Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES January 18, 2018 In attendance: Members Staff Guests T.J. Fournier George Baxter, Transit Bob Creamer Renee Quistorf Ryan Sass, Public Works William Weber Tim Miller, Public Works Victor Harris Kelsey Svaren, Public Works Christina Curtis Paul Roberts, City Council Richard Smith Bob Strickland Tyler Rourke Meeting was called to order at 8:03 a.m. chaired by T.J. Fournier.  T.J. introduced new committee member, Renee Quistorf, and asked her to give a brief statement regarding her background and interest in joining TAC.  M/S/P for November 2017 minutes. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  Councilmember Roberts announced that Scott Bader will be the new City Council liaison for TAC, but that he will remain in close contact with Scott and will stay up to date on TAC issues.  Bob announced that he will soon be moving to Florida and will have to leave his post as a member of TAC.  Victor notified the Committee that the Planning Commission reviewed an ordinance that may affect parking and that he suggested Michael Brick should be involved. He also stated that during the previous nights’ City Council meeting, the Navy proposed a land use proposal that may be a benefit to the 2025 comprehensive plan update.  Victor noted that City Council discussed a proposed amendment to an ordinance to increase the number of allowable moving infractions for hired drivers from two to three per year. Councilmember Roberts clarified that this ordinance covers Transportation Network Companies, such as Uber and Lyft. The regulation includes safety inspections, standards for the vehicle, and standards for the driver. The number of infractions is included within the standards for the driver portion of the ordinance. City Council has not made a decision regarding this amendment, but will probably be acting on it in the next couple of weeks. They want to enable these carriers, without posing a risk to health and safety standards of the public. Several members of the Committee voiced their concern for the proposed increase of allowable moving infractions. Councilmember Roberts notified the Committee that it would be important to choose whether or not they would like to support this amendment, as City Council is probably going to vote on this proposed amendment before TAC has the opportunity to meet again.   Tyler seconded the motion to recommend that City Council not pass the proposed amendment to the ordinance. TJ called for a vote and the motion passed. Councilmember Roberts stated that he will take the recommendation back to City Council.  TJ described his observations with students he had on Sharon Dr. south of the Explorer MS driveway. The area does not have a dedicated sidewalk, just a striped shoulder. He was driving northbound and noticed that some school aged children were walking on the west side of the street around parked vehicles out in the southbound travel lane. Tim Miller noted that there are crossing guards at the two school crossings on Sharon Dr., and it is intended for pedestrians to walk in the striped shoulder pedestrian path.  TJ also voiced his concerns that the intersection of 100th and Holly is at a skewed angle that is challenging and is on the walking path for Explorer Middle School. He is concerned for the safety of students and drivers there. He has noticed other drivers having trouble at this intersection as well, with pedestrians almost getting hit. Tim noted that there is a crossing guard at this intersection during school crossing times. Tyler informed the Committee that he had previously been hit there on his bicycle while riding northbound. He was hit by a left turning vehicle driven by a drunk driver, receiving minor injuries. Citizen’s Comments  Bob Creamer wondered if Transit was planning to present another update regarding two surveys that were performed in 2017. If so, will this update come to TAC before City Council?  George stated that Transit is in the process of completing the final draft of the update and that it is currently on the agenda to be presented at February’s TAC meeting. He anticipates that a presentation will be made to City Council in April.  Bob Creamer expressed his gratitude to the emergency services response on US 2 after a Semi tipped over and helped trapped citizens to get off the trestle.  Renee announced that the newly formed Non-Motorized Development Committee will be creating proposals that will probably be heard by TAC in the near future. She provided the website in case members of TAC are interested in learning more: www.everettbikewalk.org Engineering Report  Ryan shared that the city of Everett Bike Master Plan evaluated the concept of bike share technology in 2011-12. The conclusion was the city didn’t have the density to move forward with one at the time. Seattle just completed their one year pilot program for the fully privatized bike share system. The city of Everett has requested their report/analysis when it becomes available.  Ryan also made note of the US 2 Interchange Justification Report. The purpose is to solve operational problems on the east end of the trestle while being compatible with the goal of westbound trestle replacement on US 2. There is an additional study from WSDOT regarding how the future westbound trestle will be funded. The committee briefly discussed how the project will affect traffic in this area of Snohomish County. While this particular project may not alleviate traffic, Ryan stated that there is an upcoming project that will create northbound peak use shoulder running from Marine View Drive in Everett to Marysville on I-5 North. Councilmember Roberts said that the City is looking at the whole corridor in the big picture. They are currently considering strategies to propose funding for the 2019 legislative session to tackle these and other projects.   Ryan announced that the City has acquired funding to connect existing facilities with a project outlined in the Bike Master Plan. The project will connect bike lanes from Hoyt in the Central Business District to the Interurban trail south of 41st St with a signed and marked route.  Ryan also reported that the Streetscape Phase II on Hoyt Ave. design plans are complete and will be taken to City Council to call for bids. Police Report  None. Transit Report  George let the committee know that Transit had a very good December. The Stuff a Bus program, a public fundraiser in partnership with CT and Fred Meyer, exceeded goals.  Transit is scheduled to receive three new Paratransit vans next week. A fourth will be coming in another month. Some of the old vans will be disposed of to accommodate the new vehicles.  A few Transit employees travelled to California to talk to Proterra about specifications of the city’s new 100% electric busses. Four of these vehicles will be delivered in spring 2018 and three more in early 2019. The battery range on these vehicles is approximately 250 to 300 miles per charge. Transit will start looking at how long the busses can operate in hours, rather than miles due to variables that can eat up energy. This switch will lower operating costs over the life of the vehicles.  Transit is receiving grant funding for nine more electric busses. It is projected that by mid- 2020, half the fleet will be electric.  Transit will provide an update regarding the North Broadway Project in March. Agenda Items: Item 1: Election of TAC Officers  TJ opened floor for nominations for Chair  Tyler, Richard, and Christina accepted nominations for Chair. Each nominee gave a brief statement, and TJ called for a secret ballot. Tyler was elected as Chair for 2018.  TJ called for nominations for Vice Chair. No additional nominations were made. TJ called for a secret ballot and Christina was elected as Vice Chair for 2018. Item2: March 2018 ET Service Changes Informal Briefing by George Baxter  Last fall, there was a proposal to revise route 2 in South Everett and change it from a loop to a bi-directional route. This would increase the frequency of busses and number of trips on the route. Transit performed extensive outreach to current riders and neighborhoods in the area. Transit received excellent feedback from the public that showed patrons are not in favor of the proposal at this time. No changes will be made other than a route added on Saturdays. Slight timing changes will be made at intermediate stops to increase timeliness. Transit may come back with another proposal next year due to changes with CT’s service along that route.  Councilmember Roberts requested a summary be sent to City Council so they can be informed on Transit’s decision not to pursue the proposed route change.  Adjourned at 9:40 a.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: February 15, 2018