In-depth online newsletter feature:

Planners Review New Park and Ride Locations

Park and ride lots can help make transit and carpooling viable alternatives to the single occupancy vehicle. Their benefits include lower vehicle emissions, reduced travel costs for individuals, and less congestion on roadways. In addition, they support two major transportation improvement areas recommended for the Metropolitan Transportation Plan: Public transit and Transportation System Management (TSM)/Transportation Demand Management (TDM)*.

The Review Process

Through research and evaluation, CCMPO transportation planners strive to ensure that any investment in park and ride development will yield the greatest benefits at the lowest possible cost. In a 1999 draft report, a CCMPO subcommittee defined a process for reviewing and approving potential park and ride projects.

In early 2003, a committee of MPO staff, Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) members, and VTrans staff began to review the 1999 report and discuss ways to update it. They concluded that two major areas were in need of reexamination: the list of potential sites, and the evaluation criteria applied to those sites.

The committee felt that the list of potential sites should be as inclusive as possible. Municipalities that had suggested locations in the past were automatically included, as well as sites culled from previous studies. Existing facilities were also included, and facilities lying just outside the county were mapped and their relative effects taken into consideration. he technical criteria used in the 1999 report benefited from modifications in light of current transportation priorities. Revision of the previous evaluation criteria required several meetings for study and discussion.

Current Selection Criteria

In their 2003 draft report, the committee focused on several criteria to best judge the potential park and ride locations. These included:

Average daily traffic volume
Availability of transit services
Bicycle/pedestrian access.
Distance to an activity center such as a shopping district or town center.
Area congestion
Access to the Interstate or major arterial roadway

High-Priority Locations

After applying the above criteria to its list of 26 potential sites, the evaluation concluded that the following three were highest in priority:

• Off Lakeside Avenue in Burlington. The CCTA and CATMA shuttle bus systems already connect to this location. The site would also be served by the Southern Connector when its construction is completed.

• At or near Exit 14 of I-89 in South Burlington. The potential demand here is so high that a parking garage, perhaps developed in partnership with others, is a likely solution.

• Exit 12 of I-89 in Williston. An older facility closed here several years ago. A new park and ride in this area is already been planned and could soon go into the design stage. In addition to the above locations, planners anticipate construction of park and ride facilities that would serve segments of the Circumferential Highway west of Essex at critical intersections.

Next Steps

When the committee completes its review of the park and ride draft report, it will be presented to the TAC and the full Board. Upon the Board’s approval, park and ride facility priorities will be recommended for project development and identified in the CCMPO’s work program (UPWP). Actual implementation could take place over the next several years.

For more information, contact Peter Keating, Senior Transportation Planner (pkeating@ccmpo.org)

* Transportation System Management (TSM) focuses on implementation of minor, low-cost efficiency changes to the existing transportation system. Transportation Demand Management (TDM) focuses on reducing travel and the use of SOVs, and increasing the use of other modes (usually at large employment sites).