Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES August 17, 2017 In attendance: Members Staff Guests J.T. Dray Tim Miller, Public Works David Fudge, Police Victor Harris Jeffrey Marks, Public Works William Weber George Baxter, Transit Richard Smith Paul Roberts, City Council Christina Curtis Paul Kaftanski, Administration Robert Strickland Ryan Sass, Public Works Tyler Rourke Ken Dorn, Police John Zeka, Police Sabina Popa, Transit Meeting was called to order at 8:05 a.m. T.J. Fournier was unavailable. Victor chaired the meeting.  M/S/P for July 2017 minutes. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  Victor announced that November is the month for the election of a new chair. He encouraged others to consider the position for the 2018 year.  J.T. reported that the PSRC is conducting a 20 year update to its plan. He encouraged everyone to participate in the PSRC’s survey by going to their website. Citizen’s Comments  None. Engineering Report  Ryan reported that overlay projects are mostly complete, with striping still to come.  Ryan reported that the 41st Street to W Marine View Drive Freight Mobility project was waiting for final striping.  Ryan stated that the Connecting Washington projects were still upcoming.  Bob Strickland asked if people could travel north on Norton across Pacific. Ryan replied “No, Northbound on Norton is Right Only at Pacific.”  Victor mentioned hearing about a new committee/organization at WSDOT about coordinating transportation projects for the next 6 years. Police Report  None. Transit Report  George reported that there is a delay in creating the new schedule holders. He stated that there have been difficulties with the manufacturer, so Transit will be going with another bidder.  George reported that work at the Everett Mall station will begin in September. The platform will be closed for a few weeks while the work is done. A temporary station will be placed adjacent to it.  George stated that the Seaway Transit Center construction is continuing.  Sabina went over the Executive Summary of outreach processes for the long-range plan (attached). J.T. asked about the consultants returning to the TAC. Sabina replied that it was part of the plan, though no particular date had been firmly established.  J.T. commented about the placement of schedule holders. He wondered if small benches were not part of the process. George replied that small benches were not. J.T. wanted schedules at stops that were on certain types of routes and in areas with less traffic. George replied that resources were limited, so ET had to decide where best to place schedules. Some discussion ensued, regarding how schedule holders are placed in relation to how many boardings per day at a stop, starting with a minimum of 5 boardings. This will result in schedule holders being install at about 200 stops of the total system of 600 stops. Christina supported George and Sabina’s philosophy, using statistics to determine the location of schedules versus outliers or anecdotal stories. Agenda Items: Item 1: Approve 2017 Final Draft ET Transit Development Plan Review  Sabina provided an updated version of the review from July’s draft. She stated that it would be going to Council for public hearing on September 6, so there was a little more time for comments. Again, this report is a standard report that is required by the State.  It was reported that the Motor Vehicle Division is not a part of the transit development piece.  Sabina focused on several areas of the report: o Everett in Motion program. Some discussion on the rewards program. o Everett Transit Arrivals (ETA). In 2015, 82,400 texts; in 2016 there were 89,900 texts, an increase of 7,000. In 2015, 261,000 phone calls; 2016 saw 408,000 – so very successful.  J.T. suggested Preserving Service Levels should instead be Improve Service Levels. He stated the shrinking of service has impacted people’s willingness to use the service.  Victor expressed concern about budgets in the future, with emphasis on maintaining what already exists before updating for the future.  Some additional discussion surrounded Improving Customer Information. Regarding the trip planning function J.T. stated he felt such functionality was easier to use in Seattle than Everett.  Sabina talked briefly about electronic trip planning, and how Everett uses the same company as King County Metro.   Bob Strickland spoke to the language in the document, stating that “preserve” could be “preserve and improve.” Sabina replied that the primary focus is preservation, but improvements come dependent upon financing.  J.T. expressed that ET’s rates have not increased like other transit agency’s have. Christina felt it was a benefit to maintain lower fares due to lower income levels of people living in Everett.  Sabina pointed out Sections 7 & 8, and the improvements listed within them.  Sabina encouraged any additional comments be submitted via phone or email.  Councilmember Roberts suggested some of the comments raised might be better addressed toward incorporation in the Long Range Plan.  Richard Smith suggested TAC consider a “parking lot” for some issues to be addressed in the future.  Sabina concluded there will be no increase in Fixed Route service in this plan, and that some of the items listed in the CIP were unfunded.  M/S/P to adopt the final draft, with edits to come. J.T. opposed the adoption. Item 2: Draft Ordinance Revision Relating to Parking  A copy of the revised draft ordinance was provided to the committee, with the intention of going to Council on August 30. Captain D. Fudge expressed how the changes were minor but highly technical in order to update the code; it is a very involved process.  The handout revealed the language changes being requested. It also included a new section, Prohibitions of Parking.  Though considerable discussion had already happened in previous TAC meetings regarding this matter, Victor requested holding off on forwarding the ordinance to Council until more discussion could be given during September’s TAC meeting. He felt there was still not enough information to make a recommendation. Bob Strickland and Tyler Rourke recommended approval, sending the changes on to Council, with potential caveats to come. Victor refused to accept the request, citing that more discussion needed to be done.  Victor declared the meeting adjourned and departed at 9:55, leaving the committee unable to recommend approval of the proposed changes. Item 3: Major Everett Area WSDOT Transportation Projects – Tabled for a future meeting. Next Scheduled Meeting: September 21, 2017