Cross street transit and multimodal multi-level station and pedestrian-oriented interchange

Abstract

A cross street station and interchange for use at the intersection of a local traffic artery with significant pedestrian-oriented improvements and features that runs between but not through two communities and a primary traffic artery that divides two dissimilar communities. It uses a variable bi-level regional mass transit platform for ticketed passengers lowered from the upper level of the cross street station and interchange to the street level and provide a platform level with the regional mass transit vehicle floor and a ramp to the height elevation of the sidewalk to disembark arriving regional mass transit passengers and allow for the boarding of the new mass transit passengers. The cross street station and interchange includes in close proximity to this platform a metropolitan mass transit stop on the primary traffic artery and local community transit services stop on the local traffic artery that can also accommodate paratransit passengers.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]People are attracted to a local street (hereinafter referenced as a local traffic artery) that possess but two narrowed lanes of slow traffic, wide sidewalks, shade trees, landscape and hardscape improvements, and multi-story mixed-use and community destination buildings, with frequent storefront retail uses, arcades, awnings, and building entry areas that line the street to shelter and support large-scale pedestrian movements by responding to their needs. Such a pedestrian-oriented street will exhibit various landscape and hardscape improvements including decretive lighting, benches, seating areas, fountains, public art and similar improvements that are useful, comfortable and safe from a pedestrian's point of view so as to establish what is referred to as and “outdoor living room” urban environment. In this document, “pedestrian-oriented” is a term used to describe any structure or service that is useful, comfortable, and safe for pedestrians as we...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0093]Further, the regional mass transit vehicles frequently block vehicular entry into and exiting the community via the local traffic artery and with the cross street station and interchange create a frequent barrier between the regional mass transit passengers and vehicular traffic. As vehicular traffic on the local traffic artery reduces, pedestrian safety and mass transit use increases, more pedestrian and bicycle movements occur, and land values increase so as to support mixed-use building construction.

[0094]So as to focus all or substantially all crossings between the two communities at one location, the cross street station and interchange facilitates safe regional mass transit and metropolitan mass transit access on a primary traffic artery and provides for three ways to safely cross the primary traffic artery: the pedestrian-oriented shared-use bridge, the local community transit services, and the at-grade street crossing improvements through the traffic artery intersection.

[0095]The cross street station and interchange lobby, vertical transport structures and equipment to move transit passenger from the street level to the lobby, and the pedestrian-oriented shared-use bridge located at the traffic artery intersection act individually and collectively, with at-grade safe intersection crossing improvements and community transit vehicles, as a fulcrum to leverage large-scale pedestrian movements that gather at the plaza, move along the local traffic artery to, up over, and through the primary traffic artery for access to multimodal transportation opportunities as well as destinations in the adjoining community. Events at a plaza act as an application force that moves residents and visitors from one side of the primary traffic artery to the other. As community leverage is applied, opportunities for enhanced transit access occurs as more widely dispersed populations and visitors from both communities agg

Problems solved by technology

The nature and character of these pedestrian-oriented streets in the context of transit oriented development is well-known, but not often achieved due to complexities involved in establishing and maintaining so many environmental conditions within a system of interconnected pedestrian-oriented and transit-oriented improvements.

The laws of physics and human biological frailties indicate that when pedestrian and bicyclists come into direct physical contact with car and truck vehicles where the vehicular speeds are greater than 20 miles per hours, the consequences are often deadly for the pedestrian and bicyclists.

When car and truck speeds increase to 35 miles per hour and higher speeds, such contact is almost always deadly to the pedestrian and bicyclist.

Local traffic artery and community environments deadly or adverse to pedestrians and bicyclists due to higher vehicular speeds cannot be safe, attractive, and high quality environments regardless of any other pedestrian-oriented improvements that are made since even the threat o

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