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Park Street to get transit signal priority under MTC BusAid quick-build project
Summary
AC Transit and consultant Kimley-Horn outlined a Bus Accelerated Infrastructure Delivery (Bus Aid) project to extend transit-signal priority and wireless interconnect on Park Street (Blanding to Otis), upgrade controllers, and run a before/after evaluation; construction is planned for spring with traffic maintained.
AC Transit staff and consultant Kimley-Horn presented the Park Street transit-signal-priority (TSP) and signal optimization project at the Feb. 12 ILC, describing equipment upgrades, wireless interconnect and a pre/post evaluation intended to speed buses and improve reliability along the corridor.
Ryan Gold of Kimley-Horn explained that the project will extend existing TSP (currently between Landing and Central Avenue) all the way to Otis, add wireless interconnect so signals can coordinate, and upgrade controllers and wiring at older intersections such as Park Street and San Jose. The project is funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's Bus Accelerated Infrastructure Delivery (Bus Aid) program.
Gold described how TSP works: "As the transit vehicle approaches the signalized intersection, that equipment will make a request for additional green time to the intersection, using GPS and radio technology," and the controller will grant additional green time only when it is available by borrowing unused movement time.
AC Transit's Will Bullard said the improvements should improve transit reliability, reduce unnecessary stops, and decrease corridor-wide congestion while minimizing impacts to other modes. He noted previous work (Line 51) yielded an average 28% decrease in travel times on Webster in the commute direction and that consultants will conduct a before-and-after study after traffic has normalized; consultants estimated a roughly one- to three-month evaluation period following construction.
On construction impacts, Ryan Gold said the project expects half-day lane closures for overhead work, most construction will occur during weekdays outside peak hours per city permits (roughly 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.), traffic will be maintained, and accessible pedestrian detours will be provided where sidewalks are closed. Bus-stop relocations, temporary no-parking rules and rider alerts are planned; AC Transit will publish notifications on its website and via rider-alert subscriptions.
Construction is anticipated to begin in the spring with the most active work concentrated in about a month and with project closeout and TSP activation later in 2026. AC Transit and the city will post project materials and fact sheets on actransit.org/park-street-project in English, Spanish and Chinese and will provide ongoing updates to officials and the public.
Next steps: public materials and rider notices will be published, bidding for construction will proceed and AC Transit will perform the promised baseline and post-implementation evaluations.
