Last week, the leaders of The Rapid authorized the pursuit of federal funding for a proposed express bus route servicing downtown Grand Rapids, Health Hill, St. Mary’s Hospital, and Division south of Wealthy. But first, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) must be included in the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council’s Long Range Transportation Plan.
The projected cost of the new BRT is $33.6 million, which includes the purchase of up to ten 40-foot, low floor, diesel-electric busses.
“The BRT is the preferred local alternative,” said Jennifer Kalczuk, external relations manager at The Rapid. “The federal process is rigorous, with no guarantee of funding.”
With a north terminus at Rapid Central Station and a south terminus at Division and 60th streets, the BRT would run along Division Avenue to Lyon Street to Monroe with routing to Health Hill during peak hours. The route would deliver passengers to the core of downtown, Spectrum Health, GVSU Cook-DeVos Center, and Grand Rapids Community College.
A pay-before-you-ride system and dedicated BRT traffic lanes are planned features of the express system. At peak hours, headway will be approximately ten minutes, with a round trip of 80 minutes for the nearly 10-mile route.
The Rapid staff will pursue federal funding for the BRT through the Very Small Starts grants program. If approved, the project could include numerous new substations, traffic signal priority for BRT vehicles, level boarding on busses, and a branding campaign to promote the mass transit option.
The Rapid hopes to present its recommendations to the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council for inclusion in the Long Range Transportation Plan soon. Because the project is still in the planning and research stage, no start date is available.
Source: Great Transit Grand Tomorrows January 24 report; Jennifer Kalczuk, The Rapid
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