Planning Activities
Spokane Transit participates in regional transportation and land use planning activities. It is a member jurisdiction of the Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC), and sends a member of its board to serve on SRTC's board.
SRTC and STA jointly created the Light Rail Steering Committee (LRSC) which was responsible for studying the creation of a light rail corridor from downtown Spokane to Liberty Lake. This effort, beginning in 2000, was preceded by significant study by the SRTC. In 2006 the committee published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) which evaluated several rail and bus alternatives for the corridor. The committee stated preference for a single-track rail corridor using diesel multiple units (DMU) that would cost less than half the conventional light rail system. The travel demand modeling performed as part of the DEIS forecast less than 3,500 daily boardings on the 15.5 mile system in 2025. As a comparison, the 19-mile TRAX light rail system in Salt Lake City has over 43,000 daily boardings. An advisory vote in 2006 elicited a negative response to continued planning and investment in the light rail project.
In 2008 transit consultants Nelson-Nygaard Associates recommended changes to transit operations downtown while retaining the use of the Plaza transfer facility.
In 2010, STA has developed a preliminary proposal for what it calls a "High Performance Transit Network" (HPTN) composed of 14 corridors of premium all-day frequent transit service. The preliminary proposal does not specify the operating modes for each corridor but suggests that the corridors will operate at a speed appropriate to the access provided and urban characteristics of the operating environment. The preliminary HPTN proposal is an element of the agency's proposed comprehensive plan, referred to as "Connect Spokane."
Also in 2010, STA and the City of Spokane initiated an alternatives analysis to study transit improvements in and around the downtown core. This "central city transit alternatives analysis" will look at "High Performance Transit" improvements that can be made to increase mobility and stimulate in-fill development. The timeline for the study calls for a "locally preferred alternative" to be determined by early 2011.
Read more about this topic: Spokane Transit Authority
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