JOHNSON COUNTY – Several transportation infrastructure projects are underway across the Iowa City metropolitan area for the year 2024. The following are of particular interest from an urbanism perspective.
- MPOJC Bus Rapid Transit Study
- Iowa City Transit Facilities Project
- South Dubuque Street Reconstruction
- Coralville 5th Street Improvements
MPOJC Bus Rapid Transit Study
Last September, the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County (MPOJC) awarded a contract to consultants Felsburg Holt & Ullevig and Nelson Nygaard Associates to complete a study for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system using the CRANDIC Railroad right-of-way between Iowa City and North Liberty. The study, anticipated by June 2024, will determine the feasibility and high order planning of such a system.
The CRANDIC corridor once hosted electrified interurban rail between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids with hourly service and 573,307 annual riders at its peak in 1945. Now a freight line, passenger service ended in 1953 in the wake of highway expansion and automobile adoption. MPOJC previously analyzed other transit options for the corridor including a rails-to-trails study in 2018 and a multi-phase passenger rail feasibility study completed in 2022. The latter study found that passenger rail is feasible between North Liberty and downtown Iowa City, but service to Cedar Rapids would be cost prohibitive. Resultantly, the present BRT study will only examine service between the two Johnson County cities.
Bus Rapid Transit utilizes mass transit features such as dedicated rights-of-way, high-capacity vehicles, and ticketing and station enhancements to improve speed and reliability over traditional bus services. Supporters often argue that BRT systems are a lower-cost alternative to light or commuter rail. While BRT generally requires less initial capital investment (building tracks, acquiring rail cars, etc.), the systems can be more expensive to maintain and operate overtime than traditional rail transit due to pavement deterioration and driver labor cost. Given that the CRANDIC corridor is presently a rail line, it is unclear what capital cost benefits a BRT system would have to the rail options previously studied by MPOJC.
The portfolio of Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, the lead consultants, includes a 2020 BRT feasibility study for Denver’s RTD agency and Colorado Department of Transportation’s 2045 Statewide Transit Plan. Adoption of an advanced transit system, whether BRT or rail, would benefit many UIowa hospital and campus commuters that live in Coralville and North Liberty. A full analysis of the study will be posted on The Prairie Urbanist once it is made available this summer.
New Iowa City Transit Facility
According to a February meeting presentation and the draft of Iowa City’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget, the city will begin the site design process for a new transit and equipment facility throughout 2024. Contracts would be awarded by 2025 with construction lasting until Summer 2027. The existing facility at 1200 S Riverside Dr is in poor condition and lacks space for transit expansion. The new facility will be located at the city’s expanding operations campus at McCollister Boulevard and S Gilbert Street in the South District.
The current building is facing settlement issues due its location on a former landfill within the 100 year floodplain of the Iowa River. According to the presentation, the facility lacks the electrical capabilities to continue the city’s acquisition of battery-electric buses and storage has spilled over into hallways. The new location is part of a broader plan to consolidate city operations at the South District location. The project will be funded through a combination of a Federal Transportation Administration grant of $18.5 million and local transit and equipment funds for a total of $39.75 million.
The expanded storage and service capacity of the new facility is significant as it will allow for the purchase of more buses and the hiring of more staff. Several long-term recommendations of the Iowa City Area Transit Study, including expanded 15-minute service corridors, two new routes, and Saturday service until midnight in Iowa City, require the acquisition of new battery-electric buses that the current facility cannot store or service. Lack of frequent service is the largest hindrance to transit access for most community members, with over 70% of community respondents in the study citing service frequency as a desired improvement.
According to Jared Walker, author of Human Transit, frequent transit service has amplifying effects on ridership via reducing waiting times, improving connections creating a network effect, and increasing responsiveness to service interruptions. Further, increased frequency transit corridors may result in a supportive environment for land use policies that increase housing density and reduce the need for off-street parking. The new facility will provide the infrastructure basis for vastly needed service enhancements to reduce car dependence and related emissions
South Dubuque Street Reconstruction
Earlier this month, work began to reconstruct S Dubuque Street between Iowa Ave and Washington Street in the heart of downtown Iowa City. The project will replace failing utility infrastructure and improve streetscape features such as pedestrian amenities, lighting, bicycle parking, and landscaping. Business access will primarily remain open, save for short closures for sidewalk replacement. The city anticipates construction, which will include the alley towards Linn Street, to last until September of this year.
Located in the center of the Downtown District and lined with traditional mixed-use buildings, S Dubuque Street is an important contributor to Iowa City’s urbanism and identity. The street is heavily trafficked by pedestrians as it connects the Pedestrian Mall and the east end of the University of Iowa campus. Several recognizable longtime Iowa City establishments such as Deadwood Tavern, Prairie Lights, Catherine’s, and more front the project area. Reconstruction of the street is informed by the 2014 Iowa City Downtown and Pedestrian Mall Streetscape Plan initiated by the Iowa City Downtown District organization. The plan sees S Dubuque Street as a “first impressions” street, calling for the installation of overhead string lighting, maximization of pedestrian space, and curb to curb pavers in place of the existing concrete vehicle right-of-way.
The present reconstruction responds to the lighting, landscaping, and pedestrian zone recommendations of the 2014 plan; however, it does not include replacing the concrete street with pavers. Though the pavers would create a visual emphasis on S Dubuque Street and contribute to the context of the street’s historic buildings, it does not provide any practical improvements to the pedestrian environment or urban function of the street. The expanded landscaping will improve the street’s ability to manage rainwater and combine with the new lighting to create a more pleasant on-foot experience.
One major improvement of the current reconstruction over the 2014 plan is the addition of removable bollards within the crosswalks at each end of the street. The bollards will allow the street to be closed to vehicle traffic with safety and ease. Hopefully, once the project is complete Iowa City will be able to fully pedestrianize S Dubuque St more frequently and replicate the success of closing other streets to vehicles, such as N Linn St in the Northside. Beyond improving the safety and experience of those walking downtown, closing the street to vehicles also allows for the expansion of outdoor seating for the street’s many popular dining options.
Coralville’s 5th Street Improvements
Crews began work on a two year project to reconstruct 5th Street between 12th and 20th Avenues earlier this month. The project will include many improvements to the pedestrian experience of the street by expanding sidewalks, marking crosswalks, installing new street lighting, and new landscaping. 5th Street is the main urbanized spine in Coralville with the majority of the city’s mixed-use and sidewalk fronting buildings located along the corridor, in addition to the city’s civic campus. Further improvement of this street for pedestrians will hopefully induce more urban infill to support compact growth and transit usage as an alternative to sprawling greenfield development.
