IMPROVING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO CUESTA COLLEGE

NEAR SAN LUIS OBISPO CA

Summary of work by Cal Poly Class CE 424, Fall 2008, about alternative transportation. Instructor Eugene Jud, Fellow Life ITE

TASK OF STUDENTS FOR EXHIBIT OF NOVEMBER 20, 2008

1. Goals and Objectives

Goal: Make a proposal for PUBLIC TRANSIT AND OTHER ALTERNATIVE MODES TO CUESTA COLLEGE. This must be done in an environmentally friendly way. The study will cover the years 2015 and year 2050 and will include Downtown SLO and Cal Poly.

Objective 1: The urgent problem of the overfilled buses must be addressed before the year 2010. Then we produce a CONCEPT 2015 with emphasis on a revised and possibly more flexible RTA operation but not excluding out of the box ideas.

Objective 2: Produce a rough VISION 2050 considering radical greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 90 percent (AB 32/ SB 375) and “peak oil” scenarios. This may include bus rapid transit (BRT), new forms of trolley buses, rail transit, and other modes.

Objective 3: SPECIAL PROJECT. It can be chosen by each group preferably based on their 2015 concept.

2. Main Deliverables for the Exhibit

2.1 On a poster explain your understanding of the task under Objective 1(2015) in one sentence.
2.2 On the same poster, list your goals (2) and objectives (4, preferably measurable).

2.3 On one or several posters document the surveys and data collection you have done.

2.4 Optional: show on a poster an example of base data given to you and your conclusions from them.

2.5 Make the following posters with clear titles for which year or combinations of years they are (2015, and 2050). This should include proposals for:

2.5.1 The general location for the bus stops at Cuesta College and changes along Route 12A. Main locations of remedial measures should be labeled.

2.5.2 You must circle at least seven intersections or other locations between Los Osos, Morro Bay and Downtown SLO where you see preferential treatment for public transit. Mention which type and add a sketch or several if possible.

2.5.3 Taking into account the greenhouse gas mandate of the Governor and a possible end of oil scenario for the year 2050, produce a poster with a vision of public transportation for the whole county 2050.

SUMMARY OF GROUP WORK

Here is a summary of the works of the five groups as well as some sketches by Eugene Jud about topics not covered by the students. It is also posted on www.ceenve.calpoly.edu/jud under Results of Main Courses, CE 424 Fall 08. The full documentation can be made available on a disk and is also posted on the server of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering accessible by students of this department.

Concerning regional bus route 12A, students documented that the route covering also Morro Bay and Los Osos is constantly late and needs to be sped up by all possible means. Concerning its bus stops at Cuesta College, students felt that only one bus stop is necessary and not the three existing ones which force bus line 12A to loop around the whole campus and lose considerable time as shown below.

Existing RTA Bus Route 12A around Cuesta College with three stops

The new and only bus stop should be easily drivable for the bus, in a prominent location, and reachable by pedestrians with minimal interference of cars.

Group 1

Group 1 presented basic data, and proposed locations for the bus stop in the western part of the campus including a scale model. The group also proposed ride sharing between San Luis Obispo and Cuesta College, with special parking lots at Foothill Boulevard and Santa Rosa Street in San Luis Obispo (Stenner Glen) and near the proposed bus stop on Cuesta College West (Cuesta College Road).

Group 2

Group 2 showed bus stops in or east of the horseshoe loop near the Administration Building and presented a long term vision 2050 of the corridor between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay including light rail. The group also proposed alternative bus routing in Los Osos and locations where the bus should receive preferential and faster treatment.

Long Term Vision 2050

Group 3

Group 3 measured the average delays at each bus stop, counted boarding and leaving passengers and proposed re-routing and preferential treatment for route 12A.

Group 4

Group 4 identified other locations for preferential treatment of the bus, proposed an online carpooling network for Cuesta College students, analyzed the locations where Cuesta College students live in detail and mentioned a master’s thesis about free bus passes to Hancock College in Santa Maria. Ideally, a free bus pass for all students of Cuesta College, Cal Poly and Hancock College covering San Luis Obispo County and Santa Maria should be created.

Intersections identified for preferential treatment.

Neighborhood Region Page

Group 5

Group 5 interviewed 50 people about their travel behavior (12 questions), proposed preferential treatment for the bus, rearranged the bus stops for 2009 at Cal Poly and showed a vision 2050 for dual-mode bus rapid transit in San Luis Obispo County.

Preferential Treatment for Route 12A

Cal Poly Bus Rerouting for the Year 2009

Eugene Jud

Eugene Jud showed Cuesta College bus stop alternatives on the northern Parking Lot 3. He designed his “Good Solution” between the existing bus shelter north and the “horseshoe loop”. It would be in a prominent location, where one sees directly into the campus center and can walk straight down to the Library. This location would have several operational and safety advantages.

He also pointed to the need to make access to the existing bus stop on Parking Lot 3 safer for pedestrians and gave a very long term vision of a bus stop closer to Campus in the middle of Parking Lot 3.