The Purple Line
The idea of dedicated road for the proposed BusPlus "purple" line along the Western/Washington corridor has come up here a few times. And, if you're anything like us, it's easier to get a picture what that could look like by... actually seeing a picture.
So, check out the video embedded above -- it's a CDTA promo video that shows how the dedicated busway through the Harriman State Office Campus, UAlbany uptown campus, Crossgates would work.
The purple line is one of two new BusPlus routes for which CDTA is trying line things up -- the other is the "blue" line, which would run between Albany and Waterford along the river. CDTA recently announced it's moving ahead with detailed planning for the new lines.
By the way: Watching that video about the dedicated busway, we couldn't help thinking that maybe it'd be possible to build a protected bike lane alongside that corridor.
[via TSTC]
Earlier on AOA:
+ Planning for how we'll all get around the Capital Region in the future
+ A few more bits about the proposed BusPlus Washington-Western line
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Comments
The cost to build, maintain, and plow this road for just one bus line would be absurd. This will never happen.
... said Spencer on Jun 24, 2015 at 3:03 PM | link
Spencer, this is called a "dedicated lane" and is quite common in BRT systems. It's a cheaper alternative to light rail. With buses every 7-15 minutes, close to 24 hour service and millions of boardings per year, it's more than worth it.
... said JayK on Jun 24, 2015 at 3:25 PM | link
Also, this video includes information about all 3 BusPlus lines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni3RwCp227o
... said JayK on Jun 24, 2015 at 3:27 PM | link
@Spencer, this is largely already roadway to begin with, so I don't see why it wouldn't be plowed as it always has, just because only a bus is using it. As already mentioned, the buses will run through this every 7-15 minutes, like the red line (and future blue lines will), so it will be well used.
What's ridiculous is the man power it takes to plow all the side streets in my city neighborhood, that see maybe 30 cars worth of traffic during peak commute hours and are dead the rest of the day.
... said Rich on Jun 24, 2015 at 3:59 PM | link
The question I have is that with the Central Ave BRT, CDTA eliminated a number of local stops. Which stops would be eliminated along this proposed purple line?
... said Tom Murnane on Jun 24, 2015 at 4:33 PM | link
@Tom, I may be mis-interpreting the question, but from my recollection, no "local" stops were eliminated with BusPlus. There is still a local bus that compliments this corridor alongside the Redline. I think the only controversial change at the time was instead of a dedicated local bus going down all of Central Ave, it was split into two, one from Schenectady to Colonie Center (#355) and one from Colonie Center to downtown Albany (#1), which forced folks to transfer.
A report that CDTA issued a year or so back stated that all local services would continue on this route (especially along Western from SUNY Albany southern access way to Brevator, where the Purpleline will by-pass by utilizing the dedicated roadway through the campuses). The only local service I could see them maybe changing would be the #763 that runs from Schenetady at Albany, terminating it at Crossgates, where there are tons of transfer options, but given the specialized nature of this route, since it is the only one that really runs down Madison, they will probably leave it be.
... said Rich on Jun 25, 2015 at 6:07 AM | link
CDTA didn't remove any stops when BusPlus was implemented. The 1 and 355 still make all local stops.
... said JayK on Jun 25, 2015 at 7:01 AM | link
This is a great opportunity to build dedicated lanes and streets for buses and narrow the heck out of car lanes throughout the city -- the perfect recipe to slow down speeding cars and force commuters to take other marginal highways to go home. Had this been done before, the so-called traffic light cameras would not have been needed. Mass transit should be prioritized and other traffic made very difficult, with narrow lanes, lost of heavily flagged crosswalks ond long waiting times at lights, thus also prioritizing pedestrians. These measures would go a long way to switch people's habits, without hitting anyone on their already depleted wallets.
... said Joe A on Jun 25, 2015 at 10:00 AM | link
Until we get some sort of commuter rail up here, nothing is going to get better in terms of traffic.
... said Nick on Jun 25, 2015 at 10:24 AM | link
Spencer, your comment about cost is misplaced. It does not matter if the cost is high, it's still needed. Many things that are necessary are expensive, that does not mean they shouldn't be done. It's not a really good attitude to have. Traffic is an issue, this is a solution.
... said Nick on Jun 25, 2015 at 10:26 AM | link
This is really a great way to alleviate some of the the congestion on the rush-hour buses that run along the Washington/Western/Madison corridor (10, 114) Those buses can be intolerably crowded, especially in the mornings, but this should help even out the crowds and make riding mass transit easier for everyone and perhaps slightly more attractive for a lot of people who drive into downtown Albany everyday from ~3mi out on one of those streets.
Next on the list should be a dedicated, protected bicycle lane on in the Madison Ave. redesign.
... said GJ on Jun 25, 2015 at 1:39 PM | link
Why did they have to choose PURPLE?
I have a BIG DISLIKE OF THAT COLOR!
... said mg on Jun 26, 2015 at 10:45 AM | link
@mg, given that this will be heavily used by SUNY Albany students, I think CDTA is giving a shout out to the institution by using one of their school colors, Purple. I guess market research said that the other color, Gold, just wasn't as fun :)
FYI: you better watch out. There is already a purple bus being demo'ed by CDTA and its roaming the streets :)
... said Rich on Jun 26, 2015 at 1:33 PM | link