The Vine: Mill Plain Bus Rapid Transit Project Phase 2 Open House Summary October 2019

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Table of Contents

Background – 3

Public involvement – 4

Open house overview – 5

Notification – 5

Open house comment summary – 6

Next steps – 8

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Background

The Vine is branching out to the

Mill Plain corridor. In January

2017, C-TRAN delivered the

region’s first Bus Rapid Transit

(BRT) system to the Fourth Plain

corridor on time and under

budget, while reducing travel time

by 12 percent. Now, C-TRAN is

planning to bring the next phase

of BRT to Mill Plain Boulevard.

The Vine: Mill Plain BRT project

will serve C-TRAN’s second

busiest transit corridor and benefit

Vancouver residents by:

• Reducing transit delays and improving travel times

• Unclogging bottlenecks for existing bus service

• Making transit service along Mill Plain more reliable and attractive

• Providing better mobility and access to jobs and everyday services

• Unlocking economic and educational opportunities

The proposed route for The Vine extension is about 10 miles long beginning in downtown

Vancouver and ending at a transit center near 192nd Avenue (not yet constructed). C-TRAN will

work with the Federal Transit Administration to ensure the Mill Plain BRT project is highly

competitive for grant funding to help pay for construction. C-TRAN may also seek additional

funding sources or use available C-TRAN reserves. C-TRAN operates debt-free, and is

committed to remaining that way through this process.

About the Vine

The Vine uses larger buses, level boarding platforms, and other features like off-board fares to

improve transit capacity and service. Within the first year of operation, The Vine delivered a 45

percent increase in ridership, an 89 percent reduction in late departures, and a 12 percent

reduction in scheduled travel times. And the corridor saw an influx of new housing projects

totaling $82 million, many citing The Vine as a key reason for the development.

Timeline The Mill Plain BRT Project is currently in Phase Two of a multi-year process. From spring 2018

to winter 2019, Phase One included multiple opportunities for public input to inform a Locally

Preferred Alternative (LPA)—that is, the basic outline for how and where BRT will function along

Mill Plain. During Phase Two C-TRAN is honing the finer details in project development. Lastly,

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Phase Three will include construction of the project—making Mill Plain BRT a reality. C-TRAN

anticipates service will begin by 2023.

Public involvement

C-TRAN is listening to community voices to plan safe, reliable, and effective transit

solutions for the Mill Plain BRT project. The planning and development process for The

Vine: Mill Plain BRT project has, and will continue to, offer opportunities to comment on the

design options for Mill Plain. C-TRAN hosted three public open houses during the first

Phase of the project, as well as information booths at several community events and

festivals to raise awareness about the project. During Phase One, C-TRAN also convened

a Corridor Advisory Committee (CAC) to advise them about community needs and

priorities. The 17-member CAC represented local businesses, educational institutions,

community organizations, neighborhood associations, and community interest groups; they

met five times during the planning process.

During Phase Two C-TRAN is briefing neighborhood and community organizations about

the project regularly; sent project information to all property owners along the LPA, and met

with many business and property owners.

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Open house overview

On October 4, 2019, C-TRAN hosted the

fourth project open house at Firstenburg

Community Center from 4 to 7 p.m. to

provide details about the Mill Plain BRT

station locations, shelter designs, Mill Plain

Transit Center concept, and considerations

of the Chkalov/Mill Plain Intersection design.

C-TRAN invited the public to learn more and

provide comments about the project.

Twenty-five community members attended

the open house. Project team members from C-TRAN attended the open house to answer

questions and listen to the community. Attendees were greeted by project staff, asked to

sign-in, and received C-TRAN fact sheets and a comment form.

Open house attendees viewed display boards around the room with background

information about the project and timeline, the LPA and shelter design, maps including

station locations, several design options at the Mill Plain/Chkalov intersection, and images

of the Mill Plain Transit Center concept. Attendees could submit written comments using a

comment form.

Notification

C-TRAN publicized the open house through the following channels:

Shared information with stakeholders through briefings and interviews.

Shared updates on C-TRAN’s website, Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as

social media posts shared by C-TRAN community partners.

Emailed event notice from both C-TRAN and Vancouver Office of Neighborhoods.

Provided Rider alerts on local buses.

Mailed postcard to households along the corridor.

Mailed postcard to all properties within 1/2 mile of the planned alignment, as well as

directly affected property owners.

Distributed press release to local media.

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Open house comment summary

C-TRAN accepted public comments in person at the open house and encouraged mail and

email comments. At the meeting, C-TRAN received 11 comment forms and one via mail

after the event.

Below is a summary of feedback we collected at the meeting organized by topic.

Interest in Mill Plain BRT project

In the comment form, attendees identified why they were interested in the project. (Note:

attendees could pick more than one option.)

*attendees who identified themselves as bus riders indicated they ride the bus for work and

general mobility.

**Nearby neighborhoods resided in by attendees included Northcrest, Harney, and

Bennington. Nearby businesses along the alignment represented by attendees included

Kazoodles Toy Store and the Human Services Council.

Proposed Station Locations

Feedback indicated general acceptance of the planned station locations; concerns

expressed centered around safety considerations:

Station placement appears well planned. Locating stations immediately at

intersections where bus routes connect is important; good choice putting Eastbound

164th Avenue Station close to the corner.

Proposed East Terminus will benefit Clark College and retail uses. Ask Walmart,

Home Depot, etc. to find an accessible zigzag walkway up to their shopping center

direct from the bus station.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Occassional Bus Rider* Bus Driver Proximity to Project**

Source of Mill Plain BRT Interest

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The proposed station locations and design seem fine.

I like that most stations are in-line as it is easier as a driver to move in and out of the

station; merging into traffic is not required.

Need to reconsider downtown alignment option; the Broadway and Evergreen

intersection may be problematic and is an accident waiting to happen. I have seen

many non-bus vehicles using the bus lane as a turn lane; there is the potential for a

car to t-bone the bus making the right turn onto Evergreen Boulevard.

Need center lane stations on Mill Plain east of 104 th. In those instances where

they’re used for the station. Also having a center lane station would allow for

pedestrian safety improvements for crossing Mill Plain.

Proposed Station Design

Most station design comments included suggestions on how to make the stations more

user-friendly for passengers:

The stations need to allow for more detailed information on the reader boards when

there is a traffic delay and should be displayed on reader board.

I love the project so far and seems really interesting. Make the stops more sheltered

since it’s raining in the fall, winter, and spring. You should play music at the stations

to help passengers remain patient for the bus to arrive.

If the stations were lower, close to “normal” curb height and the buses were low -

floor like some of the current 40 foot buses, it would make it easier to use existing

buses in cold weather conditions. This would also cost less to build per-stop and

make it easier to change routes and stops, as needed in the future. These

suggestions would require a different bus design; I am not aware of the

cost/mechanical limitations.

The current Vine stations need to be finished as they are poorly/inadequately

designed. They need three walls and more seats. Many times, I have stood 10-14

minutes next to a wet seat. Please address these concerns when the Mill Plain

shelters are designed.

I have questions regarding the lighting of the BRT station at the intersection of Mill

Plain and Brandt Road west bound. Perhaps the lighting could be softened. Fix

route stop 1250.

Widen the stripping for crosswalks going to the bus refuge at I-205; hawk signals at

cross walks at northbound I-205 off-ramp going over the Mill Plain bridge.

Add Brail to the stops that intersect with route 32 for the blind riders.

Design the stops for family and ensure the art work at the stops be age-appropriate

by height. For example, more cartoons lower and more historic pieces as you look

higher up on the glass.

If the downtown alignment option is kept, the Eastbound station at C Street needs to

be like the 12th and Washington stops.

Need benches to be at similar height.

There needs to be better stop lights/signals.

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I-205/Chkalov Design Concepts

Most participants supported Alternative A, including 100 percent of the written comments, citing overall mobility and business access as key factors:

o I prefer the concept that gives buses exclusive use, westbound of the island

station lane, and prohibits left turns. Successful bus service will depend on

unimpeded bus movement. New York City has closed six blocks of 14 th

Street to all through automobile traffic (210,000 vehicles/day) to increase bus

speed, and eliminated left turns for remaining local traffic. Shutting off just

westbound left turns at one location (Chkalov) should not be an impediment

in Vancouver.

o This is the only choice to improve traffic mobility through the area. Options B

and C keep the status quo.

o I prefer this design concept.

o This option does a good job of still provided access to the businesses north

of Mill Plain by west-bound drivers with only cycling the light once every 15

minutes for bus que jump.

o I believe this option will work best as it addresses traffic going both

directions. Turning left westbound onto Chkalov will take longer bus all

westbound traffic will move better and cars may reach that one left turn lane

sooner when the straight-thru and I-205 on-ramps are moving better.

o This is the best design in terms of providing benefits for the most people.

Fred Meyer would take a hit with this option, but overall the intersection and

corridor as a whole would flow and operate better.

Other community issues and priorities

Great project so far

Operators need to look for riders running up to the bus before they move the bus.

Congestion will increase and decrease to meet any changes, as more congestion

now changes people’s driving habits to avoid the area.

Also need better transit options to the businesses east of the Mill Plain Transit

Center. The Fourth Plain Vine needs to be called Kiwi and the Mill Plain Vine should

be called Strawberry: both are fruits that grow on vines.

A concern is that The Vine ends before 192nd; perhaps it could be extended in the

future.

Assuming Fire Station 3 moves to the intersection of Andresen and Mill Plain, there

could be conflict at the intersection with the stops there.

Next steps

The project team will continue engaging in briefings and direct outreach, as well as

advancing the project design and engineering, completing the environment review, and

securing the remaining project funding. We expect to continue Phase two until mid-2021.