Central Ohio’s first rapid transit bus corridors are coming through a $2 billion project
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A rapid transit corridor could land in downtown Columbus as one of multiple bus rapid transit systems coming to central Ohio.
The corridor, aimed for West Broad Street, would run along 9.3 miles of the street, stretching from downtown Columbus to Prairie Township and traveling through areas like Franklinton and Hilltop. The corridor is part of the LinkUS project, first introduced in 2022 as a proactive plan to bring rapid transit solutions and transportation options to central Ohio.
The plan is intended to accommodate major population growth and, according to its website, will bring the area the following:
Faster, more reliable public transportation
Safe and expanded bike and pedestrian paths
Walkable communities with more affordable access to work, home and entertainment
The corridors are coming thanks to a yearly draft list written by the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC). This group picks projects like LinkUS to receive funding through the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Major New Capacity Program. Included in the draft list was $127.3 million in new funding commitments for 18 projects throughout the state over the next four years. The W. Broad corridor will cost $314 million in total, with $15 million coming from TRAC. But that’s not the only funding that LinkUS needs.
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Columbus City Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, chair of the Public Service & Transportation Committee, said that there will be a sales tax levy on the ballot in November to help fund the LinkUS plan — which was said to cost nearly $2 billion when announced. She gave a more detailed explanation of what the LinkUS bus rapid transit will bring to Columbus and central Ohio, including changes to the bus fleet. The councilwoman said articulated buses — often referred to as slinky buses, accordion buses or tandem buses — would come into play, and offer a higher passenger capacity than other buses.
“Bus rapid transit is very similar to a train in terms of its feel,” Barroso de Padilla said. “There’s some things in terms of efficiency around the bus itself.”
Specifically in the West Broad Street corridor’s case, the majority of it will be made up of dedicated transit lanes. The bus corridor will also include a newly introduced center lane that is exclusively reserved for the new buses. So, drivers getting stuck behind a COTA bus will become a less common occurrence on certain roads.
It will include 17 stations that are located near high ridership and key development nodes. Intersections along the route will be retrofitted so that traffic signals will be altered when a vehicle is approaching, reducing the amount of time the vehicle waits at a stop light.
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Barroso de Padilla said that these new buses being introduced throughout the city will have multiple ways to pay before boarding, more accessible entrances for those who may have problems with mobility, in addition to holding more space for passengers to carry on things like bikes and strollers.
The councilwoman recalled that when she was growing up, anywhere she needed to go was typically found within a three to four-mile radius of her house. Today, she said that’s not the reality. This is why she said LinkUS needs to help central Ohio become less car-centric and more people-centric.
“I mean, think about your day, you might go across town to go to the doctor, across town to go to work, across town to run errands,” Barroso de Padilla said. “So, we know that people need to get to all of those places. And we know that we need to move from being a car-centric city to really being people-centric.”
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She said LinkUS can help the city work towards its Vision Zero plan that seeks to get to zero serious and fatal crashes in Columbus by 2035. Additionally, she made sure to point out that the bus rapid transit projects coming to the area are about more than transportation, but that they will lead to economic development and other opportunities.
The West Broad project is currently going through environmental approval and design phases simultaneously, which are both slated for completion in 2024, based on a TRAC project information sheet. There are currently two other corridors in the planning stages — on East Main Street and Northwest. Read the LinkUS Community Action Plan here.
The public can comment on the TRAC draft list by emailing [email protected], until Feb. 23. TRAC will then vote on the final list at a Feb. 28 meeting.
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