Glossary

Bus Rapid Transit

BRT is an enhanced bus system mode with a moderate level of capacity that operates on bus lanes or other transit ways in order to combine the flexibility of buses with the efficiency of rail. By doing so, BRT operates at faster speeds, provides greater service reliability and increased customer convenience. It also utilizes a combination of advanced technologies, infrastructure and operational investments that provide significantly better service than traditional bus service.

Charrette

During the study the project team will be using a variety of methods and approaches to gather input and engage the public, including conducting a “charrette”. A charrette is a French word that translates as “little cart.” At the leading architecture school of the 19th century, the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, students would be assigned a tough design problem to work out under pressure of time. They would continue sketching as fast as they could, even as little carts -charrettes- carried their drawing boards away to be judged and graded. Today, “charrette” has come to describe a rapid, intensive, and creative work session in which a design team focuses on a particular design problem and arrives at a collaborative solution.

Complete Streets

Complete Streets are streets for everyone. They are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and public transportation users of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across a complete street. Complete Streets make it easy to cross the street, walk to shops, and bicycle to work. They allow buses to run on time and make it safe for people to walk to and from train stations.

Light Rail Transit

A transit mode that typically is an electric railway with a moderate to high level of capacity. It is typically characterized by passenger rail cars operating in short, usually two or three car trains, on fixed rails in shared or exclusive right-of-way. Vehicle power is drawn from an overhead electric line.

Streetcar

A transit mode that typically is an electric railway with a moderate level of capacity. It is characterized by single passenger rail cars operating, typically in mixed traffic lanes.