Final Report - Pima Association of Governments

High Capacity Transit System Plan - Final Report June 2009
HCT Implementation Strategy
streetcar service on 6th Avenue to the initial streetcar line may be a challenge because there is
likely to be some overlap in the downtown area.
Existing and Programmed/Planned Transit Service
Fixed‐route bus service is currently provided along 6th Avenue. Route 8, which runs from the
Laos Transit Center along 6th Avenue to the Ronstadt Transit Center and then out Broadway
Boulevard to Wilmot Road, has a weekday ridership of over 10,000 passengers. Route 8 service
during both weekdays and weekends was recently extended. Existing express bus service for the
Northwest/Aero Park Express (202X) and the Oro Valley/Aero Park Express (203X) both stop at
the Laos Transit Center and then continue on Nogales Highway to the Raytheon plant. Each of
these routes runs three buses during the morning and evening commute periods. An additional
express route will be added, which will travel on 6th Avenue from the Laos Transit Center to
downtown Tucson, stopping at the Ronstadt Transit Center.
HCT Implementation Constraints
For the portion of the corridor operating along 6th Avenue/Nogales Highway, forecasted level of
service is good enough that HCT (BRT or streetcar) should be able to operate in mixed traffic with
minimal adverse impact on general‐purpose traffic and with minimal delay due to general
purpose traffic. General‐purpose lane conversion is not feasible along this route. TSP can be
implemented and would benefit BRT and streetcar operation along this corridor. Implementation
of HCT stations, particularly on the 6th Avenue segment could be difficult considering the lack of
right‐of‐way and potential resistance of neighborhoods to adding HCT along this route.
The primarily constraint for streetcar on 6th Avenue/Nogales Highway is that it does not appear
to be an ideal extension of the initial downtown route of the modern streetcar. A mid‐route
overlap of the two streetcar lines will limit the amount of service that can be provided on both
lines.
A mobility‐focused BRT service can be implemented in this corridor relatively quickly if it
commences with mixed‐traffic operation. Stations should be designed to allow for future streetcar
service or a future rubber‐tired circulator service.
Implementation Plan
BRT Service
The estimated capital cost of $17.5 million for BRT service in the 6th Avenue/Nogales Highway
corridor indicates that the project is eligible to qualify for Very Small Starts funding. As such, it is
recommended that the implementation plan follow the Project Development process associated
with Very Small Starts. The specifics of the implementation are, accordingly, analogous to the
plan described above for Broadway Boulevard BRT, but the 6th Avenue/Nogales Highway BRT
implementation plan differs from the Broadway Boulevard BRT implementation plan in one key
respect: The alternatives are streetcar, BRT operating in mixed traffic, BRT operating in a
dedicated lane, and the baseline alternative.
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