Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution authorizes an inter-agency staff team to issue RFP's for BRT project development and FTA Small Starts grant application to support the City's BRT Phase 1 East-West Corridor. No appropriation is required; adoption of this resolution will not commit the City to any expenditures at this time.
The following Federal and State funds have been committed for Bus Rapid Transit Phase 1 project implementation and are available to fund Phase 1 BRT Project Development, scoping of the project, further engineering/design work, preparation of an FTA Small Starts grant application, and completion of required National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation. The use of these funds do not require any commitment of City capital or operating funds.
Total funding of up to $500,000 has been included for the alternatives analysis and FTA Small Starts application phase of this project. An existing FTA grant will be used to fund $250,000 of the project costs (WI-26-0012). This grant requires a 50% local funding match, of which $250,000 of previously-committed Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) funds will be used.
Adoption of the Resolution will not commit the City of Madison to additional expenditures at this time, but represents the next step toward significant potential impacts on future City capital and operating expenses. Future costs may be borne by a mix of Federal, State and Local dollars. Future extensions of the initial Phase 1 BRT project may have additional impacts to City finances.
Following approval of this Resolution, an RFP will be issued to solicit consultant proposals. A subsequent resolution to authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute a contract with the selected firm(s) will be necessary.
Resolution ID 47513 (adopted 1-2-18) authorized advancement toward BRT system project development. City staff estimate that the first phase of the planning process (FTA Project Development and Small Starts Application) will take approximately 12-16 months to complete. After that, if approved by FTA to enter the federal Small Starts process, further project development, environmental evaluation and project design processes are estimated to take another 12-16 months to complete. The goal is to complete these steps by fall 2020 when a Small Starts construction grant application would be submitted.
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) will be necessary to provide support for future planning and/or project development work on a BRT system.
Title
Authorizing the issuance of an Interagency Staff Team-led Request for Proposals (RFP) for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project Development and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Small Starts Application for a Phase 1 East-West Corridor.
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WHEREAS an interagency staff evaluation team conducted a comparative analysis of the corridors identified as part of the BRT system vision developed in the MPO-led 2013 BRT Study in an effort to identify the first corridor(s) to implement the new service; and
WHEREAS the interagency staff evaluation team considered a variety of criteria to help inform their recommendation of the first phase of service - including corridor ridership, how well the corridor will serve Racial Equity & Social Justice (RESJ) populations, technical readiness/complexity, capital and operating cost considerations, redevelopment impacts, and traffic capacity constraints; and
WHEREAS the interagency staff evaluation team concluded that, based on the evaluation criteria noted above, a Phase 1 corridor project should be developed with a focus on an East-West corridor to include the UW-Madison Campus and the central core of the City (and other destinations yet to be determined) and with the east and west project termini also yet to be determined; and
WHEREAS the next steps in the Phase 1 BRT corridor project include a more detailed evaluation of potential routes and street alignments (in particular, a thorough evaluation of BRT routes through the downtown core and potential impacts on traffic, pedestrians and bicyclists), station locations, transit priority treatments, further refinement of the BRT operating plans and Metro route modifications, evaluation of community and neighborhood impacts (including mitigation measures), and following agreement on the initial project scope the submission of an application to enter project development under the Federal Transit Administration Small Starts process; and
WHEREAS City of Madison Resolution ID 47513 (adopted 1-2-18) resolved that the Mayor and Common Council support the Bus Rapid Transit Inter-Agency Staff Team recommendation to proceed with Phase 1 Project Development in an east-west corridor running through the UW Campus and Madison’s Central Business District, with the east and west project termini to be determined.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council authorizes the issuance of an Interagency Staff Team-led Request for Proposals for Bus Rapid Transit Project Development and Federal Transit Administration Small Starts Application for a Phase 1 East-West Corridor.