Graphic from Bus Rapid Transit Station Design Prototype Report.
The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has released a Bus Rapid Transit Station Design Prototype Report to illustrate what BRT stations could look like along various parts of the proposed routes.
The BRT system is designed to provide large buses running in dedicated lanes with green light priority and fewer stops than a regular bus. The county intends to use 60’ articulated buses for this system, and the goal is to reduce traffic congestion along the routes under study, which includes U.S. Route 29.
Current plans call for busses to run every 7.5 minutes during peak periods and every 15 minutes off peak from 5 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Busses will run from Burtonsville to the Silver Spring Transit Center, though have been discussions about expanding the service into Howard County.
The goals for the prototype stations include being easy to find and use, to be safe and comfortable, and to be maintainable.
The designs include nine different concepts that vary depending on the location of the station. For example, a station in an urban area, such as the intersection of Colesville Road and Fenton Street, would be a “minimum” station with only a marker and a ticket vending machine.
Other stations, such as those intended for use in a Park & Ride lot or in a center median, would include landscaping elements, one or more canopied shelters, windscreens and perhaps public art. The number of passengers expected to use the station would determine the size of each station.
The prototype designs, from ZGF Architects LLP and Wiles Mensch Corporation, were developed following a series of workshops with representatives of local jurisdictions the BRT will serve, the Maryland Transit Administration, the State Highway Administration, WMATA, the cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg, Howard County, Arlington, Alexandria, the County Council and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
There also were a series of public open houses and Citizen Advisory Committee meetings that provided input into the designs.
The BRT team will be at the Silver Spring Farmers Market Saturday, Oct. 21 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.