As of May 18, 2023, further details regarding design and construction have not been identified. This project will need to be approved by voters in the fall of 2024. A firm timeline for construction has not been established. The closed solicitation has been included below for reference. A detailed scope has not been released. The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) is the primary provider of public transit services for the greater Columbus and Central Ohio region, striving to deliver safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation services to the public.
COTA serves over 1.2 million residents and provided approximately 19.1 million fixed-route passenger trips and 265,000 ADA paratransit trips in 2019. Operationally, as of January 2020, COTA has over 1,100 employees and 41 fixed-route lines. The Central Ohio region is growing both in terms of population and jobs. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) projects that Central Ohio will grow to 3 million people by 2050. Transit is intrinsic to smart growth patterns along with land use decisions, which support public mobility options. The LinkUS initiative has been the main planning initiative for the future mobility network, and the East Main Street BRT Corridor and West Broad Street Corridor are the first two corridors within this initiative to enter into the FTA Project Development process. The Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of seven counties in central Ohio. The counties include Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Morrow, and Pickaway. Franklin County is the MSA's largest county in terms of population. There are twenty-five incorporated municipalities in Franklin County. Columbus is the largest city in Franklin County.
COTA's service and taxing areas consist of Franklin County and small portions of Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, and Union Counties. The areas served outside of Franklin County are within municipalities that were signatories to the agreement that created COTA (i.e. Columbus, Dublin, Reynoldsburg, and Westerville). The West Broad St BRT Corridor is a part of the Central Ohio's regional growth and mobility initiative called LinkUS, which is a partnership between COTA, the City of Columbus, MORPC and Franklin County. The LinkUS mission is to better connect our community and businesses so everyone can share in Central Ohio's success. LinkUS will create an integrated mobility system that will make it easier to walk, bike or take public transit in our region's busiest areas. It will increase access to jobs, schools, and healthcare for all members of the community. This includes seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, students and working families. The West Broad Street Corridors was adopted as Locally Preferred Alternatives in July 2021. Additionally, the BRT Corridor was accepted into Project Development through the Federal Transit Administrations (FTA) Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program in October 2021. Currently, the Corridor is in 30% design engineering phase, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022. This contract shall provide 100% design and engineering services for the West Broad St BRT Corridor, starting with the 30% detailed design as a base, and will include NEPA Reporting, CIG program assistance and FTA coordination, public and stakeholder engagement, engineer's construction services, field utility verification efforts, and any other professional services as needed through closeout of the project. This is expected to be a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) project with a Construction Manager joining the team for pre-construction services at mid-2023 between 60% and 90% phase.
In a municipal partnership with the City of Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio Department of Transportation, MORPC, Franklin Township, and Prairie Township, the West Broad St BRT Corridor will provide a transit service consisting of mixed traffic and dedicated center running Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network. During the programming and initial design phasing, a Locally Preferred Alternative established the route/corridor the BRT will operate within.
The West Broad Street BRT Corridor will be designed to include the following mobility assets: end of line Transit Centers at Rockbrook Crossing Ave; one mobility hub along the corridor, dedicated bus lanes in specified sections along West Broad Street; intersection improvements; level boarding and improved stations with ADA accessibility; Transit Signal Priority (TSP); improved bicycle lanes (where applicable); and improved sidewalks. Additional service items include facility upgrades to support the maintenance and operation of transit vehicles. The method of contractor selection has not been determined at this time.
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