Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES March 15, 2018 In attendance: Members Staff Guests T.J. Fournier Sabina Popa, Transit Bob Creamer Renee Quistorf Ryan Sass, Public Works M.J. Donovan Creamer William Weber Kelsey Svaren, Public Works Victor Harris Carol Thomas, Arts & Culture Tyler Rourke Vince Bruscas, Transit Brett Yeadon, Police Meeting called to order at 8:08 a.m. Chaired by Tyler Rourke  M/S/P for February 2018 Minutes. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  Victor began the meeting by reading some prepared comments regarding parking concerns related to the Metro Everett Plan.  Ryan announced that David Stalheim from the Planning Department is planning to come to April’s meeting to brief TAC on the Metro Everett Plan.  Renee requested a presentation by Limebike in the near future as summer concerts and activities are quickly approaching and it would be nice for bikes to be available for public use. Ryan noted that the city’s focus right now is to work with Seattle in order to get the final reports of their pilot program. Carol informed the committee that representatives from the Port of Everett have expressed interest in a bike sharing program in Everett. Renee suggested that a representative from the Port should be invited to the TAC meeting when Limebike presents.  Victor asked if there is any more information regarding proposed wayfinding signage. Ryan responded and informed the committee that Tim is currently looking into that information, but that there are no current updates. Victor noted that while printed wayfinding signage will be great for the City, it is imperative to address needs for blind and vision impaired individuals. He suggested the use of an audio component. He also mentioned that the Snohomish County Association of Blind may weigh in with thoughts at the next TAC meeting. Citizen’s Comments  Bob informed the committee that Seattle Times printed an article regarding new laws that Governor Inslee has issued in regards to motorized bicycles, categorizing bikes based on speed and power. Bob asked that the committee be diligent in reviewing this new law in order to ensure that people using motorized vehicles are indeed capable of operating them appropriately. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/new-law-sets- standards-rules-for-using-e-bikes/ Engineering Report  Ryan gave an update regarding the Hoyt Ave Streetscape 2 Project, noting that the City is waiting for WSDOT for concurrence to Call for Bids. Construction for the project will take place through spring and summer 2018.  Ryan noted that a project kickoff meeting for the I-5 peak-use shoulder lane project with WSDOT will occur later today..  Ryan informed the Committee that WSDOT will soon be ready to start the planning phase of the SR 526 Corridor Improvements project.  Washington State Legislature has set aside $2.0M for the next steps in the US 2 Westbound Trestle Replacement Process. This will likely go for environmental work.  The City of Everett has applied for a regional planning project request in conjunction with Snohomish County to study the west end connections of the US-2 trestle.  Victor expressed his interest in Connecting Washington Interstate 5 and State Route 529 interchange project.  TJ asked if there are plans for updating State Route 526 Extension project and the US-2 trestle replacement project. Ryan noted that these are included in the 2009 Comprehensive Plan Update. These potential improvements have value in long term planning for the city. The westbound US-2 Trestle replacement project is gaining momentum within the state legislature. The SR 526 Extension would be a long term vision.  Victor asked whether there are details in the long-range plan regarding elevating State Route 529 to allow water from the River Delta to pass underneath. Ryan said that it is not a part of the interchange project.  Tyler asked whether there is discussion regarding a truck-only onramp as a possible element of State Route 526 updates. Ryan clarified that it is a potential project component, but that WSDOT and the city will be analyzing several potential project elements to see what would be the most cost effective improvements to include in the final project. Police Report  None  Victor relayed a discussion that occurred during his neighborhood meeting that there seems to be a drastic spike in auto thefts. The targeted area is between 11th and 13th Streets in North Everett. Someone at the meeting suggested that it could be related to the college housing in that area. The committee continued with a short discussion regarding the rise of auto thefts in Everett. Transit Report  Sabina informed the committee that the new Transit schedule goes into effect on 3/18/2018. Transit made minor changes to improve on-time performance and Route 6 will provide  summer weekend service. There will be a separate brochure for the Route 6 schedule, which will run from mid-May to mid-October 2018.  Sabina introduced herself to TAC members as the new Transit representative, replacing George Baxter. In addition, she invited the committee members to come spend some time with her if they want to see more of her role in Transit. Agenda Items: Item 1: Everett Bus Bulb Artwork Informational Briefing – Carol Thomas  Sabina suggested that she and Carol Thomas switch the order of their presentations.  Carol gave a brief overview of the project that is a collaboration between Everett Transit and Arts and Culture. There will be 24 Bus bulbs installed along the Broadway corridor to promote greater safety for busses and pedestrians. The purpose of this partnership is to integrate art into the streetscape and surrounding environment.  Carol informed the committee that they worked with 4Culture in King County to establish a call for Artists. There were 21 respondents, and the committee ultimately decided to work with artist Brian Borrello. Almost all of his public artwork centers around transportation and nature. Carol prepared a short slideshow with pictures of Brian’s work in Portland and the surrounding area, which included work at public transport areas. Brian has a lot of experience working with lighting, which is an element both Transit and Arts and Culture are interested in bringing to the design of the bus bulbs.  Brian is experienced working on low-budget community driven projects. He designs, fabricates, and installs all of his work, and uses recycled materials when possible. Brian is going to hold three big community meetings to hear from Everett citizens regarding their interests in the bus bulb art designs. Traffic Engineering will also be included in the process to make sure the project abides by city standards.  Carol noted that the art has to relate to the brand of Everett Transit so that it is not confused with Community Transit. Everything else is undefined right now and will come out of the public process. They are currently negotiating Brian’s contract and hope to have that finished next week. Then it will go to City Council for approval.  Bob mention that this project will extend into several neighborhoods, and it could be really wonderful to see each of those areas represented in Brian’s art. He also mentioned that there was a lot of input from kids for the Garfield Park art installation, and that he would like to see that in this project as well. Carol noted that Garfield Park is an excellent example of the community involvement they hope to garner with this project.  Renee expressed her excitement for this project and wondered how Transit and Arts and Culture came to this process. She also asked how we may be able to adapt it to other areas within the city.  Sabina noted that Transit received a grant to include bus bulbs as a safety improvement project. The process started in June 2016, with some members recommending an element of art be integrated into the project. Transit decided that they wanted to involve Carol to  make this a cross-departmental project. The grant money cannot be used for elements that are solely artistic, but can be creative to combine art and functionality/safety. Transit is going to be mindful about reproducing this work in other areas of the City in the future. They are also keeping maintenance in mind for long term usage. Sabina said that the process of selecting the artist was amazing, and that they liked that Brian’s art is so adapted to the environment and the project at hand. Carol mentioned that Brian likes the challenge of making Broadway more beautiful for the community.  Sabina mentioned Transit will be purchasing new shelters for all the stops and that they are looking at incorporating lighting in the shelters.  Victor wondered whether artistic bike racks would be a violation of municipal code and engineering standards for the city. Ryan said that artistic bike racks would be approved as long as they are ADA compliant.  Victor also questioned whether the art would hold up over time and still be reflective of Everett and its citizens. Carol believes that the project will be successful as long as the art expresses the vision of those who live in Everett and the community. Item 2: Everett Transit Draft Long Range Plan Discussion – Sabina Popa  The process for Transit’s Long Range Plan began over a year ago. Transit wanted to incorporate the City’s Comprehensive Plan in order to help mitigate some of the traffic congestion due to projected population growth over the next several years. Transit has completed two rounds of public outreach with results shared at previous TAC meetings.  Transit’s Long Range Plan is a 20 year plan that evaluates direction of future service, financial implication of growth, and service standards.  Based on services provided today, the Long Range Plan forecasts that Transit’s costs will exceed revenue by 2020.  Transit wants to focus on short-term sustainability and increasing revenue to facilitate growth.  Everett Transit decided to broaden their scope of consultants to create a sustainable network of service to foster growth. This provides framework for being sustainable, but does not include route changes. Potential changes to Transit’s routes will be reflected in a different process that will include a standard public outreach component. Transit wants to create sustainability by decreasing service hours and cutting down on the number of peak vehicles, which is currently at 33. This would give Transit 10 extra years of financial stability.  In order to keep up with population growth of the city, Transit will need to provide about 25% more service hours in 20 years.  As for the growth component of the Plan, Transit determined through their October survey that bus frequency and coverage are their overall top priorities. Transit wants to focus their frequency along the Broadway Corridor and other areas where ridership is higher, projecting the potential for ridership at up to 17,000 daily trips with a wait time under 10 minutes.  The Growth Network will require additional revenue in order to compensate for 50 vehicles and 25% additional hours that are forecasted over the next 20 years.  All possible cost saving and revenue options need to be evaluated in the short term. These might include increasing fares, adjustments to para-transit policies, private partnerships, etc.  The next steps include Adopting the Long Range Plan in April/May 2018, implementation of Sustainable Network through established process in March 2019, and an evaluation of cost saving options throughout 2018 and 2019. Transit is currently in the third and final public outreach phase of the Long Range Plan.  Victor shared his concerns regarding the future light rail that will connect to Seaway. He emphasized the need for more local neighborhood bus service, rather than long trunk lines, stressing the importance of making sure those streets have strong infrastructure and are capable of handling the weight and size of the busses. Sabina responded that Transit’s goal is to provide more service in all areas of the city, but that the shorter east/west routes are more difficult. A large amount of service routes begin and end where the drive has access to certain amenities. The longer trunk lines are also more cost effective and have better infrastructure and ridership numbers. Transit has to consider certain tradeoffs in order to get the most out of their available resources.  Tyler asked if there is a possibility of route 70 being removed from Everett Transit’s service. This route is currently serving populations outside of the Everett City limits. Sabina clarified that it is a possibility that Everett Transit will eliminate that route from the City’s service. Responsibility for route 70 has bounced back between Everett and Community Transit and is considered a commuter route. There are currently only four trips offered in the morning and four in the evening. These are usually full loads, so there is demand for that service during those times.  T.J. asked whether Everett Transit has taken the new airport terminal at Paine Field into consideration. Sabina said that there is a short-term plan to incorporate service to the new terminal onto route 12. Everett Transit is currently limited in capacity and this would be a simple way to add service without taking resources from another route. In the long term, Everett Transit would like to add more connections to the terminal at the South Everett Freeway Station.   Victor wondered what the implications of auto congestion would be if Everett Transit reduced its service. Sabina agreed with Victor that there would probably be more cars on the road if less public transit services is offered, but Everett Transit is also limited by their funding. The Transit Department collaborates with Traffic Engineering and the Planning Department to analyze these issues and look at alternatives to serve the community. Sabina stressed that Everett Transit strives to provide neighborhood service to the entire community, not just commuter routes.  Bob referenced page 17 of the Metro Everett Plan and asked Sabina if Transit is still considering cutting Sunday service from their schedule. Sabina informed the committee that it is a possibility that Sunday service may be eliminated in the future, but no decisions have been made as of yet.  Adjourned at 9:46am Next Scheduled Meeting: April 19, 2018