Title
Locally Preferred Alternative for New Bern Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Corridor
Bret Martin, MPO Staff
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Building upon the identification and initial refinement of bus rapid transit (BRT) alternatives studied under the Wake Transit Fixed Guideway Corridors Major Investment Study (MIS), the City of Raleigh is in the process of developing a BRT project along the New Bern Avenue corridor to connect the Raleigh central business district with the WakeMed Raleigh campus and New Hope Road, a total span of approximately 5.1 miles (Attachment A). The proposed project includes approximately 3.3 miles of new dedicated BRT runningway improvements between GoRaleigh Station (in downtown Raleigh) and Sunnybrook Road, including transit signal priority (TSP) at signalized intersections and up to twelve (12) weather-protected BRT stations. The proposed project also includes approximately 1.8 miles of BRT-level service in general traffic lanes, with potential TSP at signalized intersections, between Sunnybrook Road and New Hope Road. The terminus at New Hope Road will include a proposed park-and-ride and transfer facility that will be implemented as a separate project.
The purpose of the New Bern Avenue Corridor BRT project is to improve transit service from downtown Raleigh to New Hope Road. This new transit investment would accommodate projected growth, create transit infrastructure that allows the BRT route and other approved transit services to bypass major congestion points, and improve the attractiveness of the service to experience ridership growth.
For the New Bern corridor, the MIS identified a single potential alignment for dedicated runningway infrastructure along New Bern Avenue that consists of the following three (3) roadway segments:
• New Bern Avenue between Blount Street and Poole Road (in the eastbound direction);
• Edenton Street between Blount Street and Poole Road (in the westbound direction); and
• New Bern Avenue between Poole Road and Sunnybrook Road.
This alignment alternative was further refined to include BRT service along the corridor that extends eastward to a future transfer and park-and-ride facility at or near the intersection of New Bern Avenue and New Hope Road. This alternative uses the existing roadway network in downtown Raleigh to circle GoRaleigh Station and continues east using the one-way street pair of Edenton Street (westbound) and New Bern Avenue (eastbound) between Blount Street and Poole Road.
Consideration of a locally preferred alternative (LPA) for a high-capacity, fixed-guideway transit project involves three characteristics of a proposed project: mode, alignment, and termini. In its evaluation of modes, alignments, and termini along the corridor and in eastern Raleigh in general, the City of Raleigh determined that the described alternative is the only alternative that serves the travel market identified in the MIS and that satisfies the purpose and need for the project by providing direct access to the major origins and destinations along the corridor. It was determined that the proposed BRT mode along the described alignment and with the described termini is the most cost-effective and least intrusive mode that can achieve the purpose and need for the project. The BRT mode improves throughput capacity and transit service reliability to a level that is adequate to serve the existing and projected travel market without introducing significant impacts to the corridor.
On June 4, 2019, the Raleigh City Council recommended the described alternative as the LPA to CAMPO for its adoption and inclusion in the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan and FYs 2018-2027 TIP. The proposed LPA was posted for a 30-day public comment period in mid-July that is scheduled to end on August 20th. The Executive Board will hold a public hearing for its consideration of the LPA at its August 21st regular meeting. A draft resolution for the Executive Board’s adoption of the LPA is included as Attachment B.
Requested Action: Action Conduct public hearing and consider adoption of the Locally Preferred Alternative for the New Bern Avenue Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor.