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Alternatives Analysis

PART A

This study is an Alternatives Analysis and Environmental Assessment, and is the next step in the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) process. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) New Starts Process is where the federal government funds some new transit projects through what is called, a New Starts Process. For regions interested in accessing the federal New Starts funds, a process for comparing major transit investments throughout the county is used. The New Starts Process is intended to make sure that federal funding for transit projects are compared on a level playing field. This way, a project in Boone and Winnebago Counties can be compared with a project in St. Louis or Charlotte or Sacramento or Chicago for funding by the limited federal New Starts dollars. All areas must follow a similar set of evaluation steps. At the end of the process, there are a series of criteria that the FTA will evaluate including effectiveness, impacts, cost effectiveness and equity.

In 2006 the NICTI study team focus has been on examining the study area’s transportation system. The first phase of the NCITI Alternatives Analysis (noted as Part A on the timeline) analyzed the existing and future transportation characteristics, performance, and possible improvements in an area that is experiencing the demands of growing regional development and increased traffic congestion.

As part of the Alternatives Analysis, identification of the option or combination of options that best meet the needs of the corridor and the project goals and objectives were considered. Click here to view {Initial Build Alternatives Map} the initial alternatives that were carried forward to the Alternatives Analysis Part B process.

The wide range of improvements considered for further analysis were:

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – bus system that uses reserved transit ways or lanes, express operations, special vehicles, enhanced passenger facilities and other means to emulate the reliability and convenience of rail transit.
Express Bus
Commuter Rail (CR) – a rail passenger service operated on tracks shared with freight traffic. Commuter rail is oriented to the peak period and typically serves suburban commuters to downtown employment areas.

6 Alignments
2 Operating Plans
2 Technologies

Light Rail Transit (LRT) – an electronically powered rail passenger system used for urban transportation over distances usually shorter than distances by commuter rail.

In addition, the federal government requires the study of two “Baseline” alternatives:

No Build
Transportation Systems Management (TSM) – Highway Expansion