(Blue Diamond Road) Corridor Study - Regional Transportation ...

4. Evaluation Methodology RTC SR-160 Corridor Study
congested routes. The increasing share of trips between the Pahrump Valley and Las
Vegas is also contributing to the growth in average daily traffic along SR-160. As
described in the prior section, NDOT has completed capacity improvements for
SR-160 which are to be completed in two separate phases.
The number and type of activity centers – Activity centers represent nodes that
can serve as station sites for any high-capacity transportation system. They also
represent locations where bus service may converge, facilitating transfers between
regional transit and local transit and community shuttle services.
Variables that represent the physical characteristics of the alignment include:
Right-of-way availability – Corridors may more easily have a dedicated track of
running way when extra right-of-way (beyond what is required for already planned
roadway expansions) is available. Corridors that have wide medians or extra rightof-way
on the sides of roadways for potential queue jumpers or dedicated lanes have
a higher likelihood of accommodating high-end BRT systems or LRT/DMU. The
planned expansion of SR-160 does provide sufficient space for a dedicated transit
running way in some areas An assessment of the feasibility of implementing a
dedicated transit running way is presented in Section 4.
Pedestrian accessibility – Research on the link between transportation and land
development suggests that the presence of high concentrations of population,
employment sites, and activity centers within walking distance of transit stations
promotes ridership. Alignments are assessed for the design of the pedestrian
network around them and the likelihood that adjacent population clusters and
activity centers will have pedestrian-friendly connections to potential stations. Since
much of the study area has until recently been sparsely developed, with key gaps in
the street network, issues related to pedestrian accessibility have not been central in
the improvement of transportation infrastructure. Pedestrian accessibility is a design
consideration in the conceptual drawings of two Park & Ride facilities (1-1 and 1-4).
The factors described above are evaluated to ensure development of a transit plan for the
Blue Diamond study area that captures future transit market shares without risking
premature system overcapitalization. To the extent possible, operational considerations
have been woven into the selection of potential station locations, Park & Ride facilities, and
running way treatments. Because of the manner in which development in the study area is
being phased in, a phasing strategy that ramps up service levels based on observed
increases in the transit market is recommended.
To plan for future growth, attention must also be given today to opportunities to reserve
space for future transit-supportive features. Because of the tremendous demand for Bureau
4-2