---
title: "Local Transit"
url: "https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/local-streets/local-transit/"
id: "LOC-LTR-10"
description: "A Local Typology with a dedicated transit route, where transit is elevated above the rest of the Local base order."
updated: "2026-09-26"
---

# Local Transit

`LOC-LTR-10`

Recommended Local

Local Transit

A Local street carrying a fixed transit route, most often a local bus line, where transit priority is layered onto the base pedestrian and bicycle priority rather than replacing it.

Typical at: Suburban Compact Urban Core

Undeveloped and Rural are unlikely pairings, since Local Transit assumes a rider base a low-density area typically cannot support.

## Speed and modal hierarchy

Design speed & speed limit

\[SPEED LIMIT 20\]

Follows the Local default: 20 mph hard maximum, no exceptions. Transit priority in the modal hierarchy below does not change the vehicle speed cap.

See [Design Speed & Speed Limits](https://commonwaysystem.org/guide/design-speed.md).

Modal hierarchy

Transit > Pedestrian > Bicycle > Vehicle > Freight

This is an override of the Local base order, justified by the Typology's stated purpose: a designated transit route.

## Design notes

This entry is the Local-scale sibling of Collector Transit and Arterial Transit. All three follow the same override logic, moving Transit to the top of their respective base order once a route is designated, rather than treating transit priority as automatic on every street a bus happens to use.[1]

## Related patterns

[Collector Transit](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/collectors/collector-transit.md) (COL-CTR-05) and [Arterial Transit (BRT/LRT)](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/arterials/arterial-transit.md) (ART-ATR-04) (this pattern's siblings across Functional Classification, following the same override logic per this page's own Design notes)

## Getting there: Retrofit path options

[Parking-lane reallocation](https://commonwaysystem.org/retrofits/corridor/parking-lane-reallocation.md) (RFT-CDR-05), [Transit priority lane retrofit](https://commonwaysystem.org/retrofits/corridor/transit-priority-lane-retrofit.md) (RFT-CDR-06)

## References

1.  Precedent-based [NACTO, _Transit Street Design Guide_, 2016.](https://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/)