Dedicated Center Lane Planned for Madison Bus Rapid Transit

"Madison’s proposed $160 million Bus Rapid Transit system may run its special buses on dedicated center lanes with boarding stations on medians on some of the city’s main thoroughfares," reports Dean Mosiman from Wisconsin.

The center lane would only be built on some portions of the BRT route, according to Mosiman, wile other stretches would run on side lanes while mixing with car traffic. The dedicated center lanes, proposed for "Blair and Milwaukee streets and other stretches of East Washington Avenue on the East Side and on Whitney Way and Mineral Point Road on the West Side," would deliver more consistent service while also preserving bike lanes and street parking on those stretches, according to the article.

Back in March, the Madison City Council and the Greater Madison Area Metropolitan Planning Organization approved a preferred alternative route for the line, which will include 27 stations served by five- to 15-minute headways running from 5 am to midnight on weekdays, and 15- to 30-minute headways from 7 am to 11 pm on weekends.

"About 83,000 residents would live within a half-mile of stations, while about 110,000 jobs would be within that distance," according to Mosiman.

Madison Metro Transit planners are making refinements to the plan while waiting for approval for $107 million in federal money toward the total $160 million needed for the project.