The Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority, following on the heels of a six-month visioning process by community and business leaders, has begun work to evaluate the feasibility of several rapid transit services intended to improve transportation in the metropolitan area and possibly spur development.

The MTA submitted a request for proposal this month to several local and national consultants, one of which will be selected in June to conduct the Greater Des Moines Alternatives Analysis Study, which will identify and evaluate potential transit-oriented corridor alignments and service delivery methods in order to establish a locally preferred alternative. Proposals are due May 5, and an award letter will be issued June 2. Brian Litchfield, the MTA’s director of program development, expects the study to be completed by December 2007.

“Our hope is we’ll be able to identify a corridor or two in which we can move forward with providing an improved form of rapid transit,” Litchfield said. “Implementation, of course, is based on funding and the feasibility of services coming out, but sometime in the next three to five years, that would be our ultimate goal: getting to that.”

In November 2004, the MTA assembled the Transit 2030 Committee, a 27-member task force charged with creating a vision for the future of transit in Greater Des Moines, considering the metro area’s projected population growth over the next 25 years. The committee’s recommendations, which were unveiled in June, emphasize the need for a transportation system that:

* invigorates the economy;

* reduces residents’ reliance on single-occupant vehicles;

* plays an active role in community planning and growth;

* enhances quality of life;

* provides regional and multi-modal transportation; and

* is accessible for all customers.     “One of the tenets of the Transit 2030 vision is looking at alternatives to maintain the 20-minute commute (in Greater Des Moines), and this is just one of the many things that we’re looking at doing,” Litchfield said.

The MTA earlier this year developed the Regional Transit Authority, which now includes Polk County and all 19 communities within the county. Community leaders hope a regional system, under an improved governance structure, will accommodate future growth and encourage more widespread use of transit services.

The MTA is currently developing a strategic plan to evaluate proposed enhancements to its fixed-route services in its existing member communities, as well as commuter services in some outlying communities. Then, Litchfield said, the transit authority will identify services that could be implemented in the new member communities.

“Within the next couple of months, we’ll have a better idea of what those plans and services are, and where financially possible and where feasible, we’ll look at potentially increasing service levels to high-demand areas and expanding service into areas where service may not be,” Litchfield said.

The Greater Des Moines Alternatives Analysis Study, which is budgeted not to exceed $370,000, will identify the transit corridors and service delivery methods that are most likely to reduce or alleviate congestion and other issues in those areas. The corridors previously identified by the MTA are:

* University Avenue from Waukee through Pleasant Hill, then Northeast 72nd Street through Altoona and Bondurant;

* Second Avenue from Ankeny to downtown Des Moines;

* East 14th Street from Ankeny to downtown Des Moines;

* the Norfolk Southern Railway corridor from Grimes through Urbandale, Clive and Windsor Heights into the University Avenue corridor or downtown Des Moines;

* Indianola Avenue from downtown Des Moines to Highway 65/69 through Indianola; and

* the Union Pacific Railroad corridor from downtown Des Moines through Waukee.     Though each corridor has potential for improved service methods, Litchfield said the study needs to identify those with the greatest potential.

The consultant will prepare a conceptual design for each of those preferred service delivery methods and develop detailed operating plans, including station locations, fares, hours of service and type and number of vehicles required, for the selected service delivery methods. The study will also identify estimate the cost of each service delivery method, as well as identify possible sources of funding.

Though previous discussions among business and community leaders have identified light rail as a possible form of rapid transit that may be well received, the MTA is looking heavily toward bus rapid transit, a roadway-based system that uses dedicated lanes on city streets. Litchfield said such a system can be built more quickly and at a far lower cost than a light rail system.

“Bus rapid transit has the potential to provide many of the development options that rail has,” he said. “Offices and retail like to develop around known transportation corridors. Bus rapid transit definitely has the ability to do that in areas like Des Moines that might not be able to afford an expansive light rail system, but we can get a number of the transportation benefits and development benefits that make it very attractive.”

The MTA and other Greater Des Moines leaders continue to monitor the development of a bus rapid transit system in Eugene, Ore., that the Federal Transit Administration is using as a pilot project to show that method’s feasibility in smaller communities. Eugene is building a high-end, four-mile route at a cost of about $24 million. Kansas City, on the other hand, completed a nine-mile service route for about $20 million. Litchfield said the cost per mile for a bus rapid transit system can range from $200,000 per mile to $20 million per mile.

“It’s all based on the level of infrastructure,” he said. “Usually the biggest cost factor is the dedicated lanes. If you’re building additional lanes and using high-end vehicles, you can get the cost up there. But still even at the high end like in Eugene, the cost per mile is still less than light rail or some other sort of rail.”

Part of the study is to identify sources of funding. The federal government is a likely source, “but regardless of federal interest, there is always a significant portion that needs to be provided locally,” Litchfield said. Under the RTA structure, the member communities can assess a property tax levy to help fund these projects, providing an additional source of local funding.

“What technically would have been feasible under the MTA governance is far more feasible under the RTA structure,” he said.