Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES January 19, 2017 In attendance: Members Staff Guests T.J. Fournier Corey Hert, Public Works Keri Moore, Snohomish Health Dist. J.T. Dray George Baxter, Transit David Simpson William Weber Jeffrey Marks, Public Works Joe Kunzler Robert Strickland Ken Dorn, Police Victor Harris John Zeka, Police Christina Curtis Sabina Popa, Transit Tyler Rourke Tom Hingson, Transit Richard Smith Paul Kaftanski, Administration Paul Roberts, City Council 8:05 a.m. T.J. Fournier called the meeting to order.  M/S/P for November 2016 minutes.  Introductions to Christina Curtis, Richard Smith, and Tyler Rourke – new TAC members – were made. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  J.T. mentioned to the new TAC members the visit by Dongho Chang of Seattle in November. He encouraged them to look at the presentation Dongho submitted.  Victor asked for some research and clarification regarding a future expansion of the trestle leading to Highway 2. Specifically, considerations of a new span have been offered. He wanted to know how that would help the traffic problems, considering the traffic volume.  J.T. requested a future agenda item related to funding for enterprises with the PSRC. He also requested Paul Roberts to perhaps present how the PSRC operates.  Victor requested an agenda item on an updated bicycle plan. Citizen’s Comments  None. Engineering Report  Nothing to report.  J.T. asked if the City had any plans yet for the future regarding the possibility of flying cars. Google has shown interest in this area. Corey replied that the City is aware of future predictions, but it is not in the present scope of traffic engineering plans. Police Report  Sgt. Zeka announced the reading of a taxi ordinance for next week. Tyler asked about the ordinance and its application for companies like Uber. Sgt. Zeka stated that the ordinance did not cover companies who used Apps for scheduling; but it is an attempt to help level the playing field.  Sgt. Zeka also mentioned “No Parking” signs have gone up near the Mission to help curb transients and overnight camping in the area.  Sgt. Zeka also spoke about helping to direct traffic near the Popeye’s Chicken restaurant.  J.T. asked about the homeless condition in the south end of the City. Sgt. Zeka explained that it was mainly parked vehicles acting as campers in certain areas. Transit Report  George reported that Transit was moving forward with purchasing for four electric buses from Proterra. It is an 18 month contract, with delivery hopefully this year. These buses are a slow-charge overnight bus, yet they go for 300 miles on a single charge. The purchase is through a federally funded grant. The buses are 40 feet long. Some discussion ensued on how many hours a bus shift is and the average mileage per shift.  George announced that three new paratransit vans have arrived. He stated there has been good feedback from riders. These models are smaller than previous versions, and are cheaper to buy and operate. A bid contract is going to Council to bid for up to four more, with the hope of receiving new vans by the end of the year.  George stated that Transit has completed negotiations with the Transit union.  George also reported that the annual service change dates will be changing and the major annual service change will move from August to September, which will put ET in-line with all the other regional transit agencies.  It was reported that Transit is ready to bid for a multi-year shelter procurement contract. The bid will include an initial procurement of 20 new shelters to replace the green/brown shelters throughout the system. The bid will also allow Transit to purchase additional shelters throughout the life of the contract. Transit’s current shelter procurement contract has expired.  George reported that the North Broadway Transit Improvement project is underway. Transit will be installing 26 stops between 34th Street and Tower. The shelters for this project are separate from those in the procurement item (listed above). George stated the design is currently at 30%. The desire is to have the project completed by end of the year, with construction hopefully to begin June/July. J.T. encouraged putting schedules up ASAP to help with the process. Sabina Popa discussed the amenities at the bus stops, including lighting at the stops and artistic aesthetics. Timetables will be posted at stops along the way. There was some additional discussion about placing schedules timely, with some comparisons made to Seattle Metro and CT. Victor questioned the value of putting schedules at every single stop, due to economic reasons; also with weather and other traffic, estimated arrival times may change.  There was also discussion about the ETA program. J.T. suggested that it could be perceived as a supplement to the schedule. He stated that if ET can spend a good ton of money of  putting together long-range plans, they should be able to spend money on putting schedules on the poles to help riders.  Sabina explained how timetables are produced and disseminated via maintenance crews. It is not a fast process. Robert asked if there was an app to download for the schedules. Sabina replied “No,” but the website is mobile friendly, which can help in that area. Also, the One- Bus Away app is also useful.  It was announced that Boeing may be doing away with staggered shift time. ET is trying to ascertain the impacts of that change. Sabina is in talks with a coordinator at Boeing.  George reported the success of providing holiday service. He stated there was not a lot of ridership on Christmas and New Year’s day, but riders were happy. Transit also partnered with Lombardi’s to shuttle homeless people to the location for free meals. Agenda Items: Item 1: Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons & Intersection Lighting Safety Project  Corey Hert led this informational briefing where he discussed the following: o Signal poles coming in for the 41st Street Freight Mobility project o The 2012 City Safety Program  Purpose is to reduce fatal and serious collisions  Everett being awarded $1.6M for 3 projects o Pacific Ave and Broadway safety improvements  Curb ramps, push buttons, and flashing yellow arrow at Broadway and 33 rd.  Striping improvements on Pacific  Improved lighting at 18 intersections. o 2016 Safety Grant Applications  Everett citywide innovative safety  Pacific to the Interurban bike trail safety project.  There were questions about the Safe Streets program. This was tabled until Ryan and Tim Miller return.  Keri Moore, Snohomish Health District, spoke briefly about the “Complete Streets Ordinance” plan and encouraged the City to adopt it, if it hadn’t already done so. Item 2: Update on ET Long Range Plan – Sabina Popa  Sabina distributed a timeline showing the process of how the long range plan was to be rolled out. ET is working with Fehr & Peers, a consulting firm that is very knowledgeable of our system, geography, etc. They also helped produce the 2016 update to the City’s Transportation element to the Comprehensive Plan. They have started the process of how to mesh the LRT with the City’s Comprehensive plan which has a 20 year planning horizon.  There will be some restructuring how ET and CT work with Boeing, especially with the Seaway Transit Center being built. Also, development trends on the Riverfront, Waterfront,  and the University areas will likely require servicing those areas and accommodating future needs.  Sabina offered some background on Fehr & Peers, and how they have worked with other transit agencies in the past.  Sabina walked through the points listed on the handout (see below), and explained how the timeline will be handled. It was noted that this is a “living document” and will change in coordination with actual growth of the region, as well as what other transit agencies produce, including light rail, for coordinating service.  J.T. hoped that Tom Hingson will return to TAC to further discuss Transit, and how to address Everett Station being at capacity.  J.T. expressed concern that the 20 year plan was more of a political document, as it relates to Council and City officials, as they control funding. He also requested to see some of Fehr & Peers previous projects with other agencies. He expressed concern that the TAC committee will not have much input into this 20 year planning process.  Some discussion ensued about how service will be handled at the Seaway station once it’s complete, in addition to how Boeing shift changes will affect the area.  George stated that this long range plan is not an operational plan; it doesn’t list routes and schedules. The plan is intended to give direction to Everett Transit and the City on how to meet the anticipated growing demand for transit service in Everett and the region. Meeting adjourned at 9:30. Next Scheduled Meeting: February 16, 2017