2018 GDOT Annual Report

TRANSPORTATION

Department of Transportation 2017-2018 Annual Report

D I R E C T O R ’ S C O R N E R

Introduction

Adam Fischer Director City of Greensboro Department of Transportation

In fscal year 2017-18, the Greensboro Department of Transportation continued to develop and implement transportation improvements to enhance safety and mobility for all modes of travel that will be sustained well into the future. For the third consecutive year Greensboro was rated No. 1 in the United States for best places to drive by Waze. WalletHub ranked Greensboro as the least congested city of the 100 largest US cities. Greensboro also has the second lowest parking rates in the WalletHub survey. However, 2017 saw a sharp increase in fatal crashes. Forty-two people were killed in motor vehicle fatalities and there were 63 serious injuries – an all-time high. In order to address this unfortunate trend, Greensboro is developing a Vision Zero initiative in conjunction with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and other community partners. The Greensboro City Council passed a resolution in February establishing Greensboro as a Vision Zero community, making trafc safety a top priority. Later this year the City will set goals and develop an action plan with the ultimate vision of zero fatalities in the future. Drastic changes in driver behavior will need to take place in order to move the needle towards zero. Frequent contributing factors in fatal crashes are vehicles operating at unsafe speeds, not wearing seatbelts, driver inattention, and impaired driving. Communities in Sweden and Australia with long-standing Vision Zero programs have implemented strict zero tolerance speeding, anti-texting, and impaired driving enforcement measures which have

resulted in a signifcant reduction in severe trafc crashes. Are we ready to make trafc safety a top priority with similar zero tolerance measures to reduce crashes? Or are 42 fatalities in Greensboro, 1,387 fatalities in North Carolina, and 37,461 fatalities nationwide each year an acceptable number? Over the past year the Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) conducted numerous public meetings and developed a comprehensive, long-range public transportation plan called “Get on Board 2040.” A draft plan was presented to the GTA Board in June and fnal adoption is anticipated later this year. Get on Board 2040 near-term improvements will bring efciencies and faster service to our existing fxed routes and long-range plans will ultimately include new cross-town connectors, routes, and transit hubs, and increased frequencies. Over the past six months, GDOT and Downtown Greensboro Incorporated held public meetings and targeted stakeholder input sessions on a comprehensive downtown streetscape plan. Downtown streetscapes will be phased in over

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D I R E C T O R ’ S C O R N E R

the next several years and funded by the $25 million 2016 voter-approved bonds. Streetscape concepts were revealed in a series of public meetings in June. GDOT and GTA continue to make strides toward establishing a more sustainable transportation system by ordering ten all electric buses. They will be delivered later this year, making Greensboro the frst public transit agency in North Carolina with fully electric buses. GTA is applying for additional grants and funding opportunities to continue to replace our aging diesel feet with electric buses. We are also pursuing the installation of solar panels at the Depot and solar panels on the 17-acre Operations and Maintenance facility on Meadowview Street. The solar panels will be used to of-set the cost of recharging the electric bus batteries. Eforts are also ongoing to create multi-modal and sustainable transportation options through implementation of the BiPed Plan with the goal to build more than 100 miles of sidewalks over the next ten years and 75 miles of bike lanes over the next fve years. Creating a No. 1 ranked transportation system takes a long-range vision, a plan to implement, and community partners. The Greensboro Urban Loop was frst envisioned over 50 years ago. At 44 miles in length and a cost of over $1 billion, it is the largest public works project in the Triad. Greensboro conducted the environmental impact studies for the Urban Loop in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s and I will never forget attending those frst public meetings. At that time we were considering three alternatives routes for the loop which impacted thousands of residents and I thought the completion of the loop may never evolve. But 30 years later – and thanks to the leadership of NCDOT and local elected ofcials – the loop is almost complete. This past May, Gov. Roy Cooper, NC Transportation Sec. James Trogdon, NCDOT

Board Chairman Michael Fox and Mayor Vaughan broke ground on the fnal section of the Urban Loop. It will be complete by 2022. A big thanks to the numerous transportation professionals and elected ofcials who have been involved over the 50 year history with planning, designing, funding, and constructing this monumental transportation improvement project. Recent growth in downtown Greensboro has pushed our parking infrastructure to capacity and future developments around the Elm Street Center and around First National Bank ballpark are requiring GDOT to establish new parking inventory. Plans for two new parking decks, in the 100 block of South Davie Street and the 200 Block of North Eugene Street, are being developed. These decks are expected to be under construction within the next six months and will provide 1,800 new parking spaces to support new downtown development. The GDOT staf of more than 250 full-time and contracted employees is committed to providing a safe and mobile, multi-modal and sustainable transportation system for all who rely on the City’s Transportation System. The following annual report provides a quick snapshot of critical transportation initiatives GDOT staf have continued to advance this past 2017-18 Fiscal Year.

TRANSPORTATION

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G D O T A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

Index

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Index ....................................................................................................................................................3 GDOT by the Numbers......................................................................................................................4 Looking to 2020: Future Funding Priorities..................................................................................5 City of Greensboro Project Map .....................................................................................................6 Major Projects Under Development Throughout Greensboro.................................................7 City Launches Vision Zero Trafc Safety Initiative.......................................................................9 City No. 1 in Driver Satisfaction ................................................................................................... 10 Greensboro Tops Best Cities for Drivers List.............................................................................. 10 February One Place Parking Deck to Begin Construction, Eugene Street Deck Design is Being Developed ...................................................................... 11 GDOT Expands Pay-by-App Parking ........................................................................................... 12 Greensboro Implementing Far-reaching Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan ................................ 13 Planning for 2040: New Routes, More Frequent Service ........................................................ 15 GTA News Briefs .............................................................................................................................. 16 Electric Buses Are On Their Way................................................................................................... 18

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G D O T B Y T H E N U M B E R S

$ $36.6 million budget

83 City Employees

All fgures are for the 2017-2018 fscal year, unless otherwise noted.

PLANNING

• 1,037 development plans reviewed • 15 trafc impact studies reviewed • $65 million local transportation infrastructure investment planned in the next 5 years • $660 million state/federal transportation infrastructure investment planned in the next 5 years

INFRASTRUCTURE

Roads • 1,470 miles of roads for which GDOT is responsible • 9.0 million vehicle miles traveled in Greensboro daily

Streetlights • $3.4 million budget • 27,000 streetlights • 394 new streetlights

PUBLIC OUTREACH

• 5,369 streetlights inspected

• 1,484 resident requests for transportation services received • 40 neighborhood trafc concerns addressed • 16 public meetings conducted

Signs & Markings

Sidewalks

• 2,511 trafc control signs replaced/modifed • 203 miles of street markings installed/modifed P • 37,307 parking tickets issued • 1,928 parking ticket appeals Parking

• 53,000 feet of sidewalks built

CRASHES *

Trafc Signals • 15 new trafc signals installed • 850 preventative maintenance activities/signal modifcations • 65 trafc signal timing evaluations/modifcations

• 11,264 trafc accidents • 150 pedestrian accidents • 42 trafc fatalities • 11 fatal pedestrian accidents *Figures are for calendar year 2017

GREENSBORO TRANSIT AUTHORITY

• 17 bus routes

• 7 paratransit

vehicles ordered

• 53 buses

GTA

• 3.97 million

• 4 fxed-route diesel

passenger trips

buses replaced • 52 paratransit

• $23.6 million budget

• 264 contracted employees

TRANSPORTATION

vehicles

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M E T R O P O L I T A N P L A N N I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N

Looking to 2020: Future Funding Priorities

Under the state Strategic Investments Act, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) administers a needs-based multimodal prioritization process to identify, rank, and select transportation projects for implementation using state and federal funding. The process ranks projects on needs-based criteria such as congestion, safety, and freight, as well as input points allocated by the local municipal or rural planning organization and the NCDOT Division Ofce. The process is modifed for each Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) based on a review of performance, the availability of new data, and refnements in the ways certain criteria are measured, scored, and weighted. The current process is known as Prioritization 5.0 (P5.0), since the current TIP cycle marks the ffth time it has been used. One of the most important responsibilities of the Greensboro Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), stafed by the Greensboro Department of Transportation (GDOT), is its role in identifying, prioritizing, and securing funding for area transportation priorities under this process. This involves making tough choices on which projects to submit for a limited number of slots for evaluation and how to allocate its very limited supply of local input points. Staf continues to think creatively in an efort to identify additional needed projects and on how to break related projects into phases. This includes sorting through the data, coordinating with other departments and stakeholder groups, and listening to the community. Staf also works very hard at projecting potential results, identifying which projects are most competitive, and ensuring that NCDOT tallies its scores correctly for MPO area projects. The MPO submitted its project list to NCDOT in September 2017 for the P5.0 quantitative analysis after public review and approval by the MPO’s Transportation Advisory Committee. NCDOT released the results of the analysis in April 2018 for all projects submitted from across the state. This list refected needs-based quantitative scores, prior to the application of local input

points by the MPOs, RPOs, and NCDOT Division Ofces. Draft Statewide funding results were also announced at that time, since local input points are not assigned at the statewide level. Draft regional and division needs funding decisions will be announced by the end of 2018 once the local input points assignments are completed. This prioritization cycle will conclude with the approval of the FY 2020-2029 Transportation Improvement Program in summer 2019. State Completing Key Projects, More Beginning Soon The Greensboro Urban Loop has been decades in the making. By all accounts, this $1 billion-plus investment is transformative – not just for Greensboro, but also for the larger regional economy. Now, after years of planning and eforts to prioritize and fund construction, completion of the project is in sight. In late 2017, NCDOT began construction of the Battleground Avenue to Lawndale Avenue section. In early 2018, the department opened the Urban Loop between Bryan Boulevard and Battleground Avenue. It also recently began construction of the last remaining section of the loop between Lawndale Avenue and US 29. NCDOT also opened a new section of I-73 to trafc in 2017. This freeway connects US 220 out of Rockingham County to NC 68, Piedmont Triad International Airport, and the Greensboro Urban Loop, I-840. The project included a new taxiway bridge, a key part of the regional economic development strategy enabling substantial expansion of industries on land owned by PTI on the other side of I-73. NCDOT will also complete the widening of US 220 from Horse Pen Creek Road to Rockingham County in 2018. NCDOT has also accelerated the full reconstruction of the US 29 and Reedy Fork Parkway Interchange (R-4707) from 2024 to 2020, eliminating the need to replace the existing bridge.

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City of Greensboro Projects

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¿ Ã S P R IN G G A R D E N S T 21. US 70: Widen from Birch Creek Road to Knox Road 22. NC 150 at Norfolk Southern Main Line: Rail crossing grade 25 19. Wagoner Bend Road at the NC Railroad/Norfolk Southern: rail crossing grade separation 20. US 70: Widen from Knox Road to Rock Creek Dairy Road È PAT T E R S O N S T separation 23. Bridford Parkway and Hornaday Road: Construct sidewalks from U S 4 2 1 -2 2 0 -2 9 - 7 0 H W Y S U S 4 2 1 - 2 2 0 -2 9 -7 0 H W Y N S C H A P M A N ST 8

W W E N D O V E R AV E 2. I-40/I-85: Upgrade Rock Creek Dairy Road interchange 3. US 29: Safety improvements and ramp closures between Gate City 4. I-40: Widen to six lanes between US 311 and US 421 5. I-40 Business/US 421: Widen to six lanes between I-74 6. PTI Airport: Improve aircraft movement with taxiway bridge over The following projects have been approved for State funding. 1. Yanceyville Street at Norfolk Southern Main line: rail crossing grade separation Boulevard and Summit Hills Drive

S I X T E E N T H S T Wendover Avenue to West Nicholas Road

PAT T E R S O N S T

24. Spring Garden Street: Construct sidewalk from Merritt Drive to

Holden andWest Market Street to Pomona Road

25. Benjamin Parkway: Construct sidewalks fromWendover to Aycock Street and a greenway sidepath from Aycock Street to

Ted Johnson Parkway

7. PTI Airport: Improve aircraft movement between Taxiway D and 12

Battleground Avenue

8. PTI Airport: Increase apron for future expansion

26. Lawndale Drive: Construct sidewalks from Pisgah Church to Beaconwood Road 27. Cone Boulevard: Construct sidewalks from O’Henry Boulevard

The following projects are competing for State funding.

9. US 220: Reconfgure Battleground Avenue, Lawndale Avenue, and Westover Terrace between Fernwood Drive andWendover Avenue 11. NC Railroad/Norfolk Southern: Extend Pomona Yard auxiliary track 12. NC 68: Improve trafc fow with modifed intersections and access management (upgrade to superstreet) from Gallimore Dairy Road 13. NC 68: Improve access from Fogleman Road to Alcorn Road. 14. South English Street at the NC Railroad/Norfolk Southern: rail crossing grade separation 15. NC 68: Widen to six lanes from Triad Center Drive to Pleasant Ridge Road 16. US 29: Reconfgure interchange at Phillips Avenue and Summit Avenue 17. I-73: Reconfgure southbound to I-85 Business exit loop 18. Ward Road at the NC Railroad/ Norfolk Southern: rail crossing grade 10. I-785/US 29: Upgrade expressway to freeway to Triad Center Drive

to Saint Regis Place

28. Green Valley Road: Construct sidewalks from Friendly Avenue to

Battleground Avenue

29. Old Battleground Road between Lake Brandt Road and Bicentennial Greenway: Reconstruct sidewalk and pedestrian

bridge to provide a full width greenway facility

30. Gate City Boulevard: Construct bike lanes and sidewalks from

Murrow Boulevard to Florida Street

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separation

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T R A N S P O R T A T I O N

Major Projects Under Development Throughout Greensboro

Downtown Greensboro Streetscape Masterplan In 2016, Greensboro voters approved $25 million dollars for downtown streetscape improvements. In order to identify opportunities and priorities for improvements, GDOT is developing a master plan for streetscapes in the central core of downtown Greensboro that will determine opportunities and constraints. This plan will serve as the design guidelines for the development of construction documents to implement improved sidewalks, landscaping, and lighting. Design guidelines will be prepared with recommendations for sidewalk widths, parking and loading zones, transit facilities, bicycle facilities, trees, and furnishings. Community meetings were held in March 2018 to get initial feedback from the public regarding their vision for the streets in the downtown area. Additional

meetings were held in June to present preliminary recommendations and streetscape concepts for each corridor. The fnal streetscape master plan is expected to be completed in September 2018. Old Battleground and Cotswold Terrace With the closure of portions of Old Battleground and Cotswold Terrace, trafc patterns in the area have changed and there is a need to implement permanent changes to address the trafc concerns. A public meeting was held in December 2017 where four alternatives were presented to reestablish the Old Battleground and Cotswold Terrace connection. A majority of respondents favored a roundabout. Based on public input and trafc, safety, and emergency response considerations, GDOT picked a design that includes a full access roundabout. GDOT held two additional public meetings in March 2018 to get comments on the proposed project. Comments received validated that the selected design alternative was preferred by a majority of commenters and provided valuable perspectives into trafc and transportation concerns, issues, and needs in the area. The project is currently in design phase with construction plans anticipated to be completed in October 2018. Construction is scheduled to begin in April 2019 and be complete in September 2019. Vandalia Road Vandalia Road is proposed to be widened between South Elm-Eugene Street and Pleasant Garden Road. The scope of the project consists of widening from a two-lane shoulder section to a three-lane section with a center turn lane, curb and gutter, sidewalks, and bike lanes. The project is currently in the design phase with construction plans anticipated to be completed in fall 2018. Right-of-way purchasing is expected to begin in November 2018. Construction will begin summer 2019. Alamance Church Road Alamance Church Road will be widened between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and the city limits. The improvements include widening from a two-lane shoulder section to a three-lane section with a center

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T R A N S P O R T A T I O N

turn lane, adding curb and gutter, sidewalks, bus shelters and bike lanes, and realigning Bristol Road. Construction plans are almost complete. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2019. Summit Avenue Summit Avenue Streetscape project will include storm drainage improvements, a landscaped median, bicycle lanes, decorative street lighting, and gateway features for Summit Avenue. The project area includes Summit Avenue from Banner Avenue to Sullivan Street and

Yanceyville Street from Bessemer Avenue to East Lindsay Street. The project also entails upgrading the existing six-inch water main to an eight-inch water main along Summit Avenue. This project is scheduled to begin construction in fall 2018. A second phase of the Summit Avenue Streetscape was added in 2016, as part of the voter-approved bonds. Phase 2 will stretch from Murrow Boulevard to Abe Brenner Place. This part of the project will extend bike lanes from the Dunleath neighborhood into downtown.

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S A F E T Y

City Launches Vision Zero Trafc Safety Initiative

Last year, the city experienced a record 42 roadway related fatalities and 63 serious injuries, North Carolina experienced 1,396 roadway fatalities and the United States experienced 40,100 fatal trafc accidents last year. The City has a long standing trafc safety program that identifes hazardous locations and conditions and takes corrective measures to improve those hazardous locations. However, with increasing fatalities and serious injury accidents more needs to be done, and new approaches tried. The Greensboro Department of Transportation is joining forces in collaboration with other city departments, local businesses, other government agencies and stakeholders in a new trafc safety program called Vision Zero Greensboro. Vision Zero Greensboro will establish short-term and long-term goals with the ultimate goal of zero fatalities. What is an acceptable trafc fatality rate for our community, for our State, our country, what is an acceptable rate within our Vision Zero programs are fairly new in the United States and were frst implemented in Sweden as a national program in the 1990s. Sweden set specifc targets for reduced fatalities and serious injuries over time, with a long-term goal of zero fatalities. It then initiated an ongoing and incremental transportation safety improvement program including strict trafc laws and enforcement, infrastructure modifcations, education, and policy changes. Sweden recognized that reducing fatalities and serious injuries is essential to increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. It takes a collaborative and data-driven approach built around the understanding that deaths and serious injuries are preventable. Bold initiatives were implemented in Sweden which include strict zero tolerance enforcement of motor vehicle laws. Since 1990 Sweden has seen drastic reductions in trafc fatalities and serious injuries. How will Vision Zero Greensboro be achieved? The City of Greensboro’s Vision Zero program will be achieved through a multi-prong approach. It will be a own families……..Zero? What Is Vision Zero?

Four Key Principles of Vision Zero: • Trafc deaths and severe injuries are preventable. Focus attention on the shortcomings of the transportation system itself, including the built environment, policies, and technologies that infuence behavior. • People will make mistakes. The focus is not on avoiding all crashes, but rather lowering the likelihood of crashes resulting in death or severe injuries. • The highest level of responsibility should be placed on the system designers, including transportation planners and engineers, policymakers, and police. • Individuals have the responsibility to abide

by the systems, laws, and policies set by the system designers. Enforcement and education techniques should be used to increase public awareness.

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S A F E T Y

top priority for the entire city and takes into account an inclusive, comprehensive, and active group of stakeholders. Implementation of Vision Zero Greensboro began in November 2017 and will be developed through three phases: awareness, education, and action. The program is currently in Phase One, which includes stakeholder outreach, data analysis, and identifcation of core focus areas. City Council passed a resolution in February in support of Vision Zero and directed staf by the end of 2018 to establish Vision Zero Goals and a plan of action to reach these goals. Speeding, driver inattention, and lack of seatbelt use are the leading contributing factors in serious or fatal accidents. We could move a long way towards Vision Zero if everyone in Greensboro would commit to slowing down, buckling all seat belts, and putting away communication devices while driving. City No. 1 in Driver Satisfaction For the third year in a row, Greensboro has been ranked No. 1 in the country in a driver satisfaction survey conducted by Waze. Waze, a popular smart phone navigation app built around real time trafc data and users reports of incidents and delays, surveyed users and found that Greensboro got high marks on most of their ranking factors including road quality, trafc density, safety, and driver services. Waze again found that Greensboro is still the most satisfying city over 200,000 in population to drive in. The fact that Greensboro maintained its No. 1 status – despite shakeups in the ratings of other major cities – refects historical investments made over many decades as well as the substantial investment in roadway improvements including new freeway infrastructure since 2000. It also refects Greensboro Department of Transportation’s expert use of its state of the art signal system, recipient of the 2015 Best Project of the Year Greensboro Tops Best Cities for Drivers List Greensboro ranked as the fourth best City to Drive In out of 100 largest U.S. cities. The survey, by WalletHub, compared cities based on 29 indicators of driver- friendliness, like average gas prices, number of auto repair shops, cost of insurance, car thefts, and trafc congestion. Greensboro was No. 1 in the nation for lowest annual hours spent in congestion by commuters and No. 2 for lowest parking rates. PAGE 10 Award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers. The fve worst-rated cities remained the same as last year.

Best andWorst Places to Drive in the United States According to Waze Users

Best

1. Greensboro, North Carolina

2. Lexington, Kentucky 3. Dayton, Ohio 4. Macon, Georgia 5. Albany, New York

Worst:

1. Honolulu, Hawaii 2. Jacksonville, Fla.

3. San Diego, California 4. Los Angeles, California

5. Portland, Oregon

PA R K I N G

February One Place Parking Deck to Begin Construction, Eugene Street Deck Design is Being Developed

The Greensboro Department of Transportation continues to work to build two new downtown parking decks. In 2017, the City entered into a public-private partnership with Elm Street Center Hotel LLC. to design an 850-space parking deck that will be associated with a mixed-use development that will include a hotel, meeting center, and retail space. The developer will design and build the deck and the City will own and operate the deck, which will be located in the 100 block of South Davie Street and will span February One Place. The City has purchased all the property and demolition of existing structures is complete. Design on the deck is approximately 90 percent complete and construction will start later this year when fnal construction agreements are in place. The deck should be completed in the frst half of 2020 at a total cost of $27 million. The City is also working to acquire property from Guilford County in order to build a 950-space parking

deck in the 200 block of North Eugene Street south of Bellemeade Street across the street from First National Bank Field. The new Eugene Street deck will support a planned ofce tower on the northwest corner of Bellemeade and Eugene streets as well as a new hotel at the southwest corner of the intersection. The deck will be behind the new development, which will front Eugene Street. Design is set to begin on the Eugene Street deck. The total cost is expected to be $25-30 million. Bonds will be issued to build the parking decks and will be paid back over 30 years through parking revenues and property tax revenues, which are projected to increase because of the new downtown developments.

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PA R K I N G

GDOT Expands Pay-by-App Parking

Following a successful pilot program, the Greensboro Department of Transportation (GDOT) has expanded the use of its pay-by-app parking throughout downtown. Beginning in July 2017, downtown parkers have been able to use the Parkmobile phone application to pay for parking at all City-owned surface lots and on-street meters. The number of City-owned, downtown spaces in which parkers can use Parkmobile expanded from approximately 175 to more than 900. Parkmobile allows parkers to use a credit card to pay for parking. It also sends a notifcation when your parking is about to expire and allows the user to extend their time up to the maximum allowed in their particular space. The user is charged a 35 cent transaction fee in addition to the normal parking rates. Parkmobile usage has increased steadily throughout the year increasing by about 9 percent per month from

August 2017 to May 2018. Downtown patrons used the app to pay for parking at surface lots and meters nearly 14 percent of the time during this time period. The app is free and available for Apple and Android phones. Learn more by looking for the green signs or stickers in lots and on meters or by visiting www. parkmobile.com.

Number of times drivers paid for parking with Parkmobile in May 2018 Parking fees paid via Parkmobile for the frst 11 months of Fiscal Year 2017-18 Number of City-owned, downtown spaces in which parkers can use Parkmobile

5,550

900+ $ 66,751

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B I K E S & P E D E S T R I A N S

Greensboro Implementing Far-reaching Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan In the last year, Greensboro made strides to add more miles of bike lanes, sidewalks, and greenways. This was part of an ongoing, long-term efort to implement the 2015 BiPed Plan and make Greensboro a safer, more comfortable, and more convenient place in which walk Bicycle lanes were recently installed during repaving projects on West Friendly Avenue from Milner Drive to Anderson Drive and on Market Street from Eugene Street to Davie Street, part of a long-range plan to connect the bicycle lane to Mendenhall Street near UNC-G.

and bicycle. Bike Lanes

This summer and fall the City will add bike lanes on Hobbs Road, Northline Avenue, Drawbridge Parkway, Hornaday Road, and Gatewood Avenue in connection with roadway resurfacing projects. The Horse Pen Creek Road widening and Holts Chapel Road modernization currently under construction

GDOT shoots for 75 bicycle lane miles by 2022. Thanks to the 2016 voter-approved roadway maintenance bonds and increased vehicle registration fees, the City has been able to repave more streets and install more bicycle lanes.

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B I K E S & P E D E S T R I A N S

include bicycle lanes, as will short-term planned roadway projects on Alamance Church Road, Vandalia Road, and East Gate City Boulevard. Sidewalk Construction GDOT and the City’s Engineering and Inspections Department are also in the midst of a major sidewalk construction efort. New public sidewalks were recently completed on East Florida Street, Randleman Road, and Phillips Avenue, Battleground Avenue, and Cone Boulevard. Lovett Street, Holts Chapel Road, and Lowdermilk Street sidewalk projects are currently under construction. The City has many more sidewalk projects planned over the next year, including sections of Holden Road, Lindsay Street, College Road, New Garden Road, Friendly Avenue, and all of English Street. Roadway projects like the Horse Pen Creek Road widening, Vandalia Road widening, the improvements to the intersections at College Road and Market Street and Battleground at Westridge will also add new sidewalks. Greenway Construction GDOT is also working in partnership with Engineering and Inspections and Parks and Recreation to plan and implement greenway projects across the community. The current push is to complete the Downtown Greenway. Phase 3/2e (along Fisher Avenue and Eugene Streets) was completed earlier this year, as were Sections

1a and 1b, between Eugene Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Phase 2 (along Murrow and Fisher) and Phase 1 C (between Martin Luther King and Gate City Boulevard) are expected to be under construction in late 2018. Another priority is the North Bufalo Creek Greenway that will connect the Revolution Mill and Proximity Printworks Mill redevelopments to Cone Hospital, the Latham Park Greenway, and downtown. A portion of this greenway has been built by the Revolution Mill developer in cooperation with the City. The section along Church Street to Tankersley is slated to be included in NCDOT’s Church Street widening project (construction expected in 2022), and eforts are underway to scope out the section along Tankersley Drive which will tie into the Latham Park Greenway. Assessing Sidewalk Conditions GDOT staf has been working on a project to create an inventory of conditions and features along the City’s sidewalk system. This will allow the City to prioritize sections that are in need of repair. GDOT is coordinating with Field Operations on this efort, and will collaborate on development of a prioritized plan for sidewalk repairs. Analysis work will be completed by late 2018 and development of a plan for future repair will be completed in 2019.

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Planning for 2040: New Routes, More Frequent Service

By 2040, Greensboro expects to have more frequent bus recommended: service, cross-town connectors, and expanded weekend service – among other strategies the transit authority may implement to make the system more efcient and increase ridership.

• Increased services on the busiest routes. Currently, a bus comes to each stop as often as twice an hour in each direction. Mobility Greensboro 2040 recommends increasing frequency to every 15 minutes or better on the routes with the highest ridership: Routes 6, 10, and 11, Route 12, which will be revised to only cover the Elm-Eugene corridor and a new Route 18, which will cover the Randleman Road corridor.

The Greensboro Transit Authority (GTA) has spent more than a year designing a long-term plan called Mobility Greensboro 2040. The plan is an in-depth study of the existing transit needs and a vision for future growth and development. A draft plan was presented to the GTA Board in June 2018 and fnal adoption is expected later this year. GTA staf is already working on recommendations for implementing short-term changes that can be adopted within the system’s existing budget, although full implementation of the concepts will take decades. The plan considered industry best practices as well as local data and public input. The plan recommends improvements that minimize route deviations, provide two-way service for every route, and create a system where the service is the same every day of the week.

With those key principles in mind, the plan

• Creating designated transit corridors. This type of design would create special travel lanes for buses, and give public transit trafc signal priority. • Reducing route deviation. The current system has some routes that travel along diferent roads going inbound and outbound. It means that a rider may have easy access to a bus stop in one direction, but not on the return trip. Reducing deviation may encourage more riders to use the system, but it could also decrease the number of neighborhoods GTA buses directly reach. • Creating new cross-town connector routes. All of GTA’s buses are currently routed through the Depot downtown – which may not make for the quickest trip. TMD recommends creating new routes that

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connect the system outside of downtown at new community mobility hubs where riders could transfer to other routes or services like LimeBike or Uber. This could provide more direct travel and provide new coverage areas for some parts of the city. Mobility Greensboro 2040 is a long-range plan, so none of the recommendations are binding. Instead, it will guide GTA into the future with a vision for improving mass transit in Greensboro. TMD’s fnal report will include a phased action plan to reach the 2040 vision. It will include a fnancial analysis to give details about the cost of implementation and potential funding avenues. For more information about the plan, visit getonboard2040.org.

GTA News Briefs

Mobile Ticketing App in theWorks

attract new ones. The proposal is expected to be picked this summer.

GTA joined PART and the High Point Transit System to modernize the region’s

30-Year-Old Signs Replaced

ticketing abilities.

Interested in antiques? Lately,

The group issued a request for proposals you have been able to fnd some for a cashless bus fare vendor, which gives great ones along the streets of riders the ability to manage their tickets Greensboro. via the internet. Many of GTA’s antiquated bus stop Using either a smartcard or a mobile app, signs have been in use since the riders can tap their tickets on fare readers. system formed in 1990. Times have Through cloud-based technology, the fare changed, services have changed, is deducted from their online accounts in and our signs must refect the new real time. The technology also provides service oferings for the beneft of fexibility for SCAT services by equipping current and future riders. van operators with handheld readers to We are in the midst of a project accept the same fare media as fxed route where all 1,100 signs in Greensboro GTA and HEAT buses. and Jamestown will be replaced Cash will remain an option, but the new with a new design. The 15-by-21- technology will create more convenience inch display, 45 percent larger for the current riders, and hopefully than the current sign, will feature

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a cleaner design with larger route numbers and be color-coded for the type of route (GTA stops will be green and HEAT will be red.) The signs will contain the phone number for customer service and a modern update – a web address for GTA or HEAT. A snowfake will designate whether the stop is part of our snow routes that are activated during winter weather emergencies. Below the bus stop sign, we are also adding live bus tracking information signage. Powered by Transloc, our live bus tracker enables riders to see real-time arrival information through a downloadable mobile phone app or in an internet browser. Of course, we recognize that most, but not all of our riders possess smart phones. The sign features the number to send a text for arrival information. Sending the unique stop number will return the time for the next three arrivals at the stop. Why don’t you try it right now? Text “GTAHEAT 4000” to 41411 or download the Rider app at ridegta.com. GTA Scorecard

SCORECARD A visual synopsis of Greensboro Transit Authority’s progress in providing vital services for our riders and our community. 1 TRANSIT SERVICES

MAY 2018

On-Time

Performance

98.9%FixedRoute 93.6%Paratransit

MONTHLY RIDERSHIP (Passenger Trips)

MONTHLY RIDERSHIP (Passenger Trips)

200,000 340,000 320,000 300,000 280,000 260,000 240,000 220,000

14,000 28,000 26,000 24,000 22,000 20,000 18,000 16,000

April2018

276,525

March2018

281,326

January2018 246,300

February2018 287,000

May2018

271,877

December2017 252,398

April2018

March2018 22,628

22,669

January2018 19,962

February2018 21,415

May2018

23,929

December2017 19,741

MONTHLY REVENUE MILES

MONTHLY REVENUE MILES

120,000 190,000 180,000 170,000 160,000 150,000 140,000 130,000

120,000 190,000 180,000 170,000 160,000 150,000 140,000 130,000

March2018

182,018

January2018 149,825

April2018

179,085

February2018 170,026

May2018

December2017 157,799

174,835

March2018

April2018

169,612

172,352

January2018 154,539

February2018 160,028

May2018

180,416

December2017 149,725

2 CUSTOMER SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE CALLS (Answered in 3 minutes or less)

100% 98% 96% 94% 92% 90% 88%

99.1%

99.3%

99.3%

96.9%

94.1%

92.2%

91.8%

90.2%

89.5%

86%

GTA seeks to serve the community efectively, and we do so by monitoring many data points on a regular basis. How many passengers have we carried? How quickly are we answering customer service calls? How often do we have breakdowns? We know this information – and now you know, too. The GTA Scorecard provides monthly statistics on our operations. Readers can easily see month-to- month comparisons, giving a picture of where we are succeeding and areas for improvement. Review the data and take a short survey on how we are doing ridegta.com. Advertising Revenue Increases In this last fscal year, GTA earned more than $100,000 in annual advertising sales under a recent partnership for contracted advertising services. GTA joined Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART), Winston-Salem Transit and High Point Transit System to contract Streetlevel Media to sell advertising space. The company tapped into a network of local and national advertisers. After commissions were paid to the agency, GTA’s advertising sales have doubled since the last fscal year. Are you interested in transit advertising? Contact Streetlevel Media at 910-323-9306 or streetlevelmedia.net. May2018 March2018 April2018 GTA Customer Service SCAT Reservations “Where’s My Ride?” GTA Customer Service SCAT Reservations “Where’s My Ride?” VALID COMPLAINTS (Per 100,000 Trips) 2 4 6 8 10 1.84 2.49 4.97 3.18 May2018 March2018 2.53 4.49 April2018 GTA & HEAT SCAT

GTA Customer Service SCAT Reservations

“Where’s My Ride?”

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Electric Buses Are On Their Way

As part of Greensboro Transit Authority’s commitment to sustainability and stewardship, the system has placed an order for ten all-electric, 40-foot transit buses capable of carrying up to 40 seated passengers at a time. The frst buses are expected to arrive in November.

GTA’s battery-electric bus uses a patented quick-charge station suspended overhead at the Depot. Once the bus arrives near the structure, a simple push of the button causes the bus to maneuver itself into the required position. The electric prong lowers itself into the bus and starts the charging sequence.

The new bus is powered by a series of batteries located under the foor and inside the former engine compartment. The electric motor can propel the bus to a top speed of 65 miles per hour. All of the additional systems in the bus, such as air conditioning and lighting, are also powered by the electric batteries. Under normal conditions, the bus can travel up to 190 miles without the need to recharge. That makes it easily able to travel most of GTA’s routes in and out of the downtown Depot. One of the initial features riders will notice when cruising on the battery-electric bus is the noise – or rather the lack thereof. Since there is no mechanical engine, there is none of the familiar bus sounds during use. Riders will experience the equivalent sound level of an electric car. Since there is no diesel engine, there is no engine exhaust. The GTA battery-electric bus will release zero emissions into the environment. The buses will have the standard GTA amenities, such as wheelchair ramps, talking bus announcements and bicycle racks. As a frst for our riders, the bus will feature a Plug ’N Ride system of USB outlets to charge mobile phones and devices during travel.

With advanced charging technology, it can recharge a bus from 20 to 80 percent capacity in about six minutes,

enabling it to top of between runs if needed. Standard chargers will be available at the GTA

Operations and Maintenance Facility where buses will receive overnight power charging. The bus battery is also recharged with regenerative braking energy, which prolongs brake life and further reduces maintenance costs. The buses purchased by GTA are the Catalyst model built by Proterra Inc. from Greenville, SC. They have provided buses for transit systems throughout the United States, including Seattle, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Anchorage, Alaska. Greensboro will be the frst municipal transit system in North Carolina to use battery-electric buses in local bus service. We will receive the frst units in November and introduce them into service in December. If you would like to follow the production of GTA’s battery-electric bus, visit ridegta.com or follow us on Twitter @gtaheat and Instagram @gtaheatbus.

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TRANSPORTATION www.greensboro-nc.gov/gdot PO Box 3136 • Greensboro, NC 27402-3136