The Growler conducted an interesting analysis yesterday.We've been told in the course of the Ad Hoc Transportation Task Force deliberations that bus rapid transit (BRT) works best in dedicated lanes.
If you remember, the original draft of the Braddock Road Metro Plan showed BRT with and without dedicated lanes. That graphic was later excised but it is reasonable to assume that the City would want to remove parking and dedicate lanes in order to avoid a huge impact on the already congested highway.
Well, the Growler counted up the potential loss of parking spaces to our neighborhood, where many residents have no off-street parking and the supply of spaces is already constrained. Since buses are built to allow passengers to alight and descend on the right side (as one looks straight ahead from inside the bus), the Growler checked the spaces on the west of N. Henry Street from the 200 to 900 blocks and the east side of N. Patrick Street from the 200 to the 800 block (where on-street parking ends).
And it looks like Parker-Gray and the Braddock Metro area stand to lose approximately 200 parking spaces if a lane of each street is dedicated to BRT.
Of course these numbers are subject to more formal validation, but the Growler invites pedestrians or dog walkers to take the walk and help refine the counts.
E-mail the Growler (link on the right) if you would like a copy of the spreadsheet with the block-by-block analysis.
