Virginia Street Bus RAPID Transit Extension

Presentation to RTCJuly 17, 2015

Project Purpose• Extend RAPID to UNR• Improve pedestrian safety &

access• Create vibrant public spaces that

are accessible to all• Improve multimodal connections

http://virginiastreetrapidextension.com

Virginia Street Bus RAPID Transit Extension Project

Existing RAPID Route

Proposed RAPID Route Proposed Station Locations

Proposed Station Upgrades

4th Street Station

Project Outreach

3 years of outreach for RTC planning study & UNR master plan Community Meetings/Workshops - April 14 & 15, June 18 Community Working Group Online Concept Preference Survey & 5,000+ mailers Midtown Business Outreach, 1-on-1 Meetings Other small group meetings Project Website: www.virginiastreetrapidextension.com

Community Engagement

Multiple Stakeholder Meetings City of Reno University of Nevada, Reno Midtown Merchants Association Creative Coalition Great Streets Coalition

Current Travel Mode Split

Bike; 0.5% Walk; 1.7%

Transit; 22.2%

Auto; 75.6%

Bike; 0.6%Walk; 9.2% Tran

sit; 8.5%

Auto; 81.7%

Virginia Street at Martin Street Virginia Street at College Drive

Martin

College

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

11

5

44

85

Average Pedestrians per Hour Average Cyclists per Hour

Average Hourly Bicycle & Pedestrian Counts

UNR Area Map

Lawlor Events Center

17th St

10th St

15th St

11th St

College Dr

San Rafael Dr

Interstate 80

Interstate 80

Keysto

ne

Multimodal Hub/Gateway

Roundabout

4TH STREET STATION

Complete Street Improvements:

Bus-only lane & bike lane

UNR Gateway Multimodal Center

RAPID STATION

* 317 Survey Participants

http://virginiastreetrapidextension.com

North Virginia Alternatives8th Street to 9th Street

Option A

Option BBus Only Lane,

Landscape Median, Wider Sidewalks

(Option A)81% Existing Lane

Configuration (Option B)

19%

Midtown Area Map

Complete Streets Improvements

Need for Improved Pedestrian Facilities

Photo courtesy of Wood Rodgers

Midtown AlternativesLiberty Street to Vassar Street

Option B

Option A

Option C

Shared

Travel Lane and Two-Way Left-Turn Lane (Op-tion A)

42%

Shared

Travel Lane, Me-

dian, and

Wider Side-walk (Op-tion B)

16%Standard Bike Lane and Median (Option C)

42%

* 317 Survey Participants

Option A Plan View

Preserves opportunity for parklettes Columbia, MO

Midtown Business 1-on-1 SurveyCalifornia Avenue to Mt Rose Street/Holcomb Avenue

http://virginiastreetrapidextension.com

Expanded outreach to Midtown businesses

Met with 46 businesses from June 2-12 40 owners/partners or family

members 6 managers or assistant managers

Discussed project design options and asked about priorities of each business

Midtown Business 1-on-1 Survey Results

Curbside Parking66%

Bike Lanes13%

Wider Sidewalks21%

What is your #1 Priority?

Curbside Parking Bike Lanes Wider Sidewalks

* 46 Business Survey Participants

Segment of Virginia Street

Existing Parking Spaces

Proposed Parking Spaces – Option A series

Proposed Parking Spaces – Option B series

Proposed Parking Spaces – Option C series

Liberty Street to Plumb Lane 157 188 119 136

Gain/Loss +31 -53 -43

Midtown Business 1-on-1 Survey Results

Yes46%

No54%

Are you in favor of restricting left turn movements with a median on Virginia Street

to provide wider sidewalks?

Yes No

* 46 Business Survey Participants

Segment of Virginia Street

Unsignalized Intersection

Lefts Eliminated by Median

Driveway Lefts Eliminated by

Median

Total Left Turn Movements

Eliminated by Median

Liberty Street to Plumb Lane 6 93 99

http://virginiastreetrapidextension.com

Virginia Street Bus RAPID Transit Extension Project

Existing Bike Lanes Bike Lanes/Multiuse Paths 2016 Construction for Evans & 4th

Proposed Bike Lanes

Existing Bike LanesBike Facilities Planned for ConstructionProposed Bike Lanes

Comparison of Midtown Alternatives

Option Transit Connection to UNR & Upgraded Midtown Stations

Sidewalk Width Range (in feet)

Parking Virginia Street Bike Facility

Left Turn Restrictions

Upgrade Street Lighting

Street Trees

Reduce Speed Limit

Operations

A Yes 7.5-19.5 +31 Sharrow Less than 10 driveways

Yes More Yes Bus pullouts

B Yes 11-23 -53 Sharrow 6 intersections & 93 driveways

Yes Most Yes Bus stops in travel lane

C Yes 6-18 -43 Lane 6 intersections & 93 driveways

Yes Fewest Yes Bus pullouts

Next Steps

Recommend Preferred Concept Community Information Meeting – August Develop 30% Design & Complete

Environmental & Historic Resource Studies Develop Off-Street Parking Strategy