The last mile in Tysons Corner, part 2: Busways

Transit

The last mile in Tysons Corner, part 2: Busways

by Matt Johnson • March 4, 2010 12:31 pm

Metro's Silver Line is currently under construction in Tysons Corner, but the built environment there presents major obstacles to transit riders. Not only is pedestrian infrastructure lacking and the neighborhood hacked apart by major arterial streets, but offices, apartments, and other destinations are spread across a vast area, many fairly distant from the future Metro stops.

LA busway. Photo by LA Wad.

As Steve discussed yesterday, Tysons needs a solution to get riders that "last mile" from Metro to their final destination. The area has already introduced a circulator bus, which faces criticism because it is often stuck in traffic. But that does not mean that it is impossible for buses to serve the area effectively.

The office district could benefit from a set of busways running along the major streets. With proper design, branding, and operations, a system of busway circulators could make it easy for Tysons-goers to leave their car behind.

Tysons Corner, Virginia - Potential Busway Circulators

I've laid out one potential circulator system. Running on semi-exclusive busways, buses would be able to bypass traffic, use signal priority at intersections, and stop at well-spaced "stations." The busways could be shoe-horned into existing rights-of-way, which would help to convert these streets into urban boulevards. At intersections, buses would have their own signals and conflicting movements (right turns across the busway, for example) could be stopped when buses are present.

View Tysons "Last Mile" in a larger map.

Below is an example of how busways could fit into the landscape. This is at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Old Courthouse Road (on the common Blue/Red lines on the above diagram):

Busway stations would have more amenities than a traditional bus stop. In addition to benches, shelters, and schedules, riders would find "next bus" signs, lighting, and fare machines for fare prepayment (if a fare is charged). Raised "platforms" could provide level-boarding for patrons. An example of this type of busway station can be seen in the image at top of this post, in this case on LA's Orange Line.

Additionally, buses could be branded differently than is traditional. Instead of calling buses "17T" or "R47", Tysons Circulators could follow in the footsteps of Boulder, Colorado, where buses are given creative names like, "Hop", "Skip", Jump", and "Dash". Like Boulder, buses could sport special livery to match their route designation.

My proposal is not meant to be a concrete solution to this problem, but rather as a conversation-starter. Fairfax County needs to begin work as soon as possible on transforming Tysons. Metro's trains will be plying the rails in the area by 2014 and the district needs to be ready to handle an influx of pedestrians by then or the Silver Line will not be a full success. If office workers find it too difficult to get from the Metro escalator to their cubicle, they'll go back to driving - and that's something this region can't afford.

24 comments

Tags: BRT, buses, Fairfax, transit, Tysons Corner, Virginia

The last mile in Tysons Corner, part 4: PRT's obstacles (Mar 12, 2010)
The last mile in Tysons Corner, part 1: The problem (Mar 3, 2010)
The last mile in Tysons Corner, part 3: PRT? (Mar 12, 2010)
Proposed Tysons Metro station names are still a little dull (Oct 21, 2010)
Finding the right buffer (Apr 11, 2008)

Matt Johnson has lived in the Washington region since mid-2007. He has a Master's degree in Community Planning from the University of Maryland and a BS in Public Policy from Georgia Tech. He has worked in the planning field since 2006 and lives in Greenbelt, where he serves on the city's Advisory Planning Board.

Comments
Add a comment »

"Last Mile" issues are perfect for bicycle share operations, like Montreal's Bixi. The cost of the bicycles, bike stations and bike lanes with barriers to keep cars out will be much, much less than this busway proposal. And it will be much faster and more convenient for people to use.

by Kevin Love on Mar 4, 2010 1:56 pm • link • report

Having been to Montreal, I can say that during the day, a fair number of people in suits were riding the Bixi bikes around, so this system would work, but I also think a bus system as described by Matt would be necessary, since only the most dedicated bike riders would likely use a bike system when it's too cold/hot/rainy/snowy/windy, especially people in business suits that would prefer not to arrive at the office drenched.

The other consideration for re-developing Tysons would have to be doing something about the abysmal sidewalk situation. Unless the stop is right in front of a building, people will need to walk to the stop, but currently the existing sidewalks have no life to them, balancing precariously between large roads on one side and sprawling parking lots on the other. Encouraging more sidewalk-facing street-level stores and street furniture would likely lead to people feeling more comfortable with walking around Tyson's and walking the few hundred feet to the bus stop.

by Teo on Mar 4, 2010 2:36 pm • link • report

Not to be dense, but what do bicycle commuters do when it rains? Or when it's 90 degrees and humid in the summer?

I have enough to carry between my purse and my laptop bag, and sometimes my gym clothes... not much room for another change of clothes. And then to sit on the Metro for 45 minutes after bicycling out of the office in that type of weather? I'll stick to my car.

by Sarah on Mar 4, 2010 2:38 pm • link • report

@Kevin Love:
A SmartBike program would be a great compliment to the urbanization of Tysons, but it's not the sole solution.

For one, Tysons is mostly a job hub. Which means that in the mornings there will be a huge demand for cycles at Metro stations, but little demand for returning bikes there until the afternoon. What happens when the racks are exhausted by the first wave of commuters?

by Matt Johnson on Mar 4, 2010 2:38 pm • link • report

@ Teo: Street furniture. That's a word(s) that I've never seen on this blog before. We need to start including that in our thoughts. It is true that there are very few benches in this region, where one can site and enjoy, excluding tourist areas.

by Jasper on Mar 4, 2010 2:40 pm • link • report

@Jasper:
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/tag.cgi?label=street%20furniture

There's a whole tag devoted to "Street Furniture." However, you are not incorrect that that is a vital element to walkability and livability.

by Matt Johnson on Mar 4, 2010 2:42 pm • link • report

I'm not sure what you meant to link for the Boulder, CO bus names, but what is currently there: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/Old%20Courthouse/Chain%20Bridge is probably not what you had in mind.

by Aaron on Mar 4, 2010 2:44 pm • link • report

Looks like Teo had the same idea, as I was typing.

by Sarah on Mar 4, 2010 2:45 pm • link • report

@Aaron:
Thanks for catching that. Looks like when the post was modified the link got deleted. It works now. Refresh your browser before trying.

Here's the link anyway:
http://www.streetfilms.org/hop-skip-and-jump-aboard-a-boulder-bus/

by Matt Johnson on Mar 4, 2010 2:49 pm • link • report

Well, as people said in some other conversations, the downside of having unique paint schemes for each 'line' means it makes it a lot harder to move buses around for maintenance purposes...

by Aaron on Mar 4, 2010 3:08 pm • link • report

@ Matt: Didn't know that that tag existed. Last post: May 19, 2009. That shows how often we talk about it. Rarely. Not so often. Occasionally. Once in a long while.

BTW: I do like your street design. I miss bike paths though.

by Jasper on Mar 4, 2010 3:44 pm • link • report

I commute to Tysons from the District every day, and I'm keenly aware of the "last mile" problem. The first thing I notice about your maps is how few the stops are, and how far apart. I think creating a small number of widely spaced, high-tech shelters along the routes basically replicates the "last mile" problem on a smaller scale.

You want my advice? Have the buses stop on demand anywhere along the routes.

by mark on Mar 4, 2010 3:57 pm • link • report

Matt, your "with busways" example at Old Court House & Chain Bridge doesn't look too pedestrian-friendly with such wide streets and no pedestrian refuge in the middle. It would benefit from a median, and both streets should probably also have bike lanes. This isn't a problem in itself (your example is only meant to illustrate busways) except that I don't see any room left to add such features. And I think making Tysons pedestrian-friendly should be the #1 priority.

by Scott F on Mar 4, 2010 4:17 pm • link • report

Like the idea of the busways having one side of the street for other vechiles and one side for buses and could be used for streetcars in the future.

I agree with Scott F on not having a median for pedestrians perhaps take out a lane and have it as a bike lane/median for pedestrians

by kk on Mar 4, 2010 5:38 pm • link • report

If a full BRT (with wide spacing on stops - like 1 mile) is being explored - then the median busway design used in Bogota seems to be remarkably effective. Re-allocating existing lanes sends a strong message. I am also a fan of level boarding - it makes all the difference in the world to those with mobility issues, especially when paired with multiple door boarding. Consider the rapidly aging boomer population that will not be less able to drive in 15 years or so - the fewer steps the easier (and faster) it is to get on the vehicle.

Also nice for those travelling with kids in strollers (actually when you think about it, level-boarding to even regular buses should be a legally mandated minimum requirement - not all systems have lift or kneeling buses).

On biking facilities - (cycle trips tend to attract a slightly different demographic and tend to be used for shorter-distance trips than transit) the city of Montreal in Canada has some cheap and expensive versions of separated urban bikeways.

Check it out:

by Adriana on Mar 5, 2010 12:19 am • link • report

@ Adriana (&others): What's the html code to incorporate a picture?

by Jasper on Mar 5, 2010 9:10 am • link • report

[img src=URL /]

See http://www.w3schools.com/htmL/html_images.asp

by Michael Perkins on Mar 5, 2010 9:37 am • link • report

I'm a fan of the dedicated/separated bike lanes. Tysons has an opportunity to create these as it improves the sidewalks and main connector roads.

As for the bus lanes: I think that Tysons will need priority-laned circulators of some sort. An old, inactive PPT from tamingtysons.com shows that Tysons Corner has about the same land area as downtown Washington and downtown Boston. To achieve the desired density and walkability, we'll need more than just a single subway line cutting through the center. I envision the circulator system becoming Tysons' own downtown "subway" system--perhaps as streetcars or light rail. The main area that lacks access is the eastern portion of Route 7.

by Nick J, on Mar 5, 2010 10:44 am • link • report

Hi Jasper - I'm not sure what it is - the code that I used is automatically generated by flickr (you are supposed to use it when you post a flickr picture somewhere - it links back to the source).

by Adriana on Mar 5, 2010 10:55 am • link • report

Matt: "What happens when the racks are exhausted by the first wave of commuters?"

Lets ignore smartbike for a second. Real bike share systems dont just drop bikes off around the city and call it a day, the biggest expense is repositioning. There need to be enough bikes at the metro station for everyone to get to the office, and at the end of the day, enough bikes at the office to get back to the station. Or at a hill, people will always ride down, but not up. The bikes need to be trucked up frequently. Usually, repositioning is mixed with maintenance.

by J on Mar 5, 2010 2:01 pm • link • report

i'd be pretty cautious of bike lanes around tysons corner, even with major improvements. that place is death to bikes and pedestrians.

by poncho on Mar 6, 2010 1:00 am • link • report

The OP's proposal looks entirely sensible and at the same time very familiar, albeit with different routes.

by Squalish on Mar 6, 2010 1:33 pm • link • report

the problem with "last mile" for bikesharing is that you need a docking station-sharing station at every major building. Since Montreal and London are relatively dense places, they don't have to do that, instead e.g. in Paris, it's every block or two.

But Matt's post, as he said, is a conversation starter. The real need is then to do a hierarchical mobilityshed plan and system for the entire catchment area--rail, bus, circulators?, bicycling, walking, carsharing, taxis, etc.

and to do it in advance of the creation of the rail system, not afterwards.

by Richard Layman on Mar 7, 2010 7:45 am • link • report

5 square miles has X amount of square footage of sidewalks. The real estate of sidewalks is only getting 1X of utility. Utilizing recycled poly-carbonate and some robotic molding, forming, construction devices a second sidewalk could be placed on top of the existing sidewalk. Naturally PC is slippery and that is why we have Engineers to solve those issues.

The price per seat on a bus costs using estimated numbers could be around $1,000 per year. Produce vehicles that are built primarily for the second sidewalk, give the first 5,000 away and then charge for the rest. When an individual no longer needs the vehicle they can resell them at market. of course they should be storable or foldable, MIT designed one of these already. There is nothing prohibiting these mini mini vehicles from having some intelligence for automatic queuing and routing.

In the US there is a vast capability to produce these types of systems. First we have to stop trying to take advantage of the weak and riddled systems we have now. With our capabilities we should start to grow up already.

by Green Wave on Mar 16, 2010 1:00 pm • link • report