A novel three-step evaluation process was used to select the final alignment, station locations, and construction method for the maryland mass transit administration's rail transit extension into northeast baltimore. During preliminary engineering of this subway line, known as section c, several station box locations for two stations, numerous route alignments, and two tunnel construction techniques resulted in 24 alternative designs for the extension. Over a dozen evaluation categories, many with multiple criteria, had to be addressed including cost, patron access, constructability, environmental andcommunity impacts, and joint development potential. A conventional evaluation matrix was not a practical nor appropriate means to select the best option. The evaluation procedure used had three steps--the first of which was a construction methodology evaluation conductedwithin a capital cost threshold established by a financing cap. Then, individual components that made up the alternatives, such as a station location, were evaluated to determine the best-to-worst ranking against the relevant criteria. The alternatives that included the most top-ranked components were then evaluated using a focused dislay matrix that included only those criteria that distinguished the remaining alternatives. This procedure, which was successful in identifying the plan for the extension now under construction, provides a practical means enabling engineers, architects, planners, operators, and policy makers to manage a large number of alternatives and evaluation criteria. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1266, Urban public transportation research 1990 .
Abstract