2011 Transit Milestones from Other US Regions

From Barb Thoman, Executive Director

While Congress again failed to pass a long range federal transportation funding bill in 2011, annual appropriations to transportation and transit did not decline (except for High Speed Rail, which saw a big drop in funding). On the local level, there was plenty of good news on transit from around the U.S. A roundup of Twin Cities’ Transit Milestones will appear in the next TLC e-newsletter.

Transit Referenda - Voters approved 21 of 27 transit initiatives on the ballot in 2011 – continuing the success rate of over 70% in recent years. In just one example,, voters in Durham County, North Carolina, approved a ½ cent sales tax for expanded bus and rail service in the Raleigh Durham area.

Cleveland Bus Rapid Transit - Ridership continues to grow on Cleveland’s arterial Bus Rapid Transit line. Known as the HealthLine, the BRT line runs seven miles along Euclid Avenue, connecting downtown, the Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospital. The line is believed to be one of the nation’s best examples of arterial BRT.  The nearly $200 million project opened in late 2008 and included roadway and streetscape improvements, including the planting of 1,500 trees. Private sector naming rights contributed $6 million. Over $4 billion in transit-oriented development is planned for the corridor.  See this Streetsblog update from 2011 for more details.

Cleveland's Healthline BRT (Photo credit: Center for Neighborhood Technology)

Denver – Fast Track Progress- In 2011, Denver’s Regional Transit Agency (RTA) received a $1 billion federal New Starts grant for two commuter rail projects: a line slated to run from downtown east to DIA airport; and the Gold Line, from downtown northwest to Arvada. Construction of a 12 mile LRT line from downtown to Golden is nearly complete.  In August RTA celebrated the opening of a major new downtown bus transit station. Rrenovation of Denver’s historic Union Station continues.  An increase in the dedicated sales tax for transit passed in 2004 providing the funding for transit improvements across the region. See details here.

Los Angeles Metro – Passage of Measure R in November 2008 provided a new half cent sales tax to fund transportation projects in the LA region.  Sixty-five percent of Measure R revenue is dedicated to transit capital and operations. In 2011, LA Metro began testing Phase I of the 16 mile Expo Line from downtown to Culver City and broke ground on Phase II, the segment from Culver City to Santa Monica. A four mile extension of the Orange Line dedicated busway is also underway, as is an 11 mile extension of the Gold Line LRT. Over a dozen transit projects are on the drawing board. More details are available here.

Salt Lake City Light Rail – The Utah Transit Authority opened two new light rail lines in 2011, bringing the region’s LRT system to 35 miles.  These project openings are part of an initiative called Frontlines 2015 – where the agency plans to add 70 miles of rail in seven years at an estimated cost of $3 billion.