from stakeholders for the bus priority lane and bus bulges. However, there were concerns expressed by many stakeholders about the potential for these measures to increase general traffic delays and conflicts. These concerns will be addressed in more detail in the design phase.

Fraser Corridor

Fraser Street is an important transit corridor, but has only one bus route and therefore fewer buses then the other corridors in the study.

There were two options identified:

1. Bus bulges - the rationale, benefits, public opinion and recommendations for actions regarding the Fraser Street bus bulges are generally the same as for the Main Street bulges discussed above. Bus bulges are proposed for installation:

- between King Edward and 27th (Appendix G.1) - approximate cost to implement $ 75,000 to $150,000.

- between 43rd and 47th Avenues (Appendix G.2) - approximate cost to implement $ 150,000 to $300,000.

2. Left-turn bays painted on Fraser at King Edward Avenue (Appendix G.3) -approximate cost to implement $ 2,000.

This measure was identified by staff and shown by the consultant to improve transit service. In addition, the measure would improve safety. The project would be in conformance with the City's Transportation Plan which recognizes left-turn bays may be required to improve safety and wherever possible should be accommodated within the existing road width. No roadway widening would be required in order to accommodate the left-turn bays; however, there would be a reduction in on-street parking for some properties on the east side of the road, primarily an undeveloped site. It is recommended staff undertake this work including consulting with the property owners affected by the design.

Burrard Corridor

Burrard Street is an important Downtown bus route for both local and suburban buses. A total of 21 different bus routes currently use segments of Burrard Street.

There were three options identified:

1. Bus-only lanes on Burrard Street from Pacific to Pender, in the peak periods/peak directions only (Appendix H.1) - approximate cost to implement $ 40,000.

2. HOV lanes on Burrard Street from Pacific to Pender, in the peak periods/peak directions only (Appendix H.2) - approximate cost to implement$ 40,000.

3. Bus Queue Jumper lanes between Robson Street and Dunsmuir Street, in the peak periods only (Appendix H.3) - approximate cost to implement $20,000.

The consultant concluded both bus-only and HOV lanes on Burrard from Pacific to Pender (items 1 and 2 above) would produce only marginal benefits to transit and minor disbenefits to general purpose traffic. It is recommended staff investigate further these options as part of TransLink's Vancouver Area Transit Planning process starting later this year.

Georgia Corridor

Georgia is a major transit corridor especially for suburban routes serving North and West Vancouver. A total of 16 bus routes use sections of Georgia Street. There is currently a Bus/HOV(3 person) lane westbound on Georgia Street operating from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. from Burrard Street to Nicola Street , and on a 24 hour basis west of Nicola Street to Stanley Park.

There were two options identified:

1. Extend the hours of the existing westbound HOV lane to 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM (Appendix I.1) - approximate cost to implement: $20,000

The purpose of this option is to spread the benefits of the HOV lane to adjoining time periods when bus/traffic volumes are still relatively heavy. The benefits of this measure were negligible (see Appendix) and there were significant parking impacts. About 40 on-street spaces on the north side of Georgia street would be removed for two additional hours.

2. Extend the westbound 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. HOV lane further East to begin at Richards Street (presently starts at Burrard Street; see Appendix H.1) - approximate cost to implement $15,000.

There were marginal improvements to bus operations and very few disbenefits. Four parking spaces between Burrard and Hornby street would be removed for one additional hour.

The existing westbound HOV lane produces substantial benefits for this corridor already. However, the backup has been increasing. It is recommended the existing HOV lane be extended further east to Richards Street (option 2), as this change has a benefit to transit with no significant parking impacts.

FUNDING

Typically, funding for transit priority measures is cost-shared with TransLink. The formula varies but generally, TransLink's share is 50% or more. The City's share of funding for the recommended actions can be covered under existing or proposed budgets.

The City has installed bus bulges at a number of locations in the City with funding previously provided by Council and cost sharing with TransLink. There are still funds available in the existing capital plan for a few more installations and TransLink has identified funds as well. Further funds have been proposed in the 2003-2005 Capital Plan.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the growth in travel demand, TransLink and the City must find ways to make transit work better on transportation corridors that have limited rights of way, while providing for the transportation needs, safety, livability and access for all corridor users e.g pedestrians, bicyclists, adjacent property owners/ merchants, goods movement and general traffic.

The consultant study provides important information in this regard. The costs and benefits are now much clearer, as are the limitations on what the City can accomplish.

The priority measures that offered the most potential to improve transit service, while not unduly impacting other street users and businesses, are proposed in this report. Lengthening the Georgia HOV lane was found to offer improvements in transit travel time and reliability with little adverse impact to other traffic. Adding bus bulges on Main and Fraser Streets would have only a small transit travel time benefit but would improve comfort and convenience for transit passengers and operators, enhance the sidewalk environment for pedestrians and help reinforce Neighbourhood Centres. Adding painted left-turn bays on Fraser Street at King Edward would improve transit travel times and improve intersection safety. Other options, such as implementing a transit priority signal system on Hastings Street, installing bus queue jumper lanes on Main Street in the vicinity of Terminal Avenueand creating bus/HOV lanes on Burrard Street may have potential and will be reviewed further with TransLink through the Vancouver Area Transit Plan process.

Improving reliability in order to maintain a more predictable transit system for customers (e.g., dealing with bunching and overloading problems) is especially important for crowded Vancouver routes. For future, the remaining major transit corridors in the City will be reviewed as time permits for opportunities to improve transit operations using the lessons learned from this study. As well, research is required regarding combining transit priority measures with TransLink fleet management measures to keep buses on schedule. Investigation regarding intelligent traffic systems (ITS) using bus Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology, and advanced intersection vehicle detection and signal response systems is also continuing.

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Link to Appendices

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver