Item B: Prog.Corridor Enhancemt - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Piercy and Eugene City Councilors June 27, 2005 Page 2 Pioneer Parkway EmX The Pioneer Parkway corridor, which links downtown Springfield with the Gateway- RiverBend-lnternational Way area to the north is expected to be the second EmX corridor. This project is currently under environmental review. Designation of the corridor as a project eligible for funding has been requested as part of the reauthorization of the transportation bill that currently is being considered by Congress. If all goes well and the appropriations of funds follow, EmX service on this corridor will begin in 2010. Third EmX Corridor Work on the third EmX corridor has been put on hold. Funding limitations preclude the option of developing this corridor concurrently with the Pioneer Parkway corridor. It makes the most sense to wait to proceed with the planning and environmental work until the construction funding is within sight. At this point, construction of the third EmX corridor is shown in LTD's Long-Range Financial Plan to begin in 2012. Planning for the corridor should begin approximately five years before construction. As you know, the Eugene City Council had selected the Coburg Road corridor as the next EmX project within the City of Eugene. LTD and City staff had several meetings with a group of Coburg Road stakeholders, and that group produced a Coburg Road Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Study in January 2004. Further work on development of a Coburg Road EmX project was put on hold because of the funding delay and because there was no clear consensus on how best to proceed. When it is time to proceed with the third corridor, we suggest that the City and LTD jointly review the corridor selection to determine if Coburg Road is still the next best EmX corridor to pursue, or if another corridor would have a higher priority. Progressive Corridor Enhancement It would be ideal to be able to implement the regional EmX system within a short period of time. However, the costs for such a system dictate that there be an extended implementation period. In response to this extended EmX development schedule, the LTD Board has directed staff to begin implementation of less expensive improvements to transit service that achieve some of the benefits of bus rapid transit and that can be implemented within a relatively short period of time. This project has been called Progressive Corridor Enhancement (PCE). (Note that LTD is working on a more "marketable" term for the project.) The attached document provides an overview of the PCE project. Four levels of PCE implementation are described, ranging from transit signal priority to full EmX treatment. Levels One and Two can be considered enhancements that remain within the realm of conventional bus service. Levels Three and Four require special vehicles and have significantly greater capital investment. These levels are considered EmX service.