A consortium of stakeholders led by the University of Michigan (U of M) selected the team of Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc. (HRC) and Grissim Metz Andriese Associates to redesign a major on-street transit transfer center, pedestrian crossing, pedestrian plaza and North University Avenue on the Central Campus of U of M. The stakeholders consisted of two U of M departments-Architecture, Engineering and Construction and Parking and Transportation Service, the City of Ann Arbor and the Ann Arbor Transit Authority. The stakeholders were awarded federal funding to reconstruct North University Avenue and the Central Campus Transit Center. Bus activity occurs on both sides of North University and is used by the University transit service, the public transit authority and school buses dropping off students for field trips to the Ruthven Museum.
HRC provided project management, road, structural and architectural design and transportation engineering services for a Complete Streets solution.
The improvements include Shelters and canopies on both sides of the road to allow users to wait for their bus without being "in the weather." The south side of the road is approximately 166' long and the north side of the road has approximately 76' of shelter. The canopy style shelters include enclosures for refuge during inclement weather and to shelter riders as they embark and disembark the buses as well as to provide seating and wind breaks along the entire length. The design principles employed were to make the shelter/canopies inviting and airy without sacrificing aesthetics for functionality.
Project Management/Road Design tasks included:
- Disciplined Management Process utilized to gain stakeholder design consensus
- Management of design team including items relevant to federal funding
- Construction scheduling and CPM
- Architectural design for shelters
- Structural design for shelters
- Electrical design for shelters including information kiosks and real time signage
Transportation Engineering Services involved analyses that are unique to transit operations and were needed to justify the size of the transit shelter and sidewalks around the shelters. The analyses included:
- Field observation of transfer activities and need for additional curb space and protection from adverse weather
- Forecast future ADT and peak hour volumes on North University Avenue
- Five year crash analysis using the police reports to locate any pedestrian and/or bicycle related crashes
- Recommended bus stop bay geometrics using Transit Cooperative Research Program Report 19: Guidelines for the Location and Design of Bus Stops and future vehicle types
- Recommendation for sidewalk widths based on demand, U of M standards and methodology outlined in the Highway Capacity Manual, Chapter 18: Pedestrians for peak passenger loadings
- Evaluation of need for dedicated turn lanes at the unsignalized intersections abutting the North University Avenue transit center
- Analysis of weekday bus arrivals during extended AM and PM peak hours to determine demand for curb space
- Evaluation of possible left side bike lane on North University Avenue using bike lane practices in Ann Arbor research from other cities, and the AASHTO Guide for Development of Bicycle Facilities
HRC prepared numerous memoranda for the analyses conducted and a letter summarizing the justification for bus bays on both sides of North University that are nearly 270 feet long.
