Central City Line
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The City Line is a
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
(BRT) line in
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
, United States, that opened on July 15, 2023. The route, which is operated by the Spokane Transit Authority, runs from Spokane's Browne's Addition neighborhood, through Downtown Spokane and the
University District University District can refer to a location in the United States: *University District, Detroit, Michigan * University District, Columbus, Ohio *University District, San Bernardino, California *University District, Seattle The University District ...
, including the WSU Health Sciences campus and Gonzaga University, before ending at the Spokane Community College campus in the Chief Garry Park neighborhood. The project budget as of 2023 was $92.2 million.


History


Origins and planning


Early fixed-rail streetcar concept

The idea of constructing a form of high-capacity transit system to serve central areas in and around Downtown Spokane began in the late 1990s with an updated visioning document for Downtown Spokane calling for the development of a modern streetcar line, harkening back to Spokane's early 20th century history when numerous streetcars and trolleys ran through the city's core. By the early 2000s three local agencies, the Downtown Spokane Partnership, the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, and Spokane Transit Authority, teamed up to advance discussions of developing a streetcar system in Downtown Spokane. The group was intrigued by the potential of a streetcar system spurring transit-oriented development in Spokane, similar to the market response to the
Portland Streetcar The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon, that opened in 2001 and serves areas surrounding downtown Portland. The NS Line runs from Northwest Portland to the South Waterfront via Downtown and the Pearl District. The L ...
in Portland, Oregon, which had opened a few years prior. Early visions had a streetcar system serving areas in and around the Downtown Spokane core, including the Browne's Addition neighborhood, Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Riverpoint Higher Education Park, and medical district on Spokane's Lower South Hill.


=Feasibility study

= In 2005, the vision to develop a streetcar line was officially adopted as a project by Spokane Transit Authority and the agency commissioned a streetcar feasibility study in partnership with other local transportation and planning agencies. The report, titled ''Spokane Streetcar Feasibility Study'', was released in March 2006 and studied a number of topics related to installing a streetcar line in Spokane, including potential routes, alignments, vehicles, costs, and urban development potential. The study identified five potential alignments, many of which utilized multiple lines. All five options included a route running west to east, from Browne's Addition, through Downtown, to the University District, which is ultimately reflected in part of the City Line's final, single-line alignment.


Concept development

Public workshops and a series of meetings with stakeholders were held from 2010 through early 2011 to identify preferred mode and route alternatives for the new line. The Spokane City Council voted in July 2011 to identify a locally preferred alternative of implementing a tire-based electric
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
system, in lieu of a more expensive track-based streetcar system, and a route from the Browne's Addition neighborhood toward Spokane Community College through Downtown Spokane and the nearby University District. The final alignment most closely resembles the southern west–east line identified in Alignment Alternative B.


Evolution to bus rapid transit

By 2014, plans to use a modern electric trolley as the mode of transportation shifted to using battery electric buses instead due to the lower costs—no overhead wires would need to be constructed—and the rapidly developing capability and reliability of electric vehicles.


Funding and costs

The City Line's final estimated development costs of $92.2 million are funded through a variety of local, state, and federal sources. Costs during the project's earlier stages were initially estimated to be around $72 million. $3.575 million of that amount went toward the project's planning and design and were funded by state and federal sources. In 2015, the
Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senat ...
allocated $15 million toward the project. At the time, the intent was that the remainder of that $72 million would be covered through a federal grant, which Spokane Transit applied for in September 2017. STA was awarded its $53.4 million request from the
Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
(FTA) Small Starts Grant in April 2019, which would have fully funded the project when combined with the earlier allocation by the Washington State Legislature in 2015. However, due to
cost escalation Cost escalation can be defined as changes in the cost or price of specific goods or services in a given economy over a period. This is similar to the concepts of inflation and deflation except that escalation is specific to an item or class of items ...
since the initial planning and grant applications began, the cost estimate had increased to between $85.7 and $92.2 million. To address the shortfall, the Spokane Transit Authority board authorized in July 2019 a $20.2 million local match as part of the transit agency's agreement with the FTA to accept the federal grant. The line's operating costs are covered by fare revenue and sales-tax revenue approved in 2016 as part of STA's Proposition 1 to improve transit service throughout the Spokane area. As of May 16, 2023, the project was projected to cost $78.3 million, $13.9 million under the $92.2 million budget. In July 2023, the STA board voted to direct the unused local funds to the agency's next
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
project, Division Street BRT.


Naming

The project was conceived under the working title "Central City Line" and was officially named the City Line at the FTA grant signing ceremony on January 21, 2020. The line is numbered as route 1 with all high performance cooridors using single digit route numbers.


Construction

Major construction of the line's components, including roadway improvements along the route, supporting infrastructure, and boarding stations, began on May 1, 2020 and continued through 2021. Prior to start of this phase, Spokane Transit completed upgrades at some of its existing facilities that will ultimately enable and support City Line operations, including alterations to boarding zones at the STA Plaza, reconstruction of the
Spokane Community College Transit Center Spokane Community College Transit Center or SCC Transit Center is a transit center and future BRT terminus in the Spokane Transit Authority route system. It is one of Spokane Transit's four primary transit centers, along with the STA Plaza, West ...
, and constructing a new garage at STA's main campus that will house, service, and recharge the City Line's electric battery electric fleet when not in use. Construction of City Line was divided into two phases. The first phase, which concluded in May 2022, addressed infrastructure including roadway improvements, communications conduit, and building the concrete station platforms. The second phase of construction began in July 2022, and focused on the construction of the station shelters and amenities.


Delay

In October 2021, just 7 months before its originally-scheduled May 2022 opening, Spokane Transit Authority announced that the opening of City Line would be delayed to July 2023 due to supply chain shortages in the materials, specifically rolled steel tubes, needed to construct the station shelters. Before the delay was announced, Spokane Transit had evaluated several options to open City Line on schedule, which included launching service without station shelters constructed to changing the station designs to utilize materials not affected by the shortage. However, in order to preserve and deliver the original vision and rider experience of City Line that was presented to the Spokane community, it was ultimately decided to keep the station designs as-is and wait for the availability of the material to construct the station shelters. In late 2021, Spokane Transit installed a full-scale construction
mockup In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at leas ...
of a protypical City Line station shelter at its Moran Station Park and Ride on Spokane's South Hill. The mockup provided opportunities to train installers on installation processes and conduct a design assessment before installation of the actual shelters along the route. Only minor design adjustments were determined to be necessary as a result of the mockup process, and the mockup was later repurposed into a functioning shelter for the Moran Station Park and Ride.


Testing

Six months ahead of its launch, testing of City Line began in January 2023. Aspects that were evaluated included testing the line's real-time bus tracking system, real-time displays at stations, route timing, and range capabilities of City Line's battery-electric buses. By the conclusion of the phase, Spokane Transit Authority estimated that it had put in more than 10,000 hours of testing to ensure as few issues as possible after launching the service. Spokane Transit also engaged the public during the testing phase, seeking out test riders to participate in simulated trial runs of the route from May 10–11, 2023 to obtain feedback from users.


Opening

The route began service on July 15, 2023. STA hosted simultaneous launch day celebration events in the Browne's Addition, Downtown/Riverside,
University District University District can refer to a location in the United States: *University District, Detroit, Michigan * University District, Columbus, Ohio *University District, San Bernardino, California *University District, Seattle The University District ...
,
Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...
, and Chief Garry Park neighborhoods with food and music. Three days later, the official
ribbon-cutting ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
occurred on July 18, 2023, on the campus of Gonzaga University with leaders from Spokane city council, Spokane county commissioners, Washington State Governor
Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...
, and the deputy directory of the
Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
, Veronica Vanterpool. In April 2023, the STA board authorized an introductory fare free period for City Line. The fare-free period was set to run from the service launch date of July 15, 2023, to
Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
on September 4, 2023, in order to encourage use of the new route and for the community to see the new electric busses and Eastern Washington's first
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
line. Although the City Line was planned with 7.5 minute
headway Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system measured in space or time. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise defi ...
s during peak hours, due to coach operator staffing shortages, the route opened with 15 minute headways during peak hours with planned improvement to 7.5 minute headways at peak during 2024.


Route

City Line traverses a six-mile, east–west route across Spokane between the Browne's Addition neighborhood and Spokane Community College with one-way travel times of approximately 25–30 minutes, depending on time of day and traffic conditions. The route is served by 20 stations in each direction, which are typically spaced between 1/4 to 1/3 mile apart. The route begins west of Downtown Spokane, circling Coeur d'Alene Park in Browne's Addition. After departing, it turns east along Pacific Avenue, one of the main roads serving the Browne's Addition neighborhood, with higher density apartment buildings and commercial nodes along the road. From Browne's Addition, City Line proceeds through Downtown Spokane. Many stations in Downtown Spokane are split into station pairs along two separate parallel roadways due to the routing of City Line along one-way roads in Downtown. In Downtown's West End, which is home to numerous breweries, condominiums, apartment buildings, and the Davenport Arts District, the route runs along First Avenue in the eastbound direction and Sprague Avenue in the westbound direction. The eastbound and westbound paths briefly converge in the core of Downtown at the STA Plaza, where passengers have the opportunity to connect to nearly every other route in the Spokane Transit network. After the STA Plaza, the route splits again with eastbound travel running along Main Avenue, and westbound travel running along Riverside Avenue. Stations along this portion of the line serve Riverfront Park, Convention Center District, and Downtown's East End. Exiting Downtown, City Line resumes its routing on two-way streets for the remainder of its route, entering the
University District University District can refer to a location in the United States: *University District, Detroit, Michigan * University District, Columbus, Ohio *University District, San Bernardino, California *University District, Seattle The University District ...
along a small north–south segment on Pine Street. At Spokane Falls Boulevard, the route turns east–west with a major station on the
WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus The WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus, (formerly the Riverpoint Campus, and originally, the Riverpoint Higher Education Park) is an urban , multi-institutional higher education campus in Spokane, Washington. The campus was established in 1990 by ...
. After crossing the Spokane River, the route turns north–south along Cincinnati Street, running through the Gonzaga University campus. Two stations along Cincinnati Street serve the Gonzaga Law School, Gonzaga's athletic facilities (including the McCarthey Athletic Center), University of Washington School of Medicine Spokane campus, the Centennial Trail, and the core of Gonzaga's campus. At the north end of Gonzaga's campus, City Line continues east–west along Mission Avenue through the Logan neighborhood, serving destinations such as Mission Park, Witter Aquatic Center, Avista Utilities' headquarters, and another connection to the Centennial Trail. From there, the route continues along Mission Avenue, crossing the Spokane River into the Chief Garry Park neighborhood. After passing through several stations, the City Line route reaches its eastern terminus at the
Spokane Community College Transit Center Spokane Community College Transit Center or SCC Transit Center is a transit center and future BRT terminus in the Spokane Transit Authority route system. It is one of Spokane Transit's four primary transit centers, along with the STA Plaza, West ...
, which provides riders transfer opportunities to other STA routes, a driver layover point, and rapid charging facilities for City Line's battery electric buses.


Stations

All stops and stations feature near-level boarding, real-time information, fare validators, off-board fare collection, and either a shelter or windscreen. Spokane Transit also collaborated with the City of Spokane to implement transit priority at some intersections.


Service

City Line operates for approximately 19 hours per day Monday through Friday, from about 5:00 am to 12:00 am, and approximately 18 hours per day on Saturdays, from about 6:00 am to 12:00 am. Operating hours on Sundays are reduced to about 16 hours, from around 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. 15-minute frequencies are provided throughout most of the service day Monday through Saturday, with frequencies dropping to 20 and 30 minutes in the early morning and late evenings. Sunday frequencies are 30-minute intervals.


Fares

City Line busses support fares at each door via on-board fare collection unit that can accept
QR code A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that can contain information about th ...
s via the STA Connect app,
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via the physical STA Connect cards, and contactless payments such as Apple Pay and
Google Pay Google Pay may refer to: * Google Pay (mobile app), a mobile payments app introduced in 2020 * Google Pay (2018–2022), a digital wallet app introduced in 2018, now Google Wallet * Google Pay (payment method), a digital payments service introduced ...
. Off-board validators are also available at several City Line stations for passengers to validate their fares before boarding. Cash payments can also be made on-board buses at right-hand board stations using the front door of the bus, similar to Spokane Transit's regular buses. However, at left-hand boarding City Line stations, on-board cash payments are not possible due to lack of front door on the driver side of the bus. Instead, passengers must use on-platform ticket vending machines to make a cash purchase and scan their printed ticket on an on-vehicle fare validator when boarding. Fares on City Line follow the fare structure of the rest of the Spokane Transit, costing $2.00 for a standard adult two-hour pass.


Vehicles

The City Line utilizes 60-foot long New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE battery electric buses. A $13.9 million purchase for 10 buses was approved by the Spokane Transit Board of Directors on April 16, 2020. Spokane Transit planned to take delivery of the first of the buses in Q2 2021 for testing with the remaining 9 vehicles delivered toward the end of 2021, in time for the start of City Line operations in 2022. However, it took delivery of the first bus ahead of schedule in December 2020, publicly revealing it for the first time in March 2021. The buses feature a special black and purple livery and have five doors—three on the right and two on the left to support the interoperability between side-boarding platforms and center-boarding platforms along the route.


Electric capability and rapid charging

The initial fleet of buses utilized on City Line are equipped with batteries that have a 320
kilowatt-hour A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
(kWh) capacity, enabling a driving range of 120 to 150 miles. From an operational perspective, Spokane Transit projects the range of a fully-charged City Line bus to be sufficient enough to operate non-stop through the line's ultimate 7.5 minute peak service frequency. After the initial peak, buses connect to rapid chargers during 15-minute layover periods at the line's eastern terminus,
Spokane Community College Transit Center Spokane Community College Transit Center or SCC Transit Center is a transit center and future BRT terminus in the Spokane Transit Authority route system. It is one of Spokane Transit's four primary transit centers, along with the STA Plaza, West ...
, before beginning another route run. The rapid charging strategy implemented on City Line allows its fleet to remain on-route throughout the day and as well as end each service day mostly charged, minimizing the time needed to finish its charging cycle overnight at STA's bus depot. Rapid charging on-route is accomplished through overhead charging stations. The equipment, by
ABB Ltd. ABB Ltd. is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to create ...
, is equipped with a SAE J3105 pantograph that drops from above, making contact with the roof mounted-charger on the bus below.


References


External links


City LineCity Line ConstructionSTA Moving Forward - Central City Line
{{Transportation in the Spokane, WA–Coeur d'Alene, ID region Bus transportation in Washington (state) Bus rapid transit in Washington (state) Transportation in Spokane, Washington Spokane, Washington