March_2022 - 19

Bus Rapid Transit
along the corridor. The BRT line
came with a suite of safety improvements
around the stations,
including additional pedestrian
level lights, CCTV camera coverage
and emergency telephones.
Packaged in with the construction
were ADA-compliant upgrades
including curb bump-outs. This
approach also provided the opportunity
to complete a critical
missing link in the bike network
near one of the BRT stations.
With the project past the midway
point of construction, this
approach has reduced costs and
yielded a better built environment
for corridor users. The project is
ahead of schedule and disruptions
to residents and businesses along
the route have been minimized.
Soliciting Feedback
to Enhance Passenger
Experience
Agencies can improve upon even
the best-designed BRT lines.
Community members can effectively
use the first line as a test
and, if agencies are listening, current
riders can offer valuable input
for the next BRT line.
C-TRAN showed the importance
of public outreach and customer
feedback. The Washington
State School for the Blind is located
along the new Mill Plain BRT
route. C-TRAN officials brought
students and administrators on
a tour of the existing BRT route
along Fourth Plain Boulevard.
This led to changes in how users
navigate the station, wayfinding
and safety improvements and other
items that allow for safer access
to stations and the bus doors.
C-TRAN also listened to the
customers of the first BRT line to
make subtle, yet important amenity
modifications. The benches
under the station canopies were
slightly adjusted to be better protected
from the elements, particularly
in a location that experiences
a lot of rain.
Engaging the community on
the front end allowed their feedinto
station design revisions that
remained compatible with the existing
line and established brand.
The key to success was coordinated
stakeholder communication
from the beginning; this allowed
the feedback to shape the foundation
of the new line versus a
copy-and-paste approach.
Enhancements suggested by
staff included:
* Connecting fiber to every station,
eliminating the long-term costs
of internet service connections.
* Locating station amenities so
that more snow could be cleared
by machine, rather than by hand,
across more of the station site.
* Eliminating additional cabinets
at platforms by modifying
aesthetics of the real-time sign
pylon to allow communications
components to fit within the
sign itself.
back to be built into the design.
Conducting meaningful, equity-aware
outreach takes time
and effort, but it makes a project
a truly integral part of the community.
And proactively looking
for opportunities to improve a
second BRT line creates a stronger
network that works for everyone.
Learning from
Operations &
Maintenance
Employees
One key benefit to implementing
a network of BRT lines is
that lessons learned from operations
and maintenance staff
can directly influence the design
details of subsequent lines. In
Minneapolis, Metro Transit held
workshops and brought together
staff to identify ways to improve
or build on the success of the first
two BRT lines. The project team
then incorporated this feedback
A C Line BRT
bus drives in
downtown
Minneapolis,
near the Target
Center.
Tom Shook is the bus
rapid transit lead
and transit project
manager for HDR.
Ryan Bauman, P.E., is
HDR's north-central
BRT lead and
Minnesota/Wisconsin
transit manager.
* Planning for the unexpected and
positioning stations so that the
most expensive equipment is
shielded from traffic, mitigating
the potential outage if struck by
a car or other vehicle.
Additionally, the team established
thresholds for when a
station should include certain
elements, such as lighted handrails,
trees and seat walls. This
ensured that the decision to add
these at future stations will be an
equitable one.
Addressing these kinds of
changes can help minimize ongoing
operations and maintenance
costs as a BRT line expands into
a BRT program.
Bringing it Together
These two agencies challenged
themselves - and succeeded - in
consistently improving upon their
BRT experience. Expanding a BRT
line to a network offers a host of
opportunities to bring better service,
improved efficiency and better
cost-effectiveness. When an
agency reaches inward and outward
for inspiration, it can create a
new BRT line that helps transform
an entire community.
MARCH 2022 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 19
http://www.MassTransitmag.com
March_2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March_2022
