Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES May 17, 2018 In attendance: Members Staff Guests T.J. Fournier Ryan Sass, Public Works William Weber Tim Miller, Public Works Victor Harris Sabina Popa, Transit Christina Curtis Brett Yeadon, Police Richard Smith Corey Hert, Public Works Richard Tarry, Public Works Vince Bruscas, Transit Kelsey Svaren, Public Works Meeting called to order at 8:00 a.m. Chaired by Christina Curtis as acting Chair.  M/S/P for April 2018 Minutes. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  Victor asked if anyone is keeping a list of suggested agenda items/discussion topics and when they will be included at future meetings. Tim stated that he keeps a list of suggested agenda topics and that he can provide it at a future meeting for the committee to look at. Citizen’s Comments  None Engineering Report  Ryan updated the committee regarding the Hoyt Streetscape bid. Ryan noted that there was only one bid submitted for this project, coming in at almost double the engineer’s estimate. Ryan interviewed all the plan holders that showed interest in the project. According to those contractors, there were no issues with the plans and specs for the project, but there were many simpler projects available to bid. The complexity of this project relative to cost, and the lack of availability of specialized subcontractors in the current busy construction market seemed to be the deciding factors for these companies choosing not to bid the job. Attendees at the WSDOT Annual Local Agency Coordination Meeting relayed similar experiences.  Moving forward, Ryan said that we would re-evaluate if there are any changes that should be made to specs or scope of work. He is not convinced that the City will get a much better result if rebid as is. The project may be added as an additional component to the Rucker Streetscape Project. There is potential that this may result in a more competitive bid process due to a much larger overall size of project.  Ryan also informed the committee that the City is in the planning phase of designing a bike route from Pacific Avenue to the Interurban Trail via Hoyt Avenue. They are looking at the possibility of a signalized crossing at 41st street per Tyler’s request and have completed a  preliminary traffic analysis. Gibson Traffic Consultants will also complete a separate independent analysis, with design of the project continuing through the course of this year.  Ryan noted that one of the main design priorities of the bike route is to account for the needs of riders of all abilities. There is a possibility to include an extended sidewalk that inexperienced riders could utilize, while other riders may choose to use vehicle lanes of travel and that is important for riders of varying abilities to be able to use the route. The project team will be open to suggestions from user groups.  Richard asked whether the city is making decisions based on current data or if they are looking into the future volume of bikes versus cars. He suggested that eliminating parking might not be an issue in 20 years’ time.  Ryan explained that our project planning is based on our Comprehensive Plan which looks ahead 20+ years. Our engineers always try to consider future needs of the City when planning a project within the constraints of the available funding. The Bike Master Plan also provides guidance for the project. Police Report  None  Tim asked Sergeant Yeadon if he could comment on the decision to enforce motorhomes and overnight issues in the city.  Sergeant Yeadon informed the Committee about a situation in Seattle in which the City towed a truck that a man was living in. The man brought a case against the City of Seattle arguing that the truck was the man’s home, in which the Judge found in favor of the man suing the City. During the case, Everett stopped towing vehicles. Recently, the Legal Department advised Everett Police that the Seattle case does not affect the City of Everett and Police will tow vehicles when warranted.  Christina asked Sergeant Yeadon where vehicles within Everett city limits are towed. Sergeant Yeadon explained that the City of Everett has a contract with Dick’s Towing Inc. He said that if the vehicle is not claimed within a certain period, it is transported to Snohomish County Solid Waste for disposal.  Richard asked about the Embedded Social Worker Program within the Police Department and wanted to know if they are being included in this effort. Sergeant Yeadon noted that there are two social officers in the Police Department, but that they need closer to 10 in order to cover the amount of work needed.  Victor asked whether there is a distinction made between an RV and a car, as RV’s are designed as living quarters. Sergeant Yeadon noted that the law has made a distinction between the two types of vehicles and that the Everett Police Department enforces those laws. Transit Report  Sabina began the Transit Report with an update on the long-range plan. Transit is currently working on the final draft, which will go before City Council on May 30th and will hopefully be adopted on June 13th. All financial and outreach information has been incorporated and Transit is looking at short-term changes to be more sustainable. Overall, Transit hopes to achieve a  savings of 5-10% in service hours and five vehicles at peak. Expenses for maintaining vehicles has increased as they age. In regards to the outreach effort, 72% of survey respondents said that they were comfortable with Everett Transit charging fares at $2 and higher, while 26% wrote in another figure. City Council will vote on fares, with a hearing scheduled for July. Transit is looking at re-routing several routes through the Transit Center. Sabina noted that she will provide the final draft of the plan at next month’s meeting and will provide a copy of last year’s Transit Development Plan as well.  Sabina informed the committee of the Bike Days celebration on May 18th at Everett Station from 6-9am. The Mayor will be there 6:45-7:15 am, and George Baxter’s retirement party will take place from 12-2pm.  Vince updated the committee regarding the Broadway Corridor Project. With 90% of the design completed, they are looking to go to bid in July/August with construction starting in October/November. The Project should be finished by summer 2019. He noted that the budget projection for the project is slightly more than the grant amount and thanked Grace Kane and Corey Hert for their help with this project.  Richard asked whether the artwork panels that have appeared in previous designs are removable. Vince responded that there are a couple options being considered for the artistic elements of this project and that artwork panels is one of the possibilities.  Sabina also noted that the artistic elements will depend on the budget. The artist for the project has been contracted by the city.  Victor mentioned that there is a severe street cross slope near Broadway Plaza and wondered if that would be affected by this project. Vince clarified that the city will be re-grading a portion of Broadway and that the slope will be modified by the project.  Vince also gave an update on the Electric busses that will be joining Everett Transit’s fleet. The busses have all been manufactured and a crew will be going down to California the beginning of June for a final inspection. The busses will be delivered to the City at the end of June, with the switchboard arriving soon after. Transit has developed three alternate plans to charge the busses in case the infrastructure can’t be installed right away. Agenda Items: Item 1: Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan – Requested Action: Recommend Approval to City Council – Richard Tarry, Public Works  Richard T. informed the committee of minor changes to the six year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) since the meeting in April. There are three projects that have either already received grant funding or that the city is actively seeking to fund. These projects are the Maple Heights Bridge Seismic Retrofit, the Edgewater Creek Bridge Replacement, and the Fleming Street Bicycle Corridor. The City currently either has grants secured or is actively seeking funding for each of these projects. The list is unconstrained financially and would cost about $5 Billion for all projects combined. This list comes to TAC for recommendation prior to presenting it to City Council and Planning Commission.  Richard S. asked if all projects on the list are necessary for the City and whether there is a strategy for prioritizing one project over another. Richard T. responded that the TIP is not  prioritized by the listed order on the document, but that all projects included will provide value to the City. Projects go before City Council several times from the planning stages through completion. This helps create accountability and works to define project elements as the City receives funding.  Richard S. asked whether the City uses a certain set of metrics for evaluating projects and if decisions are based on overall goals. Richard T. noted that briefings primarily come from staff and that prioritization of projects is typically based on available funding.  Ryan informed the committee that the TIP document is pragmatic and has become a list of projects that can fulfill many objectives for the City. The fact that the list broad in scope gives the City the opportunity to pursue more projects and funding opportunities.  TJ asked if the city has any plans for the Light Rail Project. Ryan responded that the City is expected to contribute in various ways for the project, which is projected for 2036 operation. Because of this, it makes sense to add the Light Rail Project to the TIP list in an effort to start looking for funding sooner. That way, the City can stay ahead of the project and work to propose options that will benefit the City of Everett. Richard T. added that including a project like this long before it is set for completion will serve as encouragement for Sound Transit and partnering entities in case the project starts to slow down.  William asked if it would be possible to start building the Light Rail in Everett and move toward Lynnwood and Seattle if funding started coming in soon. Richard T. explained that Sound Transit made the decision to start building in Seattle and work out toward the fringe stations. Since Sound Transit is the controlling body of this project, it would be their choice if they wanted to change that process.  Victor asked why ORCA projects are included on the TIP as it is a regional organization, rather than just the City of Everett. He enquired whether Everett would receive Federal funding as a City, rather than funding going toward the project itself. Richard T. explained that is how the FTA gives grants. The City of Everett is considered a sub-grantee.  Victor asked if the TIP list also includes strategies for raising funds for the projects, such as raising taxes. Richard T. noted that taxation is a function of the City Council. The Council can impose some forms of taxation, but others have to go to voters for approval.  Victor asked Richard T. if he knows where the money from Snohomish County comes from for the Light Rail project. Richard T. said that each sub-area of the County raises funds, so that they all help to pay for regional stations. He also acknowledged that the method that Sound Transit has chosen, building from Seattle outward, will be a slow process and allow the City of Everett more time to raise funds, and plan for our portion of the project.  Victor voiced his concern that the money raised for the Light Rail project will be used in the interim to fund projects with a more urgent need. Richard T. noted that the money is designated specifically for the Light Rail project. Ryan also explained that we should worry less about the funds being used for other things and more about if the overall project goes over budget before construction begins on the station in Everett. That scenario could greatly affect the timeline of the project.   Christina asked the committee to make a motion to move the TIP plan forward for approval by city council. The motion passed.  Victor relayed a complaint he heard on the bus from someone concerned that the windows were going to fall out of a bus. He asked if some of the older busses are fragile. Sabina said that bus drivers inspect their vehicles every day and that there is an extremely low probability that an issue like that would occur. She did note that it costs a lot more money to maintain older vehicles.  Committee voted to Recommend the TIP to City Council for Approval. Item 2: Regional Roadway Construction Projects Briefing/Discussion – Corey Hert, Traffic Engineering  Corey began his presentation with the paving project on the US 2 - I-5 Interchange to Bickford Avenue. Starting this week, WSDOT is closing the westbound trestle at night. There is a need to remove and replace asphalt, with WSDOT completely closing a three-mile stretch of road for six weekends this summer to keep on schedule. This will be a challenge for traffic and WSDOT has asked people to avoid discretionary trips on the weekends of construction to avoid a huge backup in traffic for the alternative route. https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/US2/i5tobickfordavevicpave/default.htm  When WSDOT begins work from the 204 interchange down to Bickford, they are going to close the road and send everyone North or South for alternative routes. There are a number of other projects coming up and the City works closely with other entities to make sure they are not closing roads that can be used as alternate routes.  Corey moved on to inform the committee about the 2018 Overlay project for the City of Everett. He noted that most of the overlay should not cause extensive traffic delays. They will need to perform extra maintenance on some high-need areas, such as Lowell Larimer Road and Merrill Creek Parkway. All of the Overlay work is scheduled for completion by October 2018. https://everettwa.gov/1738/Summer-Street-Paving-in-Everett  Richard asked if there are steps being taken to ensure traffic diversions will not negatively impact traffic in residential areas of the City. Corey noted that the new overlays will attract drivers back to the arterial routes as soon as the roads open back up. In addition, not all streets scheduled to be re-paved will be closed/diverted. Based on Traffic Engineering data, Corey estimated that it would take about two weeks to see traffic stabilization after paving completion on any given road within the City.  Richard expressed his concern with drivers being re-routed through neighborhoods and how it puts extra stress on the Everett Police Department.  The Committee briefly discussed the issue of traffic violations in residential neighborhoods. Tim and Ryan stated that residents can help gather useful data for Traffic Engineering. The Police Department works with Traffic Engineering to identify areas in need of patrol and intervention.  Corey continued his presentation, noting that WSDOT is painting the Steamboat Slough Bridge, which will cause closures in the coming months. The project is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2018. http://wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR529/nbsteamboatsloughbrgpaint/default.htm  The City of Everett will continue construction on the Grand Avenue Park Bridge, which is scheduled for completion in late 2018. Due to the work schedule of this project, there will be lane closures on West Marine View Drive in the coming months. https://everettwa.gov/1023/Grand-Avenue-Park-Bridge  Ryan noted that WSDOT is doing a better job coordinating projects with the City in an effort to reduce traffic and backups. Corey also informed the Committee that there are very few high- impact projects north of Everett at this time.  Corey ended his presentation with lane striping. Traffic Engineering receives several questions and requests regarding lane striping every year. There are three types of materials used by the City of Everett including paint, plastic markings, and reflectors. The City tries to re-stripe arterials every year, while plastic markers are replaced every four to five years unless otherwise needed sooner. When arterials are repaved, reflectors are placed every skip stripe in the city and every other skip stripe in rural areas to ensure that there is plenty of coverage in case some reflectors are affected by traffic or weather.  Adjourned at 9:44 am Next Scheduled Meeting: June 21, 2018