Bus rapid transit is in the plans for enhancing transportation on the West Elizabeth Street Corridor. Recent government funding for a new transit center brings the plan one step closer to fruition.
The City of Fort Collins and Colorado State University’s ongoing efforts to enhance and improve transportation on West Elizabeth Street recently received some significant support from the federal government.
The City of Fort Collins received a $10.7 million RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for design and construction of the Foothills Transit Center on the west side of Fort Collins. U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse’s office announced the grant on June 22 for the Foothills Transit Center — located on CSU’s Foothills Campus — which will also tie into the future West Elizabeth Bus Rapid Transit project.
Also included in the project is a roundabout at Overland Trail and Elizabeth Street, which will facilitate traffic movements in the area and create a safer intersection for bicycles and pedestrians.
For the grant, CSU assisted through a match of land value, meaning CSU will allow its property to be used for the project, and the value of that land is used as an in-kind match for the USDOT grant.
According to the City of Fort Collins, the total cost for the Foothills Transit Center, including the roundabout, is estimated to be $12.9 million. In addition to the grant and CSU’s land match, the remaining money will come from other federal funds, Xcel’s Commercial EV program, and other local funds. Final design of the Foothills Transit Center will begin in 2023 and wrap up in 2024. Construction is expected to begin in 2025.
“This project is a huge collaboration with the city because our students are their No. 1 transit rider,” said CSU Alternative Transportation Manager Aaron Fodge.
West Elizabeth Bus Rapid Transit Design Project
Plans for the Foothills Transit Center.
Fodge explained that the RAISE grant is the latest development in the collaborative planning between CSU and the City of Fort Collins for the West Elizabeth Street Corridor.
The Foothills Transit Center will provide an anchor point for the $99 million West Elizabeth Bus Rapid Transit Design Project, which plans for bus rapid transit (BRT) from Mason Street and the CSU campus to Overland Drive via West Plum Street and West Elizabeth Street. MAX service along the Mason Corridor is an example of BRT service.
In addition to BRT service, the project includes a protected bike lane corridor along West Elizabeth Street, Fodge said, adding: “Protected bike lanes are really the next evolution of our bike systems here in Fort Collins.”
The next phase of the project involves working to secure funding through Small Starts, a capital investment grant program through the Federal Transit Administration. A Small Starts grant would provide significant funding to the rest of the project.
As part of this, in 2024 work will include the development of a project management plan, environmental clearances and mitigation, public outreach, vehicle procurement, construction bid documents and construction plans, according to the City of Fort Collins.
The West Elizabeth Street Corridor, which connects CSU’s Foothills Campus to its Main Campus, is one of the more densely populated areas in the city, home to a significant portion of CSU’s off-campus students. According to the City of Fort Collins, more than 24,000 residents and 20,000 jobs are along the corridor. This effort is a necessary step to advance the West Elizabeth project forward for possible FTA funding and future implementation.
‘A successful town-gown relationship’
The collaborative planning between CSU and the City of Fort Collins for the West Elizabeth Street Corridor goes back nearly a decade dating back to the West Central Area Plan. The plan, adopted in 2015, recommends connections to the MAX bus rapid transit system, bicycle and pedestrian enhancements and intersection safety.
“This is an excellent example of a successful town-gown relationship,” Fodge said. “When this project is done, we will have two bus rapid transit routes through our campus. That’s extremely rare. I don’t think you’ll find that at many other universities.”
“When this project is done, we will have two bus rapid transit routes through our campus. That’s extremely rare. I don’t think you’ll find that at many other universities.”
—CSU Alternative Transportation Manager Aaron Fodge
Fodge added that the Foothills Campus community played an essential role in securing the RAISE grant for the new transit center.
“They certainly made the case for this,” he said. “The classes, research and recreating happening on the campus: There is a lot of potential, we just need to start making some basic infrastructure investments out there.”
