Fiscal Note
Adoption of the Resolution will not commit the City of Madison to additional expenditures at this time, but may represent an initial step toward ultimately significant potential impacts on future City capital and operating expenses.
The Resolution authorizes advancement toward BRT system project development, environmental evaluation and project implementation. City planning staff estimate that the project development process may be initiated over the next several months, then require two years to complete - at an estimated cost of approximately $2-$2.5 million. Detailed funding sources for the project development work are yet to be determined but will likely be funded by a combination of federal, state and local sources. Federal grant funds allocated to this project (WI-39-0001, WI-26-0012 and WI-39-0002) have been secured and will be used. Any City of Madison expenditures to fund BRT system project development will require future Council approval.
The Resolution also provides for the creation of a "BRT Intergovernmental Oversight Committee" to review, evaluate, and develop recommendations on various project elements. Staff resources from the Department of Planning & Community & Economic Development, Metro Transit, Traffic Engineering, City Engineering, and the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board - a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) may be necessary to provide support for future planning and/or project development work on a BRT start-up system.
Any future expenditure associated with implementation of a BRT start-up system will require further Council approval.
Title
To accept the Madison Transit Corridor (BRT) Study Report, endorsing BRT as a high-capacity transit concept that could help the City achieve its long-term strategic transportation planning and urban development goals the recommendations contained in the Report as a conceptual component of the City's strategy for addressing future transportation system planning and development, and to authorize moving forward to the next phase of project development, environmental evaluation and project implementation.
Body
WHEREAS the City of Madison's population and economy is growing, and in order to help facilitate this growth and ensure a high quality of life, the City has identified a need for a comprehensive transportation system strategy that integrates all modes of transportation (i.e., auto, bicycle, public transportation, pedestrian, high-capacity transit, etc.), and identifies how those modes interconnect and work together; and,
WHEREAS the City of Madison is currently in the process of developing Madison in Motion, its Sustainable Madison Transportation Master Plan; Madison in Motion will guide transportation decisions in the City of Madison, in order to help make Madison a more walkable, bikeable and livable city; and,
WHEREAS the Madison in Motion/Sustainable Madison Transportation Master Plan Oversight Committee is in agreement that a Bus Rapid Transit system, as a component of a comprehensive multi-modal transportation system, is consistent with Madison in Motion's project goals and mission; and,
WHEREAS The 2035 Regional Transportation Plan Update: Madison Metropolitan Area & Dane County, the MPO's current long-range transportation system plan, recommends planning for and implementing a high-capacity rapid transit service and for local units of government to reach agreement on the appropriate technology and routing for such service; and,
WHEREAS the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board - an MPO recently completed and adopted the Madison Transit Corridor Study: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the Madison Area (the "BRT Study"); and,
WHEREAS the BRT Study identified corridors and segments to carry forward into detailed analysis in four corridors, each arranged around the Capitol Square and oriented towards North, Northeast, South, and West Madison; and several alternative routings along the main corridors, as well as potential future extensions to Sun Prairie, Monona/East Madison, Middleton, Fitchburg, Southwest Madison and Verona were considered; and,
WHEREAS the BRT Study concluded that the BRT system that was evaluated demonstrated strong ridership potential and would favorably compete with other BRT systems throughout the U.S.; and,
WHEREAS a bus rapid transit project must contain, at a minimum: substantial transit stations, traffic signal priority, low-floor vehicles, special branding of service, frequent peak and off-peak service, and service offered at least 14 hours per day in order to qualify for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) New Starts program; and,
WHEREAS the BRT Study identified the necessary next steps for advancing a BRT start-up system toward project development, including soliciting broader stakeholder and public input, identification of service and design details, identification of a BRT start-up project and the submission of an application for funding under the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) New Starts program, and more detailed design and environmental analysis (as components of the federally-required project development process); and,
WHEREAS the next steps in the BRT project development/implementation process of the Start-Up System will include environmental documentation as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a more detailed analysis of alternative routes and alignments, further refinement of the BRT operating plans, identification of potential solutions to transit vehicle storage and maintenance facility needs, preparation of a detailed economic impact evaluation, further evaluation of the funding and management mechanisms under which the system will operate, and further evaluation of community and neighborhood impacts, including mitigation measures; and,
WHEREAS the BRT project development/implementation process will evaluate the governance structure for operating the system and will evaluate funding sources for the proposed system, including levels of participation by participating units of government and other entities;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council accepts the Madison Transit Corridor (BRT) Study Report, endorses BRT as a high-capacity transit concept that could help the City achieve its long-term strategic transportation planning and urban development goals the recommendations contained in the Report as a conceptual component of the City's strategy for addressing future transportation system planning and development, and authorizes moving forward to the next phase of project development, environmental evaluation and project implementation; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the BRT project development/implementation process will address how paratransit services may be enhanced and/or integrated with BRT service, will revisit the analysis of the BRT corridors and specifically address equity issues (in terms of travel time savings, job connectivity, access to low-income populations and redevelopment) and will address any federal Title VI issues pertaining to the project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council recommend that the City of Madison, Dane County, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Madison Area Transportation Planning Board - an MPO, the University of Wisconsin, and other local units of government and agencies (including those communities that currently contract for Metro Transit services, such as Fitchburg, Middleton, Verona, Shorewood Hills and the Town of Madison) work cooperatively to take all necessary steps toward BRT project development and implementation, in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal regulations; and,
BE IT STILL FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council recommend that an intergovernmental committee (the BRT Intergovernmental Oversight Committee) be reconstituted to oversee and manage BRT start-up system project development (this regional advisory committee currently exists, having been previously established and formerly referred to as the Transport 2020 Implementation Task Force); and,
BE IT STILL FURTHER RESOLVED that the composition of the BRT Intergovernmental Oversight Committee should reflect the composition of the Transport 2020 Implementation Task Force (which includes representatives of the City of Madison, Dane County, the State of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Madison Area Transportation Planning Board - An MPO, and other local units of government and agencies); and,
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the City of Madison, Planning Division will continue to provide staff administration and management of the project, including coordination and communications among the Federal Transit Administration and other participating entities.