Managed Lanes, Bus Rapid Transit Concepts Work Together To Improve Current, Future Traffic Needs
By Kathy Donnelly, PE, Senior Planner, San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)
Phil Kern, PE, Program Manager, Bureau Veritas/Berryman & Henigar
An innovative transportation concept will not only improve freeway capacity but will also encourage the use of public transit and carpools on a key interstate highway in San Diego County.
Interstate 15 in San Diego County is one of the state's busiest freeways. More than 250,000 vehicles a day (in 1995 the daily average was 150,000) traverse the 20-mile long corridor between State Routes 163 and 78. Currently, during normal weekday commutes, there are six hours of daily congestion, and the existing carpool lanes are now opened on weekends due to rising traffic demands. About 15 percent of the vehicles traveling on I-15 are carpoolers; so enhancing freeway, transit, and High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) facilities will help address congestion.
With another one million people expected to call the county home over the next 25 years, clearly something has to be done to ease congestion, which ultimately can have an adverse economic impact if commuters and regional goods movers are unable to reach critical destinations in a timely manner.
Interstate 15 Managed Lanes
One key element of the traffic solution is the "Managed Lanes" concept, which is an integral component of SANDAG's MOBILITY 2030 — a 30-year Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) to strategically develop a seamless public transportation system. The RTP includes a five-year, $25-million incentive pilot program to foster the integration of smart growth land uses and transportation facilities. Key stakeholders that are developing the Managed Lanes concept include SANDAG, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
The 20-mile Managed Lanes project will build four lanes with a movable barrier in the median of I-15 to accommodate up to three lanes in the peak direction. It will give priority to HOVs and a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. In addition, a demand-based toll, or value-pricing, program would be implemented under separate environmental approval allowing Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOVs) to utilize excess capacity on the managed lanes. The goal is to maximize utilization of available freeway capacity and offer choices to commuters that are competitive with SOVs.
The Managed Lanes will be constructed primarily within the existing freeway median, although some outside widening will be required. Traffic will flow in both directions using a movable barrier or "zipper" to separate the flows. As an example, a four-lane configuration during morning rush hour could have three lanes southbound and one northbound. The Managed Lanes would then be reconfigured to three lanes northbound, one lane southbound for the afternoon commute. The lanes could also be configured to handle incidents or special events. Fixed concrete barriers would separate the managed lanes from the main lanes, with access openings at two- to three-mile intervals.
Bus Rapid Transit Centers
Another important element of the Managed Lanes is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. This is a system of transit routes connecting residential areas with major employment centers along the corridor. BRT aims to pull solo commuters out of their vehicles by combining the attributes of rail transportation with the flexibility of the bus. A key objective is to make the bus more competitive with the car by offering upgraded vehicles and stations, faster boarding, frequent departures at peak hours, on board conveniences such as outlets for laptop computers and possibly restrooms, and speedy passage in HOV and reserved lanes. Additionally, the stations themselves will offer amenities such as "Next Bus" signs displaying projected arrival times, Smart Card fare collection, interactive customer information kiosks and the availability of car sharing for local trips.
BRT, while still a relatively new concept in the United States, is catching on. It was first introduced in Curitiba, Brazil in the early 1970s. Pittsburgh and Orlando have BRT systems; a number of other cities, including Boston, Cleveland, and Eugene are now developing them. Although many BRT systems have separate guideways, or roadways, for the buses with limited parking at the stations, the I-15 system will take advantage of the Managed Lanes project and will provide more parking for commuters.
"If you look at the experience around the globe, it's pretty clear that BRT provides the most cost-effective opportunity to reduce congestion and improve air quality," said Bill Vincent of Breakthrough Technologies Institute, a Washington, D.C. policy center and think tank.
Preferential access to the managed lanes will enable buses to provide high-speed rapid service. Special BRT stations are being developed adjacent to the I-15 freeway in the City of San Diego areas of Rancho Bernardo and Sabre Springs, and in the City of Escondido across from the North County Faire shopping mall. Future stations will include Mira Mesa at Miramar College and improvements to the existing Escondido Transit Center, tying into a future Oceanside to Escondido "Sprinter" rail line.
The stations will have park-and-ride lots for carpoolers and auto access to the BRT service, and will be connected to the managed lanes via direct-access ramps, allowing buses and HOVs to quickly bypass freeway on-ramps. The BRT system will provide another alternative to SOVs, reducing demand and congestion on the I-15 corridor. Each station will have approximately 200 parking spaces and the design allows for expanding the facilities to accommodate future growth.
A number of BRT projects are being considered for San Diego County, which would be funded from a combination of various federal, state, local and private sources. These would include local TransNet funding – a countywide half-cent sales tax; state appropriations, and Federal Transit Administration contributions.
Planned BRT projects include:
- A 10-mile arterial-street BRT line between San Diego State University and downtown San Diego;
- A service from Escondido to Sorrento Mesa, using the I-15 Managed Lanes along part of the route;
- A BRT route from Otay Mesa, in eastern Chula Vista to downtown San Diego via dedicated lanes, including the median of surface streets in Otay Mesa and future managed lanes on Interstate 805.
Construction of the I-15 Managed Lanes facility will be in three phases — the middle segment from State Route 56 to Centre City Parkway in Escondido is underway now and projected to open at the end of 2007. Some construction contracts for the five units of the middle segment have been awarded and the remaining units are expected to be awarded this year. Caltrans has expedited the design and construction through the use of "Design Sequencing" — a way to sequentially release parts of the project for construction as the design is finished. The I-15 Managed Lanes project is one of the first projects to use this innovative process.
The transportation strategy now being implemented will maximize the number of people — not the number of cars — that will be moved through major corridors in San Diego County. The net result will be a 21st Century transportation system that is more flexible and can accommodate future growth.
Source: Berryman & Henigar
Kathy Donnelly is Senior Planner for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). SANDAG is an association of local governments composed of 18 cities and the county government. Policymakers are mayors, council members, and a county supervisor from each of the region's 19 local governments. SANDAG provides the public forum for regional policy decisions about growth, transportation planning and funding, transit construction, environmental management, economic development, housing, open space, energy, public safety, and binational topics. Contact Ms. Donnelly at kdo@sandag.org.
Phil Kern is a Program Manager at Berryman & Henigar, a subsidiary of Bureau Veritas. The company provides municipal management consulting, civil engineering, planning, public finance, building safety, asset management, and program and construction management to public agencies. The firm is part of the Bureau Veritas family of companies, a worldwide organization, providing a variety of services "for the benefit of business and people." Further information is available on the web at www.bhiinc.com. Contact Mr. Kern at kern@bhiinc.com.