South Placer BRT Plan

Regional plans are being developed to augment Sacramento 's regional LRT system with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service. Suburban Placer County is developing a conceptual BRT plan for the rapidly urbanizing southern portion of the County, with a particular emphasis on land use and station needs.

Transit supportive land use development criteria were developed and current land use plans around potential station sites were evaluated against these criteria. Station sites with the greatest potential for transit supportive development were identified.

Each station area land use plan was then compared to several existing rail stations in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. The amount of transit patronage at these analogue stations was used to establish a range of potential ridership forecasts at each prospective station. Special transit generators such as colleges and universities were also considered in the analysis.

Finally, alignment options connecting the BRT stations with the highest ridership potential were identified and examined. GIS-based mapping was used to facilitate comparison between alternatives.

Conclusion: A high-performing BRT alignment was chosen and recommended for inclusion in local general plans.