In 2019’s MOVE New Haven Study, a partnership between the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), CTtransit, the City of New Haven, and the Greater New Haven Transit District, VHB evaluated the CTtransit services in the greater New Haven area and provided recommendations to improve travel time efficiencies and access for public transit riders. VHB proposed a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) that would enhance mobility and accessibility to the transit system. Now, VHB is providing design services to support the development and implementation of the state’s first on-street bus BRT system.
The MOVE New Haven BRT system is planned for two of the most heavily traveled transit corridors covering more than 14 miles of roadway within the Cities of New Haven and West Haven, and the Town of Hamden, and will feature limited stops from one end of the corridor to the other. VHB is working with the local municipalities for considerations of dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority (TSP), and Mobility Hubs at the terminals to facilitate transfers and potentially allow for future charging of the planned electric fleet. VHB is currently collaborating with CTDOT and the City of New Haven on a demonstration project that will test the effectiveness and applicability of several cloud-based TSP systems.
As part of the conceptual design process, VHB analyzed datapoints on ridership and fine-tuned locations for BRT stops, proposed adjustments to the current roadways to accommodate dedicated bus lanes, incorporated pedestrian safety improvements, and determined different size stops and accompanying signage, shelter types, and layouts. The proposed design also incorporates solutions to support a fully electric BRT bus fleet, which includes the deployment of battery electric buses (BEB) and considerations for in-line battery charging at proposed Mobility Hubs at some or all four termini of the two routes.
VHB recently submitted the 10 percent concept design to CTDOT and has reviewed it with project stakeholders, making refinements and adjustments. Following this effort will be continued refinements with stakeholders, as well as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA) environmental reviews and development of the 30 percent design.
