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6 TRANSIT INTEGRATION For many people, public transit is their access to jobs, school, shopping, recreation, visiting friends and family, worship, and many other daily functions. This chapter provides design guidance for Complete Streets considering transit stops and transit operating in the street, including typical bus stop layout and placement and the use of bus bulbs and transit lanes. The chapter ends with a discussion of ways to accommodate Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Nearly every transit trip begins as a walking trip – but the disconnect between transit and road planning means transit riders are often left to wait at bus stops marked by a lone post in the grass – no sidewalk, curb ramp or bench. Crossing the street to catch the bus can even be hazardous. Even where sidewalks and safe roadway crossings exist, often the placement of driveways or other barriers force bus stops to be located some distance from the intersection, increasing walk times and encouraging unsafe crossing locations. For transit to provide optimal service, streets must accommodate transit vehicles as well as adequate and safe access to the bus stop locations and stations. To ensure that the transit system can be planned and operated as a safe, reliable, and comfortable mode of transportation, this chapter has been developed in coordination with the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART). While it is expected that HART will specify transit services, shelters and other amenities for a given corridor or stop, it is the responsibility of Hillsborough County to contemplate the planning and design of the bus stop locations and provide adequate pedestrian and bicycle access to them. General Design Guidance Public transit should be planned and designed as part of the street system. It should interface seamlessly with other modes, recognizing that successful transit depends on customers getting to the service via walking, bicycling, car, or micromobility. When designing streets, consider the following: On some streets, transit vehicles should have higher priority than private vehicles. The busiest transit lines should have designated bus lanes. Where ridership justifies, some streets, called transit hubs, may permit only buses or streetcars in the traveled way. These often also allow bicycles. Technology should be applied to increase the average speeds of transit vehicles, where appropriate, through options such as TSP and bus queue jumpers. Transit stops should be easily accessible, with safe and convenient crossing opportunities. Transit stops should be active and appealing public spaces that attract people on a regular basis, at various times of day, and on all days of the week. They should also be visible from a distance. Transit stops should include infrastructure for passengers waiting to board such as real time traveler information systems, natural or artificial canopies (shelters), wayfinding signs, route maps, system maps, benches, and trash receptacles.
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