The Vine (bus rapid transit)

The Vine
Overview
Operator C-Tran
Status Under construction
Began service January 8, 2017 (2017-01-08) (planned)
Predecessors C-Tran routes 4 and 44
Route
Route type Bus rapid transit
Locale Vancouver, Washington
Start Downtown Vancouver
Via Fort Vancouver Way, Fourth Plain Boulevard
End Vancouver Mall Transit Center
Length 6.7 mi (10.8 km)[1]
Stations 34
Service
Frequency 10–15 minutes

The Vine is a bus rapid transit (BRT) route that is currently under construction in Vancouver, Washington. It will be operated by C-Tran when it opens on January 8, 2017, replacing two existing routes that carry over 6,000 trips daily. The 6-mile-long (9.7 km) line will run from downtown Vancouver to the Vancouver Mall, serving 34 stations primarily on Fourth Plain Boulevard.

The corridor was identified as a possible BRT route in 2005 and was originally named the Fourth Plain BRT Project. The routing was approved for BRT development in 2012 by C-Tran, the Vancouver City Council, and the Federal Transit Administration and construction began in August 2015. The $53 million project is primarily funded by a Federal Transit Administration grant that was secured in late 2015.

The Vine will be the first bus rapid transit system in the Portland metropolitan area[2] and the first of two such systems currently planned or under construction in the region, the other being the Powell-Division corridor between Portland and Gresham in development by Metro.[2] The latter will be the first BRT in the city of Portland proper[3] (but not in the metropolitan area) and will be part of the TriMet system,[3] rather than of C-Tran; it is not yet under construction.

Route

The Vine begins at Turtle Place, a former park that was once home to a C-Tran bus station,[4] located on 7th Street between Washington and Main streets in downtown Vancouver and one block east of Esther Short Park. Within downtown Vancouver, buses travel in a one-way pair, southbound on Washington Street and northbound on Broadway Street, before turning east onto McLoughlin Boulevard and crossing under Interstate 5 in Washington. The Vine then stops at the Marshall/Luepke Community Center on the east side of the freeway and turns onto Fort Vancouver Way, heading northeast to serve the campus of Clark College with two stops as well as the Vancouver campus of the VA Medical Center. The route turns eastward once again at Fourth Plain Boulevard, following the corridor as it parallels the State Route 500 freeway to the north. At Thurston Way, The Vine turns north towards its final approach to the Vancouver Mall, where the line terminates.[5]

Stations

The Vine will serve 34 stations located in the city of Vancouver, Washington, primarily on Fourth Plain Boulevard between Downtown Vancouver and Vancouver Mall, located approximately 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) apart.[6][7] Stations will be 50 feet (15 m) long and include shelters and windscreens, ticket vending machines, real-time arrival signs, and a raised platform for level boarding.[8]

Stations[5] Direction(s) Notes
7th Street at Turtle Place Western terminus
Washington & 12th Street Westbound
Broadway & 13th Street Eastbound
Broadway & 15th Street Eastbound
McLoughlin & Washington Street Westbound
Marshall/Luepke Community Center Bidirectional
Central Campus Bidirectional Serves Clark College
Gaiser Hall Bidirectional
Fort Vancouver Way & Fourth Plain Westbound
Fourth Plain & Fort Vancouver Way Eastbound
Grand Boulevard Bidirectional
Todd Road Bidirectional
General Anderson Bidirectional
Stapleton Road Bidirectional
57th Avenue Bidirectional
65th Avenue Bidirectional
Andresen Road Bidirectional
78th Avenue Bidirectional
86th Avenue Bidirectional
Thurston Way Bidirectional
Vancouver Mall Transit Center Eastern terminus

Service and fares

The Vine will run every 10 minutes during peak hours and 15 minutes during off-peak periods and on weekends.[9] A $1.75 adult fare, the same as existing local C-Tran service, will be charged to ride The Vine.[10]

A shuttle bus from Downtown Vancouver to Jantzen Beach, Hayden Island and the Delta Park/Vanport light rail station will be provided to cross the Columbia River.[11]

Fleet

The Vine will use a fleet of ten New Flyer Xcelsior diesel-electric hybrid buses that measure 60 feet (18 m) long and carry up to 100 people.[12] The articulated buses are low-floor, have three doors, and include three interior bicycle racks. The first buses were delivered in April 2016.[13]

History

The Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC) began studying high-capacity transit for Vancouver and Clark County in 2008, and determined that bus rapid transit would be viable on four main corridors: Highway 99, Fourth Plain Boulevard, Interstate 205, and Mill Plain Boulevard.[14] C-Tran, the county's transit agency, adopted a 20-year long-range plan in 2010 that recommended building the first bus rapid transit line on Fourth Plain.[15] The Fourth Plain corridor had been served by local routes 4 and 44, the two busiest in the C-Tran system, which continue to northern Portland, Oregon.[11]

Design concepts for a Fourth Plan bus rapid transit service were presented in 2011 and 2012,[16] and a locally-preferred alternative was adopted by C-Tran, the Vancouver City Council, and RTC in 2012.[17]

On November 6, 2012, C-Tran placed a 0.1 percent sales tax increase on the general election ballot to fund a light rail extension from Portland to Downtown Vancouver via a new bridge, as well as operating costs of the Fourth Plain bus rapid transit project. While the ballot measure was rejected,[18] the bus rapid transit project moved forward and was granted Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding in 2014.[1][6] Opponents of the project filed a lawsuit in the Clark County Superior Court in 2014 to prevent C-Tran from receiving federal funds, arguing that the project did not meet the definition of "high-capacity transit" as required in the ballot measure language.[19] The suit was dismissed in 2015, with the judge ruling in favor of C-Tran.[20]

The project was named "The Vine" after a public naming contest in 2014, beating out other candidates by "evoking greenery, leaves and branches".[21] A groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 24, 2015, kicking off construction of the $53 million project.[22] The FTA confirmed its $38.5 million commitment to the project in September;[23] the rest of the project is funded by C-Tran, and grants from the Washington State Department of Transportation and RTC.[24]

In October 2016, C-Tran announced that The Vine would open on January 8, 2017.[25] A "grand opening event" is planned for January 7, 2017.[26]

References

  1. 1 2 Baker, Dean (April 30, 2013). "Bus rapid transit still on track in Vancouver". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Njus, Elliot (December 4, 2015). "Portland's next ride: super-sized buses that act like light rail". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Keizur, Christopher (November 10, 2016). "Vision for Division rapid bus line OK'd". The Portland Tribune. p. A13. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  4. ↑ Florip, Eric (June 11, 2014). "C-Tran plans new downtown bus rapid transit station". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Fourth Plain Bus Rapid Transit Project (PDF) (Map). C-TRAN. March 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Quintana, Jim (July 9, 2014). "C-TRAN Board Gives Green Light to Fourth Plain BRT" (Press release). C-TRAN. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  7. ↑ Green, Susan (July 10, 2014). "Fourth Plain Bus Rapid Transit project gets $6.7 million in C-TRAN funding". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ "The Vine Interactive Map". C-TRAN. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Vine Fact Sheet" (PDF). C-TRAN. January 27, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  10. ↑ Florip, Eric (April 7, 2015). "5 things to know about The Vine: Vancouver's bus rapid transit system". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)". C-TRAN. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Clark County in Vancouver, Washington Awards New Flyer a Contract for 10 Xcelsior® Articulated Buses" (Press release). Winnipeg, Manitoba: New Flyer Industries. May 20, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  13. ↑ Pesanti, Dameon (April 4, 2016). "First two of C-Tran's biggest buses roll into town". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  14. ↑ Clark County High Capacity Transit System Study: Final Report (PDF) (Report). Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council. December 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  15. ↑ "C-TRAN 2030: Board of Directors Adopt C-TRAN 2030". C-TRAN. July 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Fourth Plain Transit Improvement Project Evaluated Alternatives". C-TRAN. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  17. ↑ Damewood, Andrea (May 21, 2012). "Council approves 4th Plain bus plan". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Clark County election results: C-Tran sales tax measure failing". The Oregonian. November 6, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  19. ↑ Achen, Paris (November 28, 2014). "Opponents sue C-Tran to stop bus rapid transit". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  20. ↑ Florip, Eric (July 17, 2015). "BRT lawsuit against C-Tran dismissed". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  21. ↑ Florip, Eric (July 15, 2014). "Survey says: The Vine wins BRT name game". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  22. ↑ Florip, Eric (August 24, 2015). "C-Tran head: The Vine milestone 'historic'". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  23. ↑ Florip, Eric (September 10, 2015). "FTA head praises The Vine, makes it official". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  24. ↑ "The Vine Project Cost and Funding". C-TRAN. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  25. ↑ Pesanti, Dameon (October 16, 2016). "The Vine will get rolling on Jan. 8". The Columbian. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Catch The Vine: New System Opens January 8, 2017". C-Tran. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
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