THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANSIT SKETCH PLANNING TOOL FOR THE GEORGIA REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY'S REGIONAL TRANSIT ACTION PLAN

In support of the Atlanta Regional Commission's Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and consistent with its mission to provide transportation choices to the citizens of Georgia, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) is developing a Regional Transit Action Plan that will establish priorities for regional transit investment and foster the development of design standards and guidelines to assure regional connectivity. One key element in the formulation of the Regional Transit Action Plan was the development of a Transit Sketch Planning (TSP) tool. The tool consists of three primary functions: data display, needs assessment analysis, and transit ridership analysis. The tool provides a mechanism to identify areas that are underserved by transit, where emerging potential for service exists, and evaluates and screens potential alternative alignments. The TSP tool enables planners to develop services for targeted markets with either walk or drive access. Service types and levels may be developed where the greatest propensity exists considering both the origin and destination of transit trips. The TSP tool identifies where transit needs are the greatest as defined by the planner/analyst. Specifically, transit need may be quantified by areas that are currently unserved or poorly served by the existing transit system, areas that exhibit sufficient densities or characteristics that could potential support new or expanded transit service, and environmental justice areas currently not receiving transit service. This paper describes the development and use of the TSP tool in the preparation of the Regional Transit Action Plan (RTAP) as well as its potential for application in other areas.