Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES March 21, 2019 In attendance: Members Staff Guests Tyler Rourke Tim Miller, Public Works Jenni Harrington Brett Barrett Scott Bader, City Council Al Furiak Sabina Popa, Transit Tim Morgan, Police Kelsey Svaren, Public Works Meeting called to order at 8:04 a.m. Chaired by Tyler Rourke  Due to a lack of quorum, the minutes for February 2019 could not be approved. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  Al enquired about the City’s traffic signal sequencing strategies, noting that he has encountered traffic congestion due to signals that do not seem to be synced with one another. o Tim Miller stated the downtown corridor signal sequencing favors pedestrian traffic, while the rest of the City is sequenced to favor vehicle movement. Tim noted that there is old equipment within the Downtown area that sometimes fails which defeats those signals synchronization.  Al also asked why the City implemented split lights in which traffic flowing from one direction has to stop completely while traffic from the opposing direction can turn right, left, or go straight through the light. o Tim noted the intersection at 41st Street and Colby Avenue as an example of a split signal and explained that they are looking at the possibility of un-splitting the signal to help traffic flow in the area.  There was a brief conversation regarding pedestrian and bicycle crossings within the city. Committee members expressed concerns regarding reckless driving and safety of pedestrians with additional mobility challenges.  There was also a brief conversation regarding opportunities at Boeing to implement bike lanes or a bike path near the complex. Tyler expressed interest in possible partnership opportunities that could include Boeing, WSDOT, and the City of Mukilteo.  Sabina announced that Community Transit has organized a celebration on Sunday, March 24 at McCollum Park to inaugurate their newest service, the Swift Green Line. Citizen’s Comments  None Engineering Report  Tim Miller announced that the City is close to finalizing the Rucker Streetscape plan and are in the process of receiving final review comments. He also announced that today would be the final day of paving at Riverside Road and E Marine View Drive.  Scott noted that public outreach will be important for the Rucker Streetscape plan to inform citizens of street closures and changes that will be made to Rucker Avenue. Police Report  Tim Morgan informed the committee that the police department is preparing for summer patrols. He stated that the department is actively investigating multiple fatality collisions that occurred over the past few weeks.  There was a brief discussion regarding traffic congestion that has spilled over from I5 into residential neighborhoods. Tim Morgan noted that the frustration caused by the added vehicle traffic seems to correlate with an increase in traffic law violations, but it difficult to say for sure if that is also causing increased aggression amongst drivers. Transit Report  Sabina announced that Everett Transit is planning to purchase 18 new paratransit vans in 2019. City Council approved the purchase and they are now moving forward as the cost of maintenance has exceeded the purchase price of a new vehicle.  Service changes for bus routes will take effect on March 27, in coordination with the opening of the new Seaway Transit Center. Some stops will be eliminated, while several new stops will be added to better accommodate changes to the bus routes. All routes that service Boeing perimeter roads will now terminate at the Seaway Transit Center.  Scott asked if there has been more input from citizens regarding service changes. o Sabina responded that it is normal for public transportation entities to receive complaints when they increase fares or change bus routes. Everett Transit has not noticed a large influx of complaints, but may receive more once the service changes take effect. Agenda Items: Item 1: – Recommendation for City to Pursue Implementation of an e-Scooter Ride Share Program Action Item – Tim Miller  Due to a lack of quorum, the Committee could not vote on this item.  There was a brief discussion regarding logistics of an e-bike or e-scooter ride share within the City of Everett, including safety concerns, bicycle theft and vandalism, and the amount of resources and involvement required of the Everett Police Department.   Tim Miller noted that he would forward his presentation to all TAC members and solicit responses to move forward with a recommendation to Administration. Item 2: – PAE Traffic Impacts Informational Briefing – Tim Miller  Tim Miller presented a brief power point to the committee regarding a traffic study completed by Gibson Traffic Consultants in 2016 concerning traffic impacts of the new commercial terminal at Paine Field. Due to the limited number of flights operating out of Paine Field daily, Gibson’s results did not yield a high impact on traffic in the area around Paine Field, which dispersed even more as traffic moved away from the airport. Item 3: – Transit Low-Income Fare Survey Informational Briefing – Sabina Popa  Tom Hingson gave a presentation to City Council outlining four options for low-income fares for Everett Transit: o Do not implement a low-fare option o Implement a low fare option priced at $1.25 o Implement a low fare option priced at $1.50 o Implement a simple fare scheme across all of Everett Transit, pricing regular adult fares at $2.00 and all other fares at $1.00  City Council asked Transit to gather public input to present at a future City Council meeting. They have asked for feedback on the following options: o Option 1: Introduce a $1.50 low-income fare in the current structure o Option 2: Consolidate all discounted fare categories at $1.00 o Option 3: Do not introduce a low-income fare category  Brett asked for clarification on the process to qualify for a low-income fare. o Sabina responded that there would be an application process that would initially be facilitated in partnership with DSHS.  Adjourned at 9:48 am Next Scheduled Meeting: April 18, 2019