Abstract
American and international cities have delivered high-quality transit service at relatively low cost through the use of bus rapid transit (BRT). However, while improved transit service is critical for urban mobility, a tension exists between creating the best possible bus facility and designing an attractive urban environment. Cities face the challenge of developing street configurations that provide reliable, high-capacity transit service while providing a high-quality public realm for the transit riders and communities that the buses serve. Woodhaven Boulevard is an auto-oriented 14-mi (22.5-km) corridor in Queens, New York, that carries more than 30,000 bus riders daily. The corridor performs poorly for transit, is inhospitable to pedestrians, and is consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous streets in the city. The New York City Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bus Company are leveraging the Select Bus Service (SBS) program to redesign the corridor with BRT features that include improvements to the public realm while maintaining sufficient capacity for all vehicles. This paper describes the planning process and challenges of the Woodhaven Boulevard SBS project and provides lessons on how to design and evaluate an urban arterial that accommodates many users, each with his or her own set of mobility and accessibility needs. While typical BRT projects focus on the traditional goals of maximizing transit efficiency and bus speeds, the preferred concept for Woodhaven Boulevard demonstrates how a wider array of goals that includes safety, aesthetics, and place making can and should be incorporated into transit projects.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.