Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES January 17, 2019 In attendance: Members Staff Guests T.J. Fournier Scott Bader, City Council Brock Howell Renee Quistorf Ryan Sass, Public Works Jennifer Tanner Corey Hert, Public Works Kimberley Cline Mike Schmieder, Transit Tyler Rourke Kelsey Svaren, Public Works Richard Smith Brett Barrett Meeting called to order at 8:04 a.m. Chaired by Tyler Rourke  M/S/P for November 2018 Minutes. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  The meeting began with introductions from TAC members and attending City of Everett staff. Tyler welcomed new members, Jennifer Tanner and Kimberly Cline to the committee.  Tyler announced that the City is receiving 51 new bicycle racks, several of which will be installed in the Downtown Corridor. o Ryan added that Tyler initiated this project, and it has been a collaborative effort with Transit providing budget and Public Works working to install the bicycle racks over the next several month.  Ryan also announced that a design workshop is scheduled for the art component of the North Broadway Transit Improvement Project that will take place on Thursday, January 24 at Everett Station. Citizen’s Comments  None Engineering Report  Ryan noted that one lane of Northbound Maple Street in front of Judd and Black has been opened to traffic. Ryan stated that they would be looking at opportunities to see what the City can do about the use of Right of Way Permits, which are currently free. This may involve a fee schedule to ensure resources are utilized in a timely manner.  Ryan stated that the Department of Ecology’s project cleaning up the old smelter site along the East Marine View Drive and SR 529 interchange is complete.   Ryan informed the committee that the City of Everett is conducting a Downtown Parking initiative study through most of 2019 that will focus on measures of parking utilization. This will help the City evaluate current operations.  Ryan noted that he plans to bring in concept designs to a future TAC meeting regarding a bike route in the Forest Park area that will run parallel to Evergreen Way.  Ryan asked the committee about their interest level in receiving a presentation regarding bike- share and/or scooter-share programs. o Committee members stated that they are interested in a presentation at a future meeting.  Tyler asked about the status of the Hoyt Streetscape project and the bike route on Hoyt from Pacific Avenue to 41st Street. o Ryan responded that the Hoyt Streetscape project will go to bid and constructed at the same time as the Rucker Streetscape later this year. He also noted that the bike route is almost at 60% design and will be presented to the committee at a future meeting. Corey announced that the pedestrian crossing at Alverson Boulevard and West Marine View Drive is now open. The City paved a pedestrian alcove for ADA access, which is a temporary solution until sidewalks can be constructed. Police Report  None Transit Report  Mike gave an update regarding the new electric busses. He said that there were some initial technical issues, mostly related to the charging stations. There are currently two busses in operation, with two more that will be active by the end of the month. Transit retired their second oldest bus in the fleet, and will continue to retire older vehicles at a 1 to 1 ratio as new vehicles are acquired. Everett Transit will receive three new electric busses in mid to late March.  The North Broadway Transit Improvement Project is moving along at a rapid pace. Several stops are now open and functional.  On January 1, the Everett Transit fare increase took effect. For the month of January, Transit has taken a very strong customer centric approach, making sure that there is information readily available for anyone who has questions or concerns. Transit is still looking at implementing a low-income fare option, most likely during summer 2019.  Service Changes for several bus routes will begin in March. Schedules will be available online in mid-February.  Mike noted that several local transportation agencies are going to test out their vehicles at the new Seaway Transit Center to make sure no adjustments need to be made.  There was a brief discussion regarding pedestrian complaints concerning accessibility during construction of the North Broadway Transit Improvement Project. Agenda Items: Item 1: – Election of Chair and Vice Chair for 2019 Board Action  Tyler briefly explained the voting process and opened the floor for nominations.  Tyler and Richard received nominations, with Tyler elected Chair and Richard elected as Vice Chair for 2019. Item 2: – Update: Riverside Business Park U-Turns Informational Briefing – Corey Hert  City representatives met with stakeholders at the Riverside Business Park in late October to discuss the ongoing issue of drivers making U-turns on Riverside Road to jump the traffic queue onto SR 529 north toward Marysville. This has made access difficult for large trucks that require entrance to the Business Park. The City of Everett has identified five alternative option in an attempt to mitigate the issue: o Reach out to Boeing and the Naval Station to ask employees not to U-turn on Riverside Road. o Add curbing to the intersection and restrict U-turn movement physically. o Restrict left turns onto Riverside Road at certain times of the day. o Shorten signal phases to restrict number of people who U-turn on Riverside Road. o Eliminate left turn onto Riverside Road.  The City performed a study over the summer and determined that 60 of 90 observed left turns resulted in a U-turn, highlighting how pervasive the issue is.  Installing curbing on Riverside Road was determined to be the best option. The City placed traffic cones to mimic where the curbing would go, and it appears to be a viable course of action based on several days’ worth of recordings of the intersection. If this plan moves forward, Corey estimated that it could be finished sometime this spring.  Tyler enquired about non-motorized access to Riverside Road in order to access trails along the riverfront. There was a brief discussion regarding the possibility of creating bicycle lanes and how curbing may affect the plausibility of doing so along Riverside Road.  Corey also took a few moments to update TAC regarding the Residential Permit Zones (RPZ), which took effect on January 1, 2019. The RPZ encompasses everything north of 41 st Street and will be enforced using a new parking permit process that will be available in early April.  There was considerable discussion regarding local and regional traffic issues and possible mitigation tactics the City of Everett could implement.  Adjourned at 9:38 am Next Scheduled Meeting: February 15, 2019