Sun Metro Debuts Brio Extended Buses, 1st Completed Station

Sun Metro officials unveiled eight of the brand new Brio articulated bus units last week which will be used for the Bus Rapid Transit System set to launch later this year.

A brand new Brio bus stops at the Glory Road RTS station near UTEP. The Mesa Street line should begin operation in late summer or early fall. (facebook.com/sunmetro)

The 60-foot buses include three doors, free WiFi, monitors, and interior bike racks. The Glory Road Brio station was also completed, the first in the Mesa Corridor line. Once live, Brio buses will arrive at stations every 10 minutes during peak hours.

Weekly Edition, Issue 35

The Weekly Edition, Issue 35 has arrived! Take a look at the newest issue of our Weekly Edition, by clicking HERE. (Note: The newsletter will open in PDF format.)

In this edition:

• Montecillo Makes Big Moves: Project Readies for Town Center, Westward Expansion
• City Working on Palisades Canyon Trailhead Design
• Ballpark Traffic Study Findings to be Released: Construction on Stadium Continues at Steady Pace
• NewsBits by El Paso DevWire

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UTEP Updates: RTS, Kerbey Projects Add to Construction

Two City projects are adding to the current construction taking place in the vicinity of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) campus. A mass transit project and a traffic calming project will affect areas around UTEP, according to the school’s On the Move website (www.onthemove.utep.edu).

Ground was broken earlier this year on the Mesa Bus Rapid Transit System (RTS) corridor, and crews are now working on constructing the platform that will serve as the Glory Road RTS station. The station will sit across the street from the Glory Road Transfer Center and Parking Garage.

A Brio RTS station will be built at the Glory Road Transfer Center. (Rendering: sunmetro.net)

The City’s Brio RTS line will run from the Downtown Transfer Center to the West Side Transfer Center and will make a stop at UTEP. This is the first of four corridors that are planned for the RTS line. The others are Alameda Avenue, Montana Avenue, and Dyer Street.

The second project involves Kerbey Avenue to the east of the UTEP campus in the residential area. The City will be installing roundabouts at three intersections as traffic calming measures at Florence Street, Saint Vrain Street, and Blanchard Avenue.

Rendering of what Wiggins Plaza will look like once complete.

Crews will also re-stripe the street as part of the project. Construction on the roundabout project should begin this month and be completed in 45 days.

Bus RTS Line Set to Open Next Year

Contract Awarded for Mesa RTS Corridor

El Paso’s first bus Rapid Transit System (RTS) line could be up and running in just over a year. That’s according to a presentation given to the El Paso City Council at its April 9, 2013 meeting as part of a vote to award the contract for the project.

The Mesa Corridor route will stretch from downtown El Paso to the city’s west side.

Sun Metro’s Brio RTS system will first run along Mesa Street and stretch from the Downtown Transfer Center to the Westside Transfer Center on Remcon Circle. Twenty-two RTS stations will be located along the route.

The line will use uniquely branded 60-foot articulated buses which stop less frequently than normal bus routes. Special branded and landscaped stations will distinguish the line from regular city buses. Station amenities part of the construction include canopy lighting, raised platforms, wind and sun screens on shelters, pre-paid automatic ticket vending, benches/leaning rails, bike racks, trash cans, and wayfinding pylons.

The City has awarded the $9.8 million contract to Martinez Bros. Contractors, LLC of El Paso. Funding comes from a mix of sources which include 2011 Certificates of Obligation, federal funding, and the Texas Department of Transportation Mobility Plan.

Three additional lines are planned. Alameda Avenue should begin shortly after the Mesa route, with Dyer Street following in 2015. Montana Avenue is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Construction on the Mesa corridor route is scheduled to begin in June of this year with service beginning in July of 2014.

The City Council agenda item can be found at http://goo.gl/31k8v.

Walmart Plans Store for Central El Paso Neighborhood

Chel-Mont Chico's Tacos May Be Demolished to Make Room

Walmart is eyeing the corner of Montana Avenue and Chelsea Street in central El Paso for a new Neighborhood Market location, but it may have to overcome a rezoning hurdle in order to construct the new grocery store. And construction could mean the razing of a Chico's Tacos location. 

Walmart would like to build a 35,500sf Neighborhood Market
at the corner of Chelsea Street and Montana Avenue.

The retail giant has planned a 35,500 square foot store that would squeeze into a narrow 3.1 acre lot in the Chel-Mont area and has submitted a rezoning application to the City Plan Commission that would allow construction. Under the current plan, the building would be located on the northern side of the property with a parking lot facing Montana Avenue.

Brio, City's Bus Rapid Transit, Coming Soon

The City of El Paso's upcoming "like rail" bus rapid transit (BRT) system is nearing reality as planning for the Mesa Corridor is scheduled for completion by August 8, 2012. The Mass Transit Board received an update at its July meeting indicating that all the transit stops along Mesa have been finalized with station design also finished. Public art displayed at the stations is still pending approval. Residents will come to know the El Paso BRT as "Brio"

According to the Sun Metro website, typical RTS elements include:
· Frequent service (10 to 15 minute frequency)
· Less frequent stops (locations of stops about one mile apart)
· Branded vehicles and stations (uniquely painted buses and stations to easily identify service)
· Amenities at stops (such as real-time bus schedules)
· Signal prioritization (buses will have ability to shorten red or lengthen green traffic signals)
· Fare prepayment (save time by paying for your fare before boarding)
· Local bus feeder network (circulators take passengers to RTS stops faster to reduce overall travel time)

Conceptual image of a Mesa Corridor Brio Station.

The Brio Mesa Corridor will span 8.4 miles with 13 proposed stations with construction beginning in February of 2013. All stations along the corridor will measure 65 feet in length with protective canopies varying in size. Lighting and shade trees are part of the landscape plans for all stations. Stations and buses will also include free Wi-Fi. The route could be completed by January of 2014.

Proposed public art details for the Alameda Corridor Brio Stations.

The next Brio route in the planning stages is the Alameda Corridor which will span a much longer 15.4 miles upon completion. With 17 planned stations, this route could go to construction in April of 2013 and be completed in one year.

Two additional routes are in the initial planning stages, the Dyer Corridor and the Montana Corridor. Dyer will span 11.7 miles and have 12 stations with construction tentatively completed by September of 2015. Montana will be the longest corridor at 18.4 miles long and have 18 proposed stations. That corridor could be complete by September of 2016.

RTS buses are typically longer to allow for more passenger space

The logo and branding campaign for the Brio Rapid Transit System has not yet been finalized.

Mass Transit Board agenda: http://home.elpasotexas.gov/sunmetro/transit_agenda.asp
Sun Metro RTS page: http://home.elpasotexas.gov/sunmetro/rts.html

Northpark Transit Project May Receive $15.2 Million

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, has recommended that $15.2 Million be included in the federal budget to support the City's Rapid Transit System's (RTS) Northeast corridor, according to the El Paso Times. This would include designing the transit-oriented development at the old Northpark Mall location, which is currently being demolished. The entire corridor would stretch from downtown, through Central El Paso, and continue on Dyer with its terminus at the Northpark development.

The Plan El Paso draft proposes a mixed-use development at the Northpark site, which would include apartments, condos, and row houses, a community center, parks, retail sites including parking structures lined with storefronts, and two transit stops, one for regular Sun Metro service and one for the Rapid Transit System. Planning is still in the very early stages.

The new federal budget has not been approved.

Original El Paso Times story*: http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_19967038

*Please note: El Paso Times online articles are available for a limited amount of time.