Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES March 19, 2015 In attendance: Members Staff Guests Victor Harris Ryan Sass, Public Works None Tom Norcott Tim Miller, Public Works J.T. Dray Michael Brick, Public Works William Weber Ken Dorn, Police Shawn Smith Trevor Townsend, Police Kris Hausmann Mike Braley, Police George Baxter, Transit Paul Roberts, City Council liaison 8:20 a.m. Chair William Weber called the meeting to order.  M/S/P of January and February 2015 meeting minutes. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  Victor mentioned that he had been reviewing State documents which were laying the foundation for land-use transportation, titled “Transportation 2040.” He stated that Everett is only one part of this greater puzzle as outlined by the document, and he encouraged everyone to please review it in order to understand where Everett stands in the State’s greater overall objective.  Paul Roberts stated that law makers in Olympia are working to get transportation budgets and railway issues addressed when it comes to safety concerns. Tom Norcott stated that he was concerned about the railway transporting oil. Paul stated this was one of the areas of concern that law makers are hoping to address. Citizen’s Comments  None. Engineering Report  Ryan updated the committee on the Broadway Bridge project. He said we should expect some traffic to return; however, currently there isn’t any congestion and that there is plenty of traffic capacity on the detour route. Most of the demolition has been completed, and many of the drilled shaft foundations have been installed.  Victor commented on how the detour has made traffic a breeze. He posed the question of possibly turning Broadway into a 2-lane road and using extra lanes for bike routes, based on the easy flow of traffic as it currently stands. Ryan replied that Broadway usually has 35,000 trips daily. The construction has dropped away about 6,000 trips, but expects that number to return. He stated that Broadway is 5 lanes from 529 to 41st and doesn’t foresee travel demand supporting a reduction.   Jeffrey asked how much impact the Broadway Bridge construction was having on area businesses. Ryan stated that it was having some effect, as he had a district manager from QFC call to confirm that there was roadwork being done that might affect businesses. Ryan also stated that the contractor has a Business-Liaison person to help with those issues. Police Report  None.  Victor asked if Police had noted an increase in cars running on a single headlight. Sgt. Braley stated that they hadn’t notice an increase, but will stop people at night who are running with a light out. Transit Report  George briefed the committee about the upcoming service changes in August. He said that the changes were not substantial. Some of the changes may include restoring service on Thanksgiving and New Years to a Sunday level of service, with the possibility of modifying other holidays. Most of the changes are a result of examining low ridership trips and possibly eliminating them; however, this does not mean any routes are being eliminated, just the number of trips. It is also an opportunity to improve reliability for checkpoint times and published schedules.  George also talked about reducing the headway for trips on Route 7, going from 20 minutes intervals to 15 minutes. Route 7 is a high capacity, high demand route. In addition, Route 7 currently uses 60-foot articulated buses. These buses are going to be surplused and replaced with 40-foot low-floor buses, which are better for the disabled and the elderly.  George stated that Transit will be holding public meetings about the changes, though the level of service changes wouldn’t typically require it. These meetings will be held mid-April to the end of April for public comment.  George stated that he would bring to the April TAC meeting what the proposals are, in writing. He also stated that the new City website will eventually have the proposals as well. Transit’s website is an independent website linked to the City’s.  George informed the committee that the North operating base (California and Everett Ave) will be closed beginning in August, and that Transit will be reducing the number of buses in the fleet from 49 to 42. Tom asked how many buses were articulated. George responded that it was 5 buses, and that the replacement buses were already in the inventory.  There was some additional discussion about when bus drivers change their destination signs, based on ridership and safety concerns. Included in this was a discussion of timing multiple buses on a single route with ridership.  J.T. asked if Transit’s website was in-house. George replied that Transit has two people in- house working on it, and that Transit has control of the material that is posted (though such material still has to be approved through the proper channels). The website was constructed by the same company that does the City’s website. Some additional discussion came up about how trip planning was to be handled on from the website.  J.T. asked if the increased trips on Route 7 were really necessary for the Everett Mall area. He thought it would be more beneficial to restore trips to the Airport Road area instead of the mall. Agenda Items: Item 1: Residential Parking Permit Program Revision  Michael Brick continued his presentation from last month. He explained the current existing boundaries and contrasted it with the proposed new boundaries. These boundaries would allow the City to implement time limits in R-zoned areas that currently do not allow this. These proposals would exclude new developments in the B-3 zones. The proposal does not need Council approval, but he was looking for the TAC’s approval, to which he could then proceed with a public hearing.  In addition to the proposed Residential Parking Zones, Michael talked about changing how the Guest Parking process works. This type of change would require Council approval. He stated that currently the permits effectively are not used. One committee member felt that if the current Guest Parking program is not used or enforced, then the need of putting one into place was not necessary.  Additional conversation centered on taking measures that would bring incentives for people to take public transportation around the College areas. J.T. provided a copy of a news article from “The Clipper” detailing how the College may move the Library and other services across Broadway. It was also mentioned how convenience needs to be addressed as a rider taking Transit in that area, with possibly putting a bus stop at the college directly versus nearby.  Michael’s proposal of boundary changes was moved, seconded and approved. One member expressed opposition to the Guest Parking proposal. Meeting adjourned at 9:55 am The Next Scheduled Meeting is April 16, 2015