Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES June 15, 2017 In attendance: Members Staff Guests T.J. Fournier Tim Miller, Public Works None J.T. Dray Jeffrey Marks, Public Works William Weber George Baxter, Transit Victor Harris Paul Roberts, City Council Christina Curtis Paul Kaftanski, Administration Richard Smith Ryan Sass, Public Works Robert Strickland Sabina Popa, Transit Tyler Rourke Ken Dorn, Police John Zeka, Police 8:04 a.m. T.J. Fournier called the meeting to order.  M/S/P for May 2017 minutes Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  T.J. made a short announcement that most schools will be out next week, so be mindful of kids out on the streets over the summer.  Victor questioned the downtown reparking ordinance, especially relating to business owners and employees. Additional discussion ensued about parking in the downtown core, whether the time has come to implement pay-to-park, and ensure the Metro Everett planning efforts are consistent with the Comprehensive plan. Christina mentioned that the County has a 6 month waiting list for new employees before they can park in the County parking garage as a way of discouraging single parking, in the hopes that people will opt for transit or car pools instead. Citizen’s Comments  J.T. addressed the TAC as a member of the public and also as a member of the 38th District Democratic Transportation Committee. He provided copies of the PSRC Transportation 2040 Update overview sheet, two citations regarding autonomous vehicles, an article about Bridj, an article about WSU in Everett offering a degree on data analytics to the TAC, an editorial from the Daily Herald 11/27/16 supporting a regional approach to managing transit. He highlighted the introduction of autonomous vehicles including in some transit agencies. He stated that Transit’s surveys and 20-year plan did not address this trend properly. He pointed out the APTA review report mentioned ET appeared to be operating in “survival mode”. He briefly highlighted the possibility of ET merging with Community Transit in the future, and questioned if Everett Transit was necessary if Community Transit was capable and could take over. He also felt greater leadership was needed from the City Council and the Mayor when it came to Everett Transit operations. He felt ET should be operated more like a business and less like a  City department. Bob Strickland commented he was open to seeing a list of pros and cons about a merger with Community Transit. Engineering Report  Ryan reported that the 41st Street to W Marine View Drive freight mobility project would be completed soon, with striping and signal work almost finished.  Ryan reported about Connecting Washington projects and that they are getting started with consultant selection. The projects will be delivered using design-build methodology. Projects include SR 526 Corridor / Hardeson interchange, I-5 NB hard shoulder running to Marysville, and I-5 / SR 529 interchange to Smith Island.  Ryan reported that the Grand Avenue Pedestrian Bridge bids were opened last week. The City is currently evaluating submissions.  Victor asked about repaving on Broadway from Pacific sourth to 32nd St. Ryan responded that it was in the pavement overlay project for this year, so will happen soon. Police Report  Sergeant Zeka spoke briefly about a new For-Hire Vehicles ordinance adopted by Council last week. Transit Report  George reported that an agreement with Proterra has been reach for seven electric buses. The Council will be awarding at the end of the month, with delivery by next spring, with more coming in the future. Four buses will serve the Broadway/Evergreen Way corridor; the other three will serve the riverfront to waterfront route.  George reported that there will be disruption at the Everett Mall station, as they are re-doing the asphalt in the area.  It was reported that construction is beginning at the Seaway station.  George reported that ET has received bids for new shelters and will be going to Council to award a Michigan company. The contract lasts for five years, ordering shelters as needed.  George reported that there had been some break-ins on the buses. ET has taken aggressive steps to curb this from happening again.  George reported that ET was working with Apollo Video to test out an onboard security camera system for buses. These cameras record in 4k resolution.  J.T. asked who decided where bus shelters were to be located. George stated that the decision was based on boardings. He said that some of the new bus shelters were to replace current shelters.  Christine asked about the timeline for the new Seaway transit center. Sabina responded late 2018, early 2019.  J.T. highlighted the fact that new schedule changes were coming, thus also new scheduling booklets. He noticed that ET now has an end date on the schedules, which it didn’t have before. Sabina stated that ET wished to mirror other transit agencies in that regard. The end  date was put on the schedules so customers could see if the schedule was a current edition, or if it had expired. Agenda Items: Item 1: 2016 TDP Review and Overview of 2017 Draft plan  Sabina presented how the long range plan was being presented and offered to the public. Some of the highlights included: o Information from the Visioning Workshop held on June 8 o The project’s timeline – currently in the Values Survey Analysis process. Sabina stated that the goal is to have a roadmap for the future. She clarified that service options will be financially restrained. ECO Northwest is the company currently working on the financial aspect of the information. o The plan is needed due to Everett’s growing and changing population and jobs, emerging technologies, and integration with the other transit agencies. o The area is expected to grow by 60% by 2035, with 60,000 additional cars on the roads. o The plan is to be adopted by 2018.  Considerations in planning: o Share ET’s role with other agencies so they can integrate it with their projects o Use other agency’s plans for the future to inform ET’s work.  Upcoming technology options: o Alternative mobility options (Uber & Lift) o Autonomous technology o Better technology o Access-to-Transit  Priorities in planning o Provide best service possible while creating a cost-effective feasible plan. Create a hierarchy of possibilities, taking into account available funding.  Coverage (where stops are and where rates are available)  Service type (local vs. commuter)  High frequency  Comfort and safety  Span of service (how early and how late service ends)  Low cost. o Coverage  Number of stops along a route  Frequency in comparison to other agencies  Variation in service throughout the day  Some discussion ensued on how ET will manage changes as they happen. How nimble is the organization in the face of upcoming changes and the demands that come with those changes?  Sabina Popa distributed copies of the 2016 Transit Development Plan (TDP) and commented the 2017 plan will be structured along the same lines, with updates to the fleet and service as  required. She mentioned a draft version of the 2017 TDP will be distributed at the July 2017 TAC meeting. ET will ask for the committee’s approval in August for the current iteration. Item 2: Tour De EFD Bicycle User Questionnaire Results  The questionnaire was a part of the April 22nd bicycle event put on by Tyler Rourke.  Ryan Sass was appreciative that the questionnaire was presented to the riders, as it offered a broad spectrum of people to gather information.  Tim Miller presented some of information gathered from the public. Some of the highlights: o What could the City do better:  Maintenance  Capital Improvements  Promoting/Programming o What is the City doing well?  Heading in the right direction  Responsiveness from Engineering  (see handout for full list) Meeting adjourned at 9:55 A.M. Next Scheduled Meeting: July 20, 2017