Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES September 19, 2013 In attendance: Members Staff Guests Edward Koltonowski Tim Miller, Public Works None Robert Strickland Ken Dorn, Everett Police J.T. Dray Bruce Bosman, Everett Police Victor Harris George Baxter, Everett Transit William Weber Jeffrey Marks, Public Works Paul Roberts Kris Hausmann Tom Norcott 8:20 a.m. Edward Koltonowski called the meeting to order, and mentioned that both Shawn Smith and Ryan Sass were going to be absent.  M/S/P approving August 2013 meeting minutes. George Baxter wanted to clarify that service growth as listed in the August minutes should be at 1% and not 2%. He also wanted to clarify a concern that Victor had regarding a bus schedule sign at the stop of Pacific and Wetmore. He stated that the bus stop was a SWIFT platform and not an Everett platform. Victor stated that it looked like the sign is now working. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  J.T. wished to re-iterate his concern that the time to review the Transit Development Plan was too short at only three days before being passed on to City Council. He would like this to be given some consideration for the future when the TDP is considered. George later expressed that part of the reason for the short notice was due to the fact that there hadn’t been a TAC meeting in July. Edward agreed that this should be addressed for future TDP releases.  Victor wished to re-iterate a call for appropriate signage on W Marine View Drive. He said the overhead street signage is poorly visible, especially at night, and is inconsistent with the signage of the downtown core. Citizen’s Comments  None. Engineering Report  Tim Miller reported that BNSF and the City have wrapped up contractual language for the agreement in working on the Broadway Bridge replacement project. It now falls to the Mayor and City Council to accept it. He stated that the start date for the work is projected to be the first quarter of 2014.  Victor asked if the bridge design was complete. Tim reported that, yes, the design work had been complete, and that Ryan had mentioned he would present to TAC the design and detour routes to give an overview of the project. Police Report  Tim asked about school zone enforcement, now that classes have begun again for public schools. Sgt. Dorn reported that the schools are visited on a rotating basis, depending on availability. The biggest focus, he said, was Horizon Elementary, due to the Safe Streets grant. He mentioned schools are patrolled and that some officers work in an off-duty capacity for the schools.  Tom asked about citations for motorists who go around buses while they are stopped. Sgt. Dorn reported that bus drivers can write a report and send it to Sgt. Irving. A follow-up phone call would then be made to the violator, but it would most likely be an educational contact. He stated that infractions cannot be issued without being witnessed by an officer. He stated that when manpower is available, the police do watch for such violations. He also stated that a video of such violation is not enough to cite. Some discussion occurred about vacancies in the police department and how they are being filled.  Victor also expressed concern for buses loading students who are in wheelchairs. He stated how long the wait is; that it was cumbersome and overbearing to stop traffic. Sgt. Dorn stated that, according to the RCW, all traffic has to stop. Only if there is a middle lane (or median) does oncoming traffic not need to stop. Transit Report  George handed out a graph showing boarding counts. He stated that fixed routes have stabilized, though ridership is lower than last year. Para transit fluctuates due to the time of the year.  George talked briefly about boardings with other agencies. He said we are seeing boardings along Evergreen way going to SWIFT, but that it wasn’t a significant amount. These boardings would not account for the 2012/2013 drop in ridership. But he did state that SWIFT continues to grow, way ahead of their projections, and that analysis shows this growth is due to new riders.  Paul said that he was having a hard time understanding the nuances of the numbers George reported for ridership, especially between Everett Transit and SWIFT. He stated that, from his perspective, it’s important to note that we are not a “walled” community and that integration between agencies is critical, and that this integration would be better served through the transit agencies themselves versus the legislature. George replied that he would email the back-up data for the numbers, and the numbers simply represented boardings. He also stated that Sound Transit is making improvements for connecting buses, and that they are re-aligning platforms at Everett Station to accommodate such changes. Some discussion ensued about how boardings were being counted for people keeping their ridership within City limits versus those who were more of a business commuter leaving the City. There was further discussion about other agencies (such as Island Transit and Skagit Transit) and where they have stops within the Everett service area.  Some discussion ensued regarding Community Transit introducing SWIFT from the Boeing plant to south Everett. George said SWIFT was looking at stops near 132nd, which is technically outside of City limits. Paul concurred that CT is looking at BRT system for Boeing connections. There is also a Lynnwood link being worked on, with a projected finish in 2023. If capital is there, BRT’s can be placed.   Victor asked if Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority would be overseeing the integration between various transit agencies. Paul said that each agency is independent, but do work well together. He did point out that each agency has a different mission in an era of declining revenue. Best plans unfortunately do not work when not funded.  George touched on the issue of when new public schedules could be released, using the latest publication for reference. He stated that Transit has pros and cons about the timing of release dates. He stated staff is checking with other agencies on how they do it. In addition, there is a challenge of making policy for putting up schedule holders at bus stops. With over 600 bus stops, which ones are best suited for putting up the holders? He may come back to TAC for input.  George stated that Transit is now in Phase II of SmartBus (NextBus info). This will allow a customer to use their smartphone to determine when the next bus will arrive at a location. Transit has received a grant to redo bus stop signs to help people make these calls, and hopes to have the program up and running by spring 2014. Written information will also need to be disseminated.  J.T. hoped that the new Transit signs would be similar to Metro’s, or at least have the same type of impact. George will present the information at a future TAC transit report.  Victor asked about numbering bus stops using a GPS system. George stated that Transit will use numbers already assigned, and that Everett Transit and Community Transit will use identical bus stop numbers for the platforms they share.  J.T. shared that he would like a forum available to address Everett Transit specifically, versus talking about all other transit agencies. Agenda Item: Traffic Flow Camera Live Feed Instituted at Broadway & Hewitt (Tim Miller)  A live-feed traffic camera has been installed at Broadway & Hewitt, in advance of the Broadway Bridge replacement. The camera can look in all four directions, with zoom capability, and will be used to observe and respond to traffic incidents and backups. Example recorded video was presented showing these capabilities.  Currently the video feed is delivered via special telemetry equipment that is able to compress the video signal and transmit over existing copper interconnect cable. This is a short term solution, with conversion to fiber optic cable feed planned in the future. Meeting adjourned at 9:45am The Next Scheduled Meeting is Thursday October 17.