Posts Tagged ‘priority’

H and I Streets Bus Improvements Study — Final Technical Report Released

November 14th, 2013 6 comments

Metro has released the final technical report of the H and I Streets Bus Improvements Study, making a compelling case for traffic management improvements and bus lane alternatives in the region’s most heavily traveled bus corridor.

Congestion on I Street caused by bottleneck at 17th Street, creating long queues backing up to 15th Street.

Congestion on I Street caused by bottleneck at 17th Street, creating long queues backing up to 15th Street.

DC’s downtown core is a vibrant community, with 380,000 jobs today and significant residential and retail development in the coming decade. While growth will transform the core and create opportunities, it is likely to increase the burden on the transportation network that is already strained by the closure of Pennsylvania Ave.

Today, all users—drivers, bus passengers, pedestrians and bicyclists—experience congestion during peak periods.  Besides high-volume traffic in the corridor, the constant friction among buses, vehicles and delivery trucks further aggravates travel experience.  For bus passengers, the current corridor congestion severely affects travel time and service reliability—a short bus ride on I Street from 13th St to 19th St could take more than 10-15 minutes during rush hours.

Metro and DDOT collectively launched the H and I Streets Bus Improvements Study last year to explore bus improvements on H and I Streets NW in the downtown core, the region’s most heavily traveled and most productive bus corridor.  The study investigated traffic management improvements and bus-only lane options with the objective of providing reliable and efficient bus service and alleviating Metrorail core congestion through innovative surface transit improvements.

The technical report is available for download (PDF) and posted on Metro’s Planning and Development webpage.

Four bus improvement options developed for analysis, as described and illustrated below: Read more…

Metrobus Carries the Load on 16th Street

November 4th, 2013 7 comments

During the morning rush hour, Metrobus carries 50% of all of the people traveling on 16th Street NW towards downtown DC, despite using just 3% of the vehicles. However, it still gets stuck in traffic.

It will come as no surprise to regular riders of the Metrobus S1,2,4 (PDF), or MetroExtra S9 (PDF), but ridership has grown tremendously in recent years on 16th Street, from just over 16,000 riders per weekday in 2008 to about 20,500 this year.  To keep pace, Metro has added lots of new service, most notably the S9 limited stop service in 2009.

In fact, Metro has added so much rush hour service on lower 16th Street that buses headed towards downtown DC now operate more frequently than any transit service in the region, including Metrorail, with buses arriving an average of nearly every 90 seconds.

 

16th Street Throughput Chart

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New Busway in Buenos Aires

October 30th, 2013 Comments off

A new dedicated busway along “the widest street in the world” has reduced friction between buses and cars, but created some new friction between preservationists and government officials in Buenos Aires.

Median contraflow busway along Av 9 de Julio.

Median contraflow busway along Av 9 de Julio.

I just returned from my honeymoon in Buenos Aires. One of the first things I noticed while exploring the downtown “micro center” was a four-lane contraflow busway along Av 9 de Julio, often referred to as the widest street in the world.

Av 9 de Julio is literally a block wide — check out this jaw-dropping photo — with 7 traffic lanes in each direction in the main roadway and an additional 2 lanes of access road, also in each direction.  Up until recently, buses traveled in the access lanes, conflicting with cars and pedestrians.  A new four-lane busway facility was recently constructed along the center of this massive avenue.  The facility is well lit, attractive and fast:  the bus travel time down the three-kilometer roadway is expected to drop from 60 minutes to 20. Read more…

Q&A with Mary Hynes: WMATA and Arlington County Board Member

October 21st, 2013 Comments off

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Mary Hynes, a Metro Board Member, sat down with the Region Forward team to answer a few questions about the region’s biggest challenges, how Metro can help the region meet the goals in Region Forward, and how citizens can get involved. In addition to her role at Metro, Ms. Hynes is an Arlington County Board Member and the Chair of the Council of Governments’ Region Forward Coalition, the public-private group leading the effort to implement COG’s vision for the region’s future.

Q: What do you think are the regions biggest challenges?

Mary Hynes: “The economy is a big challenge. We are still figuring out ‘the new normal’ with the federal government. The issues of housing and how people move efficiently around the region are also critical. It’s critical that we understand how housing and multimodal transportation options fit into the bigger picture of achieving a thriving region built of individual vibrant communities – one that is also attuned and committed to meeting the social equity requirements of our diverse, sustainable region.”

Q: How does Metro help us meet our Region Forward goals?

Mary Hynes: “The Metro Board made a decision when considering how to frame its new strategic plan to key off of Region Forward. We – my colleagues on the Metro Board and Metro’s professional staff – looked at what regional leaders had done with Region Forward—the goals they had set—and said “Metro can be the catalyst that enhances regional mobility and convenes stakeholders to ensure a successful, integrated regional multi-modal system”. We worked with the Transportation Planning Board at COG to make sure Momentum and the TPB’s Priorities Plan are aligned.  It wasn’t hard because, in fact, there is regional consensus on the next set of transportation moves the region needs to make.

It’s an exciting time to be participating with COG and Metro. It’s a remarkable moment because people share the same vision. Leaders across the region have learned the same lessons. So the time is right!  Just as regional leaders did 50 years ago when planning Metro, we all must lock our arms, commit to a funding plan, and move forward together.”

Read the full interview!

TIGER Builds Momentum for Metro 2025

August 6th, 2013 Comments off

Federal TIGER Grant-funded bus priority projects are moving forward, setting the stage for the Metro 2025 Priority Corridor Network.

In 2010, a local consortium of agencies including WMATA was awarded a $59-million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant for bus priority in the Washington Region. The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) is the primary project manager and recipient of the of the grant, and TPB staff provided a briefing of the status of the implementation of the TIGER projects (PDF). This post provides a summary of the projects in which Metro is engaged, as well as a history of the TIGER grant award to the region.

Construction of the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway, from May 30, 2013.

Construction of the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway, from May 30, 2013. Source: TPB.

When will you see projects being built?

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Categories: In The News Tags: , , , ,

Getting to 2025

July 29th, 2013 1 comment

Portions of Momentum are Grosvenor-Sta-night-121010-13already being executed, meaning that elements in this strategic plan under Metro’s control are already in implementation mode.  Engineering work is well-underway to support some of the immediate and near-term investments and innovations to carry the system to the year 2025. Some of the projects and their dates of completion or anticipated completion include the following:

Metro’s staff and Board are already laying the financial underpinnings to execute the strategic plan. In 2013, the Board approved Metro’s multi-year capital and operating budgets. While continuing laser-like focus on safety improvements and the rebuilding of the existing system, the FY 2014-2019 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) includes a number of significant investments that lay the groundwork for the implementation and execution of Metro 2025, which is described in the following section and later in this document.

Read more…

Today’s Planned Transportation Investments – the Constrained Long Range Plan (CLRP)

July 15th, 2013 1 comment

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), adopts the region’s constrained long-range plan (CLRP) annually. Only projects included in this regional transportation plan are eligible for federal funding, and since 1991, federal law requires the CLRP to be constrained financially. This regional transportation plan includes only projects that are reasonably expected to be fully funded.Momentum_Schematics_CLRP_7

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Metrobus Priority Corridor Network (PCN)

July 5th, 2013 1 comment

Metrobus’ Priority Corridor Network (PCN) Plan will improve bus service, travel speeds, and reliability on 24 regional corridors, which serve half of Metrobus ridership. Improvements include:

  • Improved operational strategies such as transit signal priority and exclusive bus lanes
  • Increased frequency and span of service
  • Improved customer information
  • Added MetroExtra, Metro’s limited-stop bus service, routes and buses
  • Expanded fare payment options
  • Added safety, security and incident response measures
  • Enhanced bus stops and facilities

PCN Map Read more…

Strides in Improving Reliability

June 26th, 2013 2 comments

Thanks to its funding partners, Metro is now Track-work-College-Park-031512-56engaged in the largest capital improvement program since its original construction. Two years ago, MetroForward was launched – an aggressive, $5 billion, six-year investment program to rebuild the system. MetroForward is investing in what Metro’s customers value most: safety, reliability, and good customer service. With continued investment, it is projected that Metro will continue to make progress on the intensive MetroForward “catch up” phase in the years ahead. MetroForward has already delivered:

  • An aggressive escalator rehabilitation program;
  • Continued improved elevator availability;
  • Station repairs at Judiciary Square, Shady Grove, Rockville, White Flint, Twinbrook and Union station;
  • 461 new MetroAccess vehicles in service;
  • Over 200 new replacement or rehabilitated buses in service;
  • Electrical upgrades to accommodate additional eight-car trains on some lines; and
  • Replacement of over 14.7 miles of rail; 36 No. 8 guarded switches; 16,000 ties; 11,731 cross ties; 62,723 linear feet of running rail; 20,745 fasteners; 8,849 insulators; and 9,829 linear feet of grout pads.

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Operating Longest Possible Trains During the Peak Period

June 21st, 2013 6 comments

Timeline to Have Sufficient Railcars to Operate 100% 8-Car Trains

Operating the longest trains possible during the peak periods will maximize the capacity of the existing Metrorail system by enabling operations of 100 percent eight-car trains. Metro will upgrade, replace or expand:

  • The rail car fleet
  • Traction power substations
  • Power cabling
  • Third rail
  • Train control systems
  • Storage tracks and maintenance bays in the yards

Purpose and Need

The Metro system’s core is the destination or transfer point for 80 percent of all rail riders system-wide. Crowded conditions during peak periods exist currently and, without rail fleet expansion, most rail lines will be even more congested by 2025. Operating 100 percent eight-car trains during peak periods and increasing the capacity of transfer stations (under a related initiative) will provide adequate capacity through 2025.

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