Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES October 16, 2014 In attendance: Members Staff Guests Edward Koltonowski Tim Miller, Public Works Keri Moore (Sno Health District) Kris Hausmann Jeffrey Marks, Public Works J.T. Dray Ryan Sass, Public Works William Weber Michael Brick, Public Works Victor Harris Corey Hert, Public Works Sabina Popa, Transit Kim Williams, Transit 8:15 a.m. Victor Harris called the meeting to order. He stated that Paul Roberts had a conflict and would not be in attendance. Shawn Smith and Tom Norcott were also excused.  M/S/P approving the September 2014 meeting minutes occurred upon Edward Koltonowski’s entrance. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  J.T. requested, based on an email exchange with Victor, that the implementation of Robert’s Rules of Order be discussed as a group before being implemented. There was some discussion about the purpose and benefit of the proposed implementation. Citizen’s Comments  None. Engineering Report  Ryan Sass stated that the construction contract for the Broadway Bridge has been signed by the contractor. The City will be meeting with the contractor in a couple weeks to set timelines, with detour work likely to begin mid-November with demolition anticipated in January.  Ryan announced that the season’s pavement overlay project is now complete – just in time for the change in weather.  Tim Miller announced that the City has selected a consulting firm to help with updating the transportation element to the Comprehensive Plan. The consultant, Fehr & Peers, has a history of successfully completing this type of work. They recently developed the new transportation model for Snohomish County which will enable them to efficiently produce the needed analyses for the Everett Transportation Element update. Police Report  None. Transit Report  Sabina Popa updated the committee on a timeline for the year and into the start of 2015. She stated there will be a peer review in December, where other transit agencies will look at Everett’s system, operations, management, finances, Everett Station, paratransit, etc. Transit is doing this in the hope to avoid hiring a consultant.  J.T. Dray stated that he and others outside of TAC he has spoken with feel that the choice of a peer review by other transit agencies would not necessarily be impartial or objective. He contrasted the proposed peer review model to the consultants hired to study the police and fire departments.  Sabina reported that in 2015, Transit will work to balance the budget in light of revised labor contracts with the ATU. She stated there will be a plan to go to Council to increase fares in July, with some additional service cuts in August. Transit will begin public outreach in March and run through May before taking these changes to the Council for a vote.  Sabina briefly mentioned the Stuff-a-Bus campaign this year at Fred Meyer on 132nd. Food and toys stuffed on a bus will be donated to the Volunteers of America.  J.T. expressed concern that in two rare cases, he had to wait for buses that never showed up. When he called the ETA number, the recorded message said the buses would arrive in “5 to 10 minutes” yet they didn’t show. He felt this failure of the system demonstrated a breakdown in the system’s viability and should be reconsidered or reviewed to address the system’s design and how it operates. Some discussion ensued about exceptional route changes, such as marathons and breakdowns, etc., and how that affects the ETA system, and how Transit addresses these route changes when they are known ahead-of-time. Sabina expressed that the ETA system, like any new software, will evolve and that various initial glitches will be addressed.  Victor Harris suggested that re-routing of buses due to planned events should be posted at the affected stops. He also stated that ETA giving wrong information in these cases is not helpful. He did also note that adoption of new technology such as ETA, while exciting, is often problematic while the bugs are worked out, and that is simply part of the process. Agenda Items: Item 1: Broadway Bridge Time-lapse Video  Corey Hert explained that the Broadway Bridge contractor will begin setting up the detour routes in November. In the meantime, traffic cameras have been set up to monitor the areas as the project moves forward, to determine if timing changes to the signals will need to be done to help assist the flow of traffic. He showed example views from traffic flow cameras at Broadway & Everett, Broadway & Hewitt, and Hewitt & Cedar. Additionally, a fourth camera that views the bridge and will record construction activity is located on a street light pole west of the Hewitt bridge. Taking a shot of the scene every 30 seconds, the camera will create a time-lapse video to demonstrate the progress of the bridge’s construction. A demo video was played to show how the time-lapse video would look. Item 2: Sign Inventory Retroreflectivity Survey Results  Corey Hert explained the Federal Highway Administration requires us to adopt a plan to ensure adequate warning and regulatory sign retroreflectivity. As detailed in last month’s TAC presentation a visual nighttime inspection program was initiated. This was begun September  15th-17th for the north half of the city (north of 41st/Mukilteo). The inspection revealed that 1,080 signs need to be replaced, with an estimated cost of materials being $74,175. Sign replacements will begin using existing staff to install replacement signs beginning the first of the 2015 budget year. He said there were about 580 regulatory signs and 500 warning signs that needed changing. The most common signs needing replacement are: o Stop – 183 o Speed Limit – 102 o Pedestrian Crossing – 75 o Dead End – 39 o Vegetation needing to be trimmed – 22  Corey stated that south Everett will be inspected during the Spring/Summer seasons. Item 3: Proposed Speed Limit Revision – Lowell Snohomish River Road  Tim Miller presented the possible case for changing the speed limit along the Lowell Snohomish River Road. The issue was raised when it was found the Entering Everett and speed limit 30 signs were not located at the current city limits. When the signs were moved to the correct location (approx. 0.4 miles further SE) comments were received from the public that the speed limit was too low in that section. The County portion of the road is posted with a 45 speed limit, but their portion of the roadway has a better alignment and has 6’ wide shoulders. Within Everett, the road speed limit is posted at 30 and it has limited, intermittent shoulders. Tim reported traffic studies show the 85th percentile speed near the old city limits was 48 mph. Bill Weber showed photos of the sight distance for vehicles entering the road from the park driveway and the boat launch exit. Discussion ensued about the use of the route by bicyclists. Bill was concerned about raising the speed limit in the park vicinity. A video of the route and the width of shoulders was shown for context. Tim reported the route in question had a lower crash incidence than comparable sections. It was decided to conduct further speed studies and gather bicycle use data before asking the committee to recommend changing the speed limit. Edward Koltonowski suggested installing a radar speed feedback sign near the park to help reduce speeds there. Tim indicated it may be possible to have a graduated speed limit change in stages with the 30 being retained from the boat launch exit westward. It was stated this issue will be brought back to the TAC for consideration in the future once more information was in hand. Item 4: Service Parking Permit Program  Michael Brick gave a presentation outlining the issues with the re-parking ordinance in the CBD for those who are providing services within the area (such as UPS, couriers, plumbers, etc.). For instance, a courier without a Service Parking Permit making multiple stops in the CBD may be cited for re-parking violation. Michael also discussed information showing abuse of the Service Parking Permits appears to be widespread. The number of permits issued has jumped 30% this year alone. Construction employees appear to be a major factor. Permits have been issued to small cars which were listed as being construction vehicles. Michael presented a list of options for the Service Parking Permit program, such as keeping it as is, abolishing it (not a viable option), or issuing separate Repark and Time Exemptions. He also expressed the possibility of permit issuance as being re-directed from the City Clerk’s office to the Public Works permit desk. This has yet to be fully discussed and finalized. Kris Hausmann felt that the City could meet with merchants in the CBD to get their input on what is needed so that  customers are not penalized. Ryan commented that the program was never intended to cover contractor or employee parking. Edward added that the problem would be alleviated if pay to park were implemented. Additional discussion with the City Clerk’s office will be undertaken. The issue will be brought back to TAC for consideration at a future time. Item 5: Transit System Comments  Comments about the transit system were not brought forward, in lieu of discussion regarding the implementation of Robert’s Rules of Order. Victor felt that since J.T. was hoping to bring a resolution for the committee to consider regarding Transit (which would then either go to the Mayor or City Council), the implementation of Robert’s Rules would be beneficial. J.T. stated that the implementation of Robert’s Rules without a discussion from the committee for its adoption was not necessarily appropriate. J.T. also wondered if Robert’s Rules were implemented, would the rules apply to the entire meeting, or just certain topics? Some discussion ensued regarding how meetings are conducted, in terms of presentation, without a final resolution as to what approach to take. Meeting adjourned at 9:46 am The Next Scheduled Meeting is Thursday November 20, 2014.