MISSOULA — After focusing on a single fixed-route transit system on Brooks Street for the past several years, advocates behind the proposal want to explore a second option, one that would fix buses on the side lanes rather than a center-running lane.
The Missoula Redevelopment Agency's Board of Commissioners on Thursday agreed to split with Mountain Line the roughly $32,000 added cost of expanding the conceptual designs to include a possible side-running system.
Project manager Annette Marchesseault with MRA said the request for a second concept was driven largely by local businesses and project advocates.
“We've asked the consulting team to look at a side-running configuration that operates at the same level as a center-running configuration,” she said. “The buses would share those outside lanes with vehicles.”
The concept of a center-running Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system emerged nearly a decade ago as MRA and city transportation officials began looking at ways to reshape the Brooks Street corridor.
Consultants hired by the city also completed a number of studies on the corridor. Given anticipated growth in and around Missoula, Brooks Street would likely become non-functional without some form of change.
Melony Brock, who serves as an MRA board member and as the executive director of the Midtown Association, said advocates of the project support a second concept, but they're also eager to see one of the two concepts move forward sooner rather than years down the road.
“The do-nothing on this is that Brooks Street fails,” she said. “How are we going to move the extra 25,000 to 40,000 people they're anticipating coming to this valley down the highway, and make it safe for kids and residents to cross Brooks? It doesn't happen without this exercise.”
Initial concept
As initially proposed, the center-running concept would operate down the middle of the Brooks Street corridor between the two lanes of traffic on either side. Bus stations would also be oriented in the center lane while improvements to the corridor would make it easier for pedestrians to cross the busy street.
The permanence of the center-running concept would also promote transit-oriented development, infusing the district with economic growth. While the functionality of a side-running transit system remains a question, those behind the project said it would need to generate the same level of economic development and pedestrian access.
MRA Director Ellen Buchanan said a second design alternative will answer a number of lingering questions.
“There are some really pragmatic things that will come out this. Can you do side-running and still get the permeability we think we can get with a center-running system? And can you get the same sense of permanent investment that you're going to get with center-running?” Buchanan said. “Plopping a few bus shelters down the side of Brooks doesn't constitute the same investment as a bus station. Those are all things that need to be evaluated.”
Earlier this year, city and transportation officials conducted a tour of Bus Rapid Transit systems in cities similar in size to Missoula. They explored a number of concepts, some of which worked better than others, and some that addressed the same economic and pedestrian goals sought by Missoula.
Around that time, both the general manager of Mountain Line and the director of the Montana Department of Transportation left their job. Developing a second concept now has the support of city officials and area businesses, though it doesn't commit them to selecting the side-running concept.
“It was a very educational trip,” said City Council member Mike Nugent, who also owns a business in the Midtown District. “It's clear to me we need to look at both options side by side. It became clear we should study more than one option to the road to see what will work best.”
Two years ago, with the aid of Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, Missoula landed $847,000 in federal funding to study the Brooks Street corridor and design a Bus Rapid Transit system, along with other pedestrian improvements.
Once a preferred concept emerges, the city will pursue federal funding to help build the project. Having explored two transit concepts equally could improve the city's odds of winning funding, Marchesseault said.
“We have to be very practical, and I think this bumps our case when we apply for funding,” she said. “More and more Bus Rapid Transit programs are coming online across the country. This gives us more information. We feel economic development needs to be a significant part of the equation, along with permeability. Our purpose is more integrated into transit-oriented development, not just BRT.”
