LCRT Materials for the Virtual Meeting

Welcome!

Lowcountry Rapid Transit Virtual Public Meeting Packet June 10 – July 10, 2020 Thank you for your interest in South Carolina’s first high-capacity transit system – Lowcountry Rapid Transit!

We value your feedback as we push forward with Phase 2 of project development, and we also value public health and safety. That’s why, in accordance with ongoing guidelines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project team has elected to host a virtual public meeting to help keep our Lowcountry neighbors healthy.

This packet contains all of the same materials that are available at the virtual public meeting.

Contents Project Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Recent Progress ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Project Timeline ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Route Alternatives ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Overview ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 Alternatives Evaluation Process ..................................................................................................................... 4 The Recommended Alternative ...................................................................................................................... 5 Transit Roadway Design Elements ................................................................................................................ 6 Transit Oriented Development........................................................................................................................ 8 Overview ........................................................................................................................................................ 8 Station Area Refinement ................................................................................................................................ 9 Station Features........................................................................................................................................... 11 Recommended Alternative Map ................................................................................................................... 12 Proposed Station Areas Map ........................................................................................................................ 13 Comment Submission Form ......................................................................................................................... 14

Project Overview Lowcountry Rapid Transit (LCRT) is a bus rapid transit system that will travel the “spine” of the Lowcountry, along US 78 and US 52 (Rivers Avenue). A comprehensive study conducted by the Berkeley-CharlestonDorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) identified bus rapid transit as the best solution to improve mobility in our region.

LCRT is more than just a bus rapid transit system; the project will transform the infrastructure in our region to improve mobility for people on public transportation, in cars, on foot and on bikes. This system will connect the communities of Charleston, North Charleston and Summerville and will be a catalyst for economic growth and prosperity throughout the area.

Recent Progress We’ve made exciting progress on the project since our last public meeting in June 2019. Some highlights include: 

Completed Phase 1 and entered into the FTA’s Project Development phase of the Capital Investment Grant program

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Completed the refinement of the LCRT alignment

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Began the Transit Oriented Development study

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Performed an on-board survey for the origin and destination study (You may have seen us on the bus; thanks for the feedback!)

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Defined proposed roadway treatments for the LCRT

Project Timeline

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Route Alternatives Overview Phase 1 of the project kicked off in 2019. The project team identified 16 route alternatives that went through a fatal flaw analysis to evaluate which alignment would work from an operational standpoint. After gathering input from the public and stakeholders and evaluating the results of the fatal flaw analysis, 12 reasonable alternatives were identified. These were carried into Phase 2, which started in early 2020, and were further evaluated with measures based on the project purpose and need. The measures included: 

Traffic operations

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Reliability and travel times

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Bicycle and pedestrian mobility

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Population and employment

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Environmental impacts

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Ridership potential

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New and existing development

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Public and stakeholder input

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Transit connections and integration

The Recommended Alternative Alternative 1 has been identified as the recommended alternative for LCRT. Alternative 1 connects downtown Summerville along US 78 with North Charleston along Rivers Avenue and King Street Extension and into Charleston by way of Meeting Street and Calhoun Street, looping through the Medical District.

View the map entitled “Recommended Alternative” to review the recommended alternative in detail.

Capital Investment Grants Program Our goal is to refine Alternative 1 to best fit the needs of the local community and stakeholders, especially considering connectivity and accessibility.

LCRT is partially funded through the Charleston County Sales Tax program. The project will be applying for additional funding through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program. This program is competitive; at a minimum, it requires that the project meet a set of criteria that fall into the following categories: 

Cost effectiveness

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Congestion relief

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Economic development

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Mobility improvements

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Land use

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Environmental benefits

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Alternatives Evaluation Process The goal of the alternatives refinement process is to: 1. Identify a recommended alternative to advance through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for environment review and clearance.

2. Complete design to refine the alternative into a competitive Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Capital Investment Grants project.

Project Purpose & Need The criteria described in the previous section were established based on the project’s purpose and need, goals and objectives, FTA criteria and industry standards of bus rapid transit. Goals of the project’s purpose and need include: 

Improve mobility and connectivity of the transit system and region. o

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Dedicated right-of-way

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Number of railroad crossings

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Travel times

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Distance between stations

Improve mobility and access to all communities 

Serve ridership generators

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Integration with existing transit services

Connect communities and residential areas with employment and activity centers 

Transit dependent

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Environmental justice

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Cultural resources

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Section 4(f) properties

Promote a cost effective and accessible transit alternative. o

o

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Enhance bus running time/speeds and reliability

Create a safe, multi-modal transportation system with travel choices 

Connect to bike infrastructure

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Connect to pedestrian facilities

Develop a viable plan outlining costs and steps for transit implementation 

BRT constructability

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Operating expense per trip

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Capital costs per rider

Support land use and transit objectives in the region. o

Support economic development plans along the corridor with access to employment opportunities, transit centers and key destinations 

Serve existing population 4

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Serve existing employment

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Potential ridership

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On-street parking

Promote livable communities through transit-oriented development 

Ability to support existing and generate new development

Reasonable Alternatives View the map entitled “Reasonable Alternatives” to review the 12 reasonable alternatives, which were evaluated against a range of measures, each with different weights.

Evaluation Scoring Combined, the measures above help us determine which segments of the project corridor sufficiently meet the FTA’s criteria and which would pose challenges if implemented. For example, the alternatives that included Summerville scored higher than those that included Nexton. All alternatives that included the Crosstown received comparatively lower scores.

Alternative Ranking The following ranking of alternatives was the result of the evaluation.

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The Recommended Alternative The recommended route for LCRT is Alternative 1. This route travels from Summerville along US 78 to North Charleston, along US 52/Rivers Avenue to King Street Extension, and into downtown Charleston on Meeting Street and Calhoun Street to the Medical District. This alternative may change or be further refined based on the need for it to be competitive in the FTA federal funding program. This alternative outranks other alternatives because it: 

Has the highest annual ridership

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Minimizes railroad crossings

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Offers a competitive cost per rider

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Connects to the highest number of employment areas

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Requires lower operating expenses

View the map entitled “Recommended Alternative” to review the recommended alternative in detail.

Transit Roadway Design Elements The project team evaluated the corridor to see how LCRT would best fit the existing roadway.

There are two options for this corridor: Dedicated Bus Lanes

Mixed Traffic

In areas of wide-roadways with large medians

In more confined areas of two lane streets with

(such as Rivers Avenue), LCRT can operate in

minimal medians (such as US 78 as well as

separate, dedicated lanes. These lanes would be

Downtown), LCRT can operate in mixed traffic

added in the existing medians and would not

aided by signal prioritization.

decrease the number of travel lanes for other commuters.

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Roadway Design of Recommended Alternative View the proposed roadway design in each section of the recommended alternative in the images below.

Summerville/US 78

US 78/US 52 (Rivers Avenue)

King Street Extension

Meeting Street/Calhoun Street

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Transit Oriented Development What does Transit Oriented Development look like?

With our region seeing steady growth, an important aspect of LCRT is to consider the location of station areas and the thoughtful preservation and development of the communities that surround them. Key components of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) include: 

Quality public transportation incorporates transit services that are reliable, safe, affordable and competitive with other modes of transportation.

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Pedestrian and bicycle connectivity means providing direct, safe and convenient infrastructure to make walking and biking real options for people to access daily destinations.

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Mixed use development incorporates a blend of land uses (i.e. housing, jobs, social venues, shopping, etc.) within a specific area or within a single development.

Most transit trips start as a walking trip.

People walking around station areas with strong TOD would find: 

A well-connected, complete street grid with short blocks, ample sidewalks, bike paths and slow traffic

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Development density within ¼ to ½ mile around the transit station

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Pedestrian-oriented building entrances and other site design elements

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A strong mix of uses at different price points with housing options and different building types to support shopping, working and living

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Efficient parking carefully allocated within the station area

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Strong place making elements that reflect the culture, character and natural features of the existing neighborhood

What is the goal of the TOD study? 

A vision for equitable development that supports livability around each of the proposed LCRT stations

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A realistic growth strategy for preservation and development

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A policy tool-kit that will enable local decision-makers to proactively guide and plan for future growth and needs

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Station Area Refinement Through a series of workshops and other stakeholder involvement, we’ve identified potential station areas along the project corridor. As the project progresses, we will continue to refine the station areas to determine which ones: 

Offer the most connectivity to existing services and employment centers

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Will provide the most benefit to existing and new communities

View the map entitled “Proposed Station Areas” to review the proposed ½- and ¼-mile station areas along the project corridor.

Place Types We asked the public to think about TOD station areas in terms of “place types” that reflect the local community’s goals and could evolve over time. Available place types include: Neighborhood Future neighborhood station areas will encourage infill and redevelopment to support mostly residential uses as well as schools, religious gathering places, civic spaces and neighborhood-scale businesses.

LCRT Station Areas included in this place type: Berlin Myers Parkway, US 78 & Owens Drive, Lincolnville, Otranto Road, Stromboli Avenue, Hackemann Avenue, Pacific Box & Crate.

Town Center Future Town Center station areas will encourage infill and redevelopment to support an equal balance of jobs and housing with characteristics like traditional “Main Street” areas. These are centers of commercial and civic activity with shops, restaurants, local businesses and civic and public institutions.

LCRT Station Areas included in this place type: Downtown Summerville, College Park, Northwoods Mall, Hanahan Road, North Charleston / Mall Drive, Durant Avenue, Rivers Avenue & Reynolds Avenue.

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Employment Hub The future Employment Hub station areas are those locations where there will be an emphasis on clustering of jobs. This primarily means traditional office buildings, or warehouse and light industrial uses that reflect a more urban development pattern.

LCRT Station Areas included in this place type: US 78 & I-26, Trident Health, Trident Technical College, Aviation Avenue, Remount Road, Upper Peninsula (Mt. Pleasant Street).

Downtown Neighborhood Downtown Neighborhood station areas will be residential in character with a mix of housing including high density single family, townhomes and multi-family apartments and condos. There will be an emphasis on encouraging nearby neighborhood amenities including shopping, restaurants, civic spaces and parks and some local businesses and other employment-based uses.

LCRT Station Areas included in this place type: Shipwatch Square, Meeting Street & Mary Street.

Downtown Employment Hub The Downtown Employment Hub station areas will predominantly include office, institutional, healthcare, retail, and hospitality-based uses with a high concentration of jobs. Some high density residential will also be located nearby.

LCRT Station Areas included in this place type: Meeting Street & Romney Street, Meeting Street & Huger Street, Calhoun Street & King Street, Medical District.

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Station Features One of the project's next steps will be to develop architecture and branding designs for stations along the LCRT route. Below is a general overview of the key elements that will be built into each station. Take a look at the station features in the image below.

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Downtown Charleston

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Proposed Station Areas Recommended Alternative Study Area Boundary -

Quarter Mile Station Area Half

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We value your input!

If you have any questions or comments about any of the material presented in this packet, please provide them and your contact information in the space below. We will be accepting comments until July 10, 2020.

To submit comments: Complete this form and follow the directions on the reverse side of this sheet to mail your comments.

Date: Name: Street Address: City, State, Zip: Phone: Email: 14

Please fold, fasten with tape and mail. No envelope necessary. Do not staple.

Place Stamp Here

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

c/o Lowcountry Rapid Transit Project 4400 Leeds Ave, Suite 450 North Charleston, SC 29405