COUNCIL REPORT: BC Transit Island Highway Priority Plan

TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL COUNCIL REPORT

TO: Council DATE: January 9, 2019 FROM: J. Rosenberg, Director of Engineering & Parks MEETING DATE: January 15, 2019

BC TRANSIT ISLAND HIGHWAY PRIORITY PLAN

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Council approve in principle the transit priority concepts in the SNC-Lavalin Inc. – BC Transit Island Highway Transit Priority Plan and Park & Ride Study of July 2018 as Phase 1 of the Island Highway section of the rapid transit corridor;

AND THAT BC Transit undertake additional planning to ensure that the proposed improvements can be integrated into the next phase of implementation of the bus based rapid transit corridor along Island Highway;

AND THAT BC Transit undertake additional planning to identify opportunities to extend the proposed transit priority lanes to more fully achieve dedicated bus lanes along the Island Highway Corridor in Phase 1;

AND THAT BC Transit undertake public engagement activities to share information and collect feedback from key stakeholders and the general public.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS: I concur with the recommendation.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES’ COMMENTS: I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT: To provide direction to BC Transit staff on the Town of View Royal Council objectives in the completion of the BC Transit Island Highway Transit Priority Plan and Park & Ride Study of July 2018.

BACKGROUND:

At the December 4, 2018 Council meeting, BC Transit, in partnership with municipal staff from View Royal, continued to advance plans for transit priority along the Island Highway corridor between Goldstream and the Trans-Canada Highway. The approval process to move forward from conceptual plans for transit priority to a project include the following steps:

• Local government approval in principle on the project concepts;
• Commission approval in principal of the project concepts and the preliminary budget;
• BC Transit staff, with support from local government, will develop detailed engineering design plans and engage stakeholders to gain community alignment/support;
• Local government approval of the detailed design plans; and
• Commission approval for the budget and detailed designs for tender.

PROJECT INFORMATION:

One of the key priorities of the BC Transit plan is to develop a rapid and frequent transit network. In particular, five corridors were identified as part of the long-term plan for the provision of rapid transit services and dedicated facilities – Douglas Street, Highway 1, Island Highway, McKenzie Avenue and Highway 17. Bus lanes have been fully implemented on Douglas Street and northbound on the Trans-Canada Highway from Tolmie to Tillicum. In addition, on-shoulder bus lanes are in the process of being implemented on the Trans-Canada Highway as part of the McKenzie Interchange project and designs are being finalized for a southbound bus lane from Tillicum to Tolmie, with construction likely to begin in 2019. The Island Highway is the next priority corridor.

Increased traffic congestion on the Trans Canada and Island Highways results in slower transit travel time for passengers and impacts schedule reliability. There are eight transit routes that operate on the Island Highway Corridor, providing connections to local and regional destinations. These eight transit routes carry over 20 per cent of people travelling on the corridor at peak travel times, while representing only 1.5 per cent of total vehicle use of the corridor.

The implementation of transit priority measures is key to achieving the goals of the Victoria Region Transit Future Plan.

In November 2017, BC Transit retained SNC-Lavalin Inc. (SLI) to conduct the Island Highway Transit Priority Study. The objective of the study was to develop concept designs and cost estimates for future transit priority measures on the Island Highway that support the functional needs of BC Transit, and the Town of View Royal. A technical advisory committee comprised of City of Colwood, Town of View Royal, Capital Regional District and Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure staff, provided guidance and expertise throughout the study process. The full Island Highway Transit Priority Study report is attached.

On October 16, 2018, Colwood Council approved in principle the concepts for priority measures along the Colwood section of the corridor. View Royal staff are now seeking Council approval in principle for the concepts outlined in the Transit Priority Study report.

On January 22, 2019, BC Transit staff are requesting the Victoria Regional Transit Commission to allocate funding for detailed designed work, community engagement and project management activities for the Island Highway Transit Priority project. Once those activities are complete, a request for project funding would be brought to the Commission as part of the 2020/2021 budget cycle.

Recommended Transit Priority Concepts

The recommended transit priority concepts combine sections of dedicated bus lanes, queue jump lanes and transit signal priority, to provide the optimal conditions for travel time savings along the Island Highway Corridor between Goldstream and the Trans-Canada Highway. The report also recommends equipping 55 buses with transit signal priority equipment. The on-street transit priority concepts are summarized in the table below, while additional information and maps are provided in the appendices of the transit report.

Benefits

Together, these improvements will provide an estimated 20 per cent transit travel time savings in the critical direction at peak times. In the non-critical direction at peak time, these improvements will provide an estimated 5 per cent transit travel time savings. These savings will make transit a more attractive transportation choice allowing customers to get to their destination quicker and provides the opportunity for travel time savings to be reinvested back into the transit system to improve service levels on this corridor.

Next Steps

Pending approval from Councils, a proposed budget and a recommendation to move forward to detailed design with the construction packages will be brought to a future Commission meeting. Upon approval from the Commission, BC Transit would proceed to detailed design. The detailed design process includes retaining an engineering consultant and working with local government staff to further develop a design that is agreeable to all stakeholders and is ready for tendering and construction. Engagement may be required with parties that would be impacted by project construction.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

There are no costs associated with this report.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT Council approve in principle the transit priority concepts in the SNC-Lavalin Inc. – BC Transit Island Highway Transit Priority Plan and Park & Ride Study of July 2018 as Phase 1 of the Island Highway section of the rapid transit corridor;

AND THAT BC Transit undertake additional planning to ensure that the proposed improvements can be integrated into the next phase of implementation of the bus based rapid transit corridor along Island Highway;