Presented by Grace Gallucci, NOACA Executive Director

1. Cleveland’s BRT
Euclid Corridor Transformation
Grace Gallucci
Executive Director, NOACA

2. Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
for Greater Cleveland (largest in Ohio)
2.1 million population
5 counties: 166 cities, villages & townships
Regional Planning Agency Host/Chair:
Vibrant NEO 2040
3.8 million population
12 counties: 7 legacy cities, 1200 political
jurisdictions
NOACA

3. What is BRT?

4. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
“Think Rail, use Buses”
MAJOR ELEMENTS
 Exclusive transit lanes
 Fewer stops along route
 Level boarding facilities
 Prepaid fare collection system
 Traffic signal prioritization
 Unique vehicles

5. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
“Think Rail, use Buses”
SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
 Travel time savings
 Reliability
 Identity and image
 Safety & security
 Capacity

6. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
“Think Rail, Use Buses”
SYSTEM BENEFITS
 Ridership
 Transit supportive land use
 Environmental quality
 Capital cost effectiveness
 Operating efficiency
 Flexibility

7. Healthline History:
Curitiba experience

9. Healthline History:
Curitiba experience

10. Healthline History:
Curitiba experience

11. Healthline History:
Curitiba experience

12. Healthline History:
Curitiba experience

13. USDOT / FTA Demonstration Projects
 Los Angeles, CA & Santa Clara, CA
 Boston, MA
 Charlotte, NC
 Las Vegas, NV
 San Juan, PR
 Honolulu, HI
 Miami, FL
 Hartford, CT
 Eugene, OR

14. Euclid Corridor Transportation Project
Healthline
Cleveland, OHIO (USA)

15. Euclid Avenue History

16. Project Origin
Beginning in the 1970s, local leaders
set out to reestablish the corridor as a
major transportation and economic
development link
 implementing a new transit system
along the avenue
 connecting the city’s two largest
commercial districts—downtown and
University Circle— Cleveland.

17. BRT Origin
• MPO designated Euclid Avenue as
a “priority corridor for transit
investment” in the 1980s
• transit service upgrades,
• infrastructure improvements to
address common sights of
vacant lots lots, treeless
streetscapes, decaying
sidewalks, and broken water
lines

18. ECTP Goals
 Improve service to GCRTA customers by
increasing transit system efficiency.
 Promote long-term economic and
community development and growth in
and adjacent to the Euclid Avenue
Corridor.
 Improve quality of life for those living,
working or visiting in the Euclid Avenue
Corridor.

19. ECTP Strategy
REDEVELOPMENT
STRATEGIES
 Broad infrastructure
improvements centered
around transit
 Public/private
partnerships to fund and
implement the project
RESULTS
 Strong public/private
partnerships between
multiple stakeholders
contributed to the
success of the project.
 The establishment of a
new transit line resulted
in $6.3 billion in new
development, 13,000
new jobs, and more than
4,000 new residential
units along the corridor.

20. ECTP Planning & Development
 Alternatives Analysis to Address Mobility
Needs in a Given Corridor
 Mode
 Alignment
 “No Action”
 Preliminary Engineering
 Environmental Analysis
 Final Design

21. Mode Selection Criteria
 Capacity (30,000 + daily customers)
 Connectivity
 Funding possibilities (FTA)
 Cost
 Capital
 Operating
 Economic development potential

22. Capital Cost Comparison - RTA
*Estimated during Alternatives Analysis process
Capital Cost Comparison - RTA
HealthLine $200 Million
Light Rail $800 Million*
Heavy Rail $1.2 Billion plus*

23. BRT Programmed
 MPO voted to establish a bus
rapid transit (BRT) system in
1998

24. GCRTA HealthLine
Euclid Avenue Transformation

25. EUCLID CORRIDOR PROJECT:
36 Stations/62 Locations
(HEALTHLINE : 58 Stations)

29. Exclusive Right of Way

33. “Rail-Like” Characteristics
 Quicker Travel Times
 Exclusive Right-of-Way
 Higher Travel Speed Limit
 Hi-Frequency Service
 24x7
 Peak every 5 minutes
 Off-Peak every 8 to 15 minutes
 Rapid Transit Vehicles (RTV’s)

34. Traffic Signal Prioritization

35. Precision Docking

36. Level Boarding

37. Level Boarding Bridge-Plates

38. Off Board Fare Collection

39. Real Time Information

40. Emergency Call Boxes

41. Cameras at Stations

42. Downtown Station Design

43. Median Station Design

44. New Vehicle Design

45. Landscaping and Public Art

46. Branding of BRT
 “Better” Rapid Transit
 Characteristics of rail
 Permanence
 Image
 Service level
 Characteristics of a bus
 Flexibility
 Lower costs

47. Branding the HealthLine

48. Branding the HealthLine

49. Branding the HealthLine

50. Branding the HealthLine

51. Branding - Naming Rights Agreement

52. Promoting the HealthLine

54. Funding Plan
USDOT - FTA $82.8 million (49%)
State of Ohio $50.0 million (30%)
GCRTA $17.6 million (11%)
NOACA $10.0 million (6%)
City of Cleveland $ 8.0 million (4%)
Total Budget = $168.4 million

55. Federal Evaluation Criteria
 Mobility
Improvements
 Environmental
Benefits
 Operating
Efficiencies
 Cost Effectiveness
 Transit Supportive
Land Use

56. Financial Plan: Project Viability
 Project Capital Plan
 Total Cost
 Funding Partners
 Project Operating Plan
 Cost Neutral
 Project Investment Analysis
 NPV
 Transportation System User Benefit

57. Financial Plan:
Agency Financial Capacity
 Agency Capital Plan
 20 year financial projections
Debt Management & Cash Flows
 SOGR
 Agency Operating Plan
 20 year financial projections
Fares/Revenue Analysis
Operating Cost Growth
 Service Continuity

58. Financial Plan:
Economic Development Benefits
 Private Investments
 Population Growth
 Job Growth
 Property Value Increases
 Tax Base Increases
 Quality of Life

59. Financial Evaluation Process
 Audit of Financial Plan
 Assumptions
 Economic Analysis
 Stress Tests
 Mitigation Plans / Scenarios
 Risks
 Opportunity Costs

60. Operating Cost Comparison - RTA
*2012 Actual costs
Cost per Customer Served*
HealthLine $2.23
Bus $3.92
Light Rail $4.32
Heavy Rail $4.71

61. Operating Cost Comparison - RTA
* Transit Police, ticket machines ,station cleaning,
flowers - partially offset by naming rights
sponsorship
Right-Of-Way Costs
HealthLine 7%*
Bus 3%
Light Rail 34%
Heavy Rail 40%

62. Strong Community Support
 More than just an RTA Project
 Success was achieved by others
leveraging RTA’s investment

63. Economic Development

64. The Rebirth

65. Downtown Economic Development

66. University Circle Development

67. Midtown Corridor Development

68. Uptown Development

74. Ten Years Later……….
Diversity of Development
Continues

75. One Midtown – Luxury
Townhomes
A few blocks west
from the Clinic
comes One
Midtown, a high-
end luxury
townhome
project that has
seen the
completion of its
first phase

77. LINK 59 Offices and
University Hospital
• East 59th Street
are a number of
new buildings
including the
offices at LINK 59
• 3 Story Office
Bldg.
• 60,000 sq. ft.
• 150 new jobs
• Over $4 Million

78. $26 Million
Investment
University Hospitals
Center for Women
and Children

79. Tru Hotel
by Hilton
• A few blocks away from
One Midtown at 69th - E.
70th along Euclid Avenue
construction has just
begun on what will be a
Tru Hotel by Hilton.
• 114 rooms – 4 Story Hotel
• Near new developments
Midtown Tech Hive,
Dunham Tavern Museum
and new businesses such
as Dealer Tire’s new
headquarters

80. Cleveland Clinic Health
Education Clinic
• A half billion dollar project that will house the
Clinic and CWRU College of Medicine, School of
Nursing and School of Dental Medicine

81. “HealthLine” Success

82. Questions & Answers