Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE Thursday, May 19, 2022 8:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Microsoft Teams Virtual Meeting In attendance: Members Staff Guests Hal Gausman Michael Schmieder, Transit Bob Creamer Andrea DePaolo Tim Morgan, Police Kern McGee Richard Smith Ryan Sass, Public Works Ben Watanabe Stephen Fickenscher Mayor Cassie Franklin Christina Strand Danielle Wilkins Nicole Webber, Administration Tyler Rourke Corey Hert, Public Works Kate Low, Public Works Liz Vogeli, City Council Christina Curtis, Public Works Gerardo Magallanes, Public Works Richard Tarry, Public Works Kathleen Baxter, Public Works Meeting called to order at 8:04 a.m. by Chair Tyler Rourke ➢ M/S/P for April 2022 Minutes ANNOUNCEMENTS & REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ➢ Mayor Franklin discussed priorities and upcoming events for Everett. o Safety Concerns-advised everyone should do what they’re comfortable with regarding mask wearing. o Everett Farmers Market back open o Fisherman’s Village Music Fest o Bike Everywhere Day May 20th o Cruzin’ to Colby is the last weekend in May o Sorticulture in June o Fourth of July Festival o Jetty Island Days o Upper Left Beerfest and Everett Food Truck Festival o Music at the Marina o Fresh Paint ➢ Priorities: o Sound Transit Board o Budget o American Rescue Plan (ARP) Dollars – making impactful investments. Making economic recovery efforts to support the business communities and addressing the crisis of housing and homelessness. Additional funding for infrastructure. o Public Safety – Dramatic increase in gun violence and addiction is causing an unsafe community. Mayor Franklin is working with the Police 1 |Page  Chief, Human Services Team and Mayor’s around the County and across the region to address and advocate for the support they need from Olympia as well as the Federal Government to ensure safer communities. o Mayor Franklin is a part of Mayor’s and CEOs for U.S. Housing Investments, which is a National Collaboration of Bipartisan Mayor’s. She is working with CEO’s that support affordable housing and solving homelessness, and she will be going to Washington D.C. a few times a year to advocate for policies and help write policies for housing investment. o Council team is doing everything they can to maintain their operations and infrastructure for a high quality of life for Everett. o Mayor Franklin expressed thanks for the work everyone has done the last couple of years. It has helped Council move forward programs that are going to help increase traffic safety. o Evergreen Way and Everett Mall Way Speed Limit resolution passed unanimously at Council on May 11th. o Photo Enforcement Program passed three times and now with the RFP, they anticipate bringing the contract forth to Council in July or August. o Enhanced crosswalks. ➢ Mayor Franklin discussed plans for Sound Transit. There are 16 miles of light rail and 6 new stations that are connecting Everett to the whole system. This is the longest and northernmost part of the project. Sound Transit relies on the economy and the taxes they collect, and they are not in a strong financial place. A realignment process was done to try and make it more financially affordable, but that stretched the timeline. It’s scheduled to open in Everett between 2037 and 2041. The stations they are looking at will be installed at West Alderwood and Ash Way and Mariner, the Southwest Everett Industrial Center, and a station at Evergreen Way and 526. In between those, there is a provisional station between Mariner and Southwest Everett Industrial Center at 99 and Airport Rd. If the money becomes available, they will try and build that station and one in downtown Everett. They are looking at alternative locations for the design configurations for stations and the alignment. These are 100-year decisions being made that will greatly impact the community. Decisions must be presented to fellow board members to state the importance of the locations that will best serve Everett, as the majority of the board doesn’t know much about Everett and/or have never visited, but they have been invited up for tours. ➢ Mayor Franklin advised decisions will need to be made on location of operations and maintenance facilities for the trains. One of the maintenance facilities is going to be located in either Unincorporated Snohomish County outside of Everett or in Everett which will be 60 acres. Where it is located will be an important decision because it will displace businesses, housing etc. and they don’t want to displace aerospace jobs. The location has been questioned as to why they are focusing on Southwest Everett and building a train to the Boeing area. Where the station is supposed to be located is the most diversely populated in the City of Everett, it has the lowest household premium income, and people who rely on public transportation who are most likely to be transit riders. 35,000 people are coming and going from this area every day and are going through neighborhoods to avoid traffic on I-5. Many traffic challenges would be resolved if those people would take the light rail instead. Another decision will be where the alignment will be and how to serve the community and not displace it. ➢ Mayor Franklin discussed the budget and advised the structural deficit is due to the 1% 2 |Page  cap on property taxes that was passed in 2001 and expenses going up by far more than 1% every year. Property tax is about 1/3 of the City’s revenue for all departments. Mayor Franklin, Administration and Council have all taken steps to try and help modify processes, including community feedback, increased focus on economic development, public/private partnerships to outsource as much as possible, applying for as much funding as they can, but none of the actions are enough. To balance the budget, capital infrastructure has been delayed and staff has been cut. Forecasted deficit for next year is 7 million and grows to 25 million in 5 years, not including inflation. The City will be giving voters the opportunity to decide if they want to invest more in City services as other options are not available to produce more revenue and they will be looking at partnerships from the community and with Boards of Commissions. ➢ Tyler asked who is bringing these concerns up to the State. Mayor Franklin advised she and the Association of Washington Cities have brought them up every year to fix the 1% cap. ➢ Stephen asked if the route for Sound Transit between Evergreen Way and 526 to downtown Everett has been decided yet. Mayor Franklin advised it has not and there were 4 different station locations and 2 or 3 different alignments they were looking at. ➢ Hal questioned how many Boeing employees were coming from the North who might be parking down toward the proposed Everett Station site and then taking the train to the Boeing facility. Mayor Franklin advised employees currently come from all over the area and when the Sound Transit stations are built, the one at Everett Station includes a lot of parking as a part of the proposal. One of the challenges is building a system today that will be serving the community decades from now. ➢ Danielle questioned if the research that the Sound Transit Board is doing is looking at work that’s being done in other cities. European cities that are building public transportation infrastructure in very densely populated areas are doing a good job of integrating stations that emphasize active mobility options. Mayor Franklin advised residents of Everett may reach out to her to suggest ideas so she may discuss it with the Sound Transit team. ➢ Andrea asked if the North Terminus is going to be Everett Station. Mayor Franklin advised it could be there or on Broadway, somewhere in-between, or close to Angel of the Winds, but she is pushing for Southwest Everett. She must get her County partners on the same page, County Executive Summers and Mayor Christine Frizzell, then will present to the Transit Board. ➢ Nicole Webber stated Clean Everett Campaign is starting and Clean Everett Day is on June 11th. ➢ Skateboarding SLS Championship Tour is coming to Everett. ➢ Richard discussed when TAC makes recommendations, to increase their chances of items going before Council they should think of new strategies for success and add a financial component. ➢ Liz spoke about the red light cameras being passed by Council. She reached out to TAC members to see if they’d be willing to speak with constituents and would like to set up a live meeting to have a discussion. Tyler stated his interpretation of the response of City Administration was them wanting to make sure people are not representing the City’s views, and they may associate TAC with representing the City. Tyler stated he feels like the City tries to protect TAC members and Ryan stated there is a sense of the City wanting to protect their volunteers. ➢ Richard questioned the timeline for when a camera is placed in a specific location, what is the process, and can that be aligned with receiving feedback from members of the 3 |Page  community who are concerned about equity issues before the process forming begins. It could address concerns and issues rather than just deciding to place them vs not placing them. ➢ Corey advised he just received a proposal from 3 vendors that will be scored, and a contract with the leading vendor will be written and brought before Council for the Mayor’s signature which is expected to happen in August. The process is to turn the cameras on and have them implemented and fully working by Spring 2023. If a discussion needs to happen at TAC, a future agenda item can be made. Tyler suggested to keep the people who still have concerns about the cameras informed on the camera process timeline and invite them to do the outreach to let the neighborhoods know why they are a benefit. Liz advised the process is still in the works. Tyler reiterated Richard’s thoughts on the financial aspect and commented about the cost of driving and operating vehicles vs riding bicycles. He stated if financial angles are going to be considered, the non-motorized network needs to be improved. There’s a need for alternative transportation methods. ➢ Danielle mentioned the D.C. Government made a model of total cost implications of different options being presented. Ryan said any model examples could be sent to him. ➢ Tyler stated people don’t feel safe doing anything other than driving due to the infrastructure. PUBLIC COMMENTS ➢ Kern McGee advised he’s attending the meeting on behalf of the Downtown Everett Association, and he responded to the idea of wanting to improve safety on a limited budget. Two items that would both improve safety and be cost efficient would be lowering speed limits and modifying signaling to provide pedestrians with a leading indicator. He questioned if the City is considering lowering the speed limit from 25 to 20 or 30 to 25 in Bayside area, including downtown, and if the signals there are capable of providing leading pedestrian intervals. ➢ Corey advised regarding speed limits, they are intending to evaluate every speed limit at every arterial in the City over the next year and will make recommendations to Council by resolution. They are reaching out to private consultants that are very familiar with NCHRP report 966 and the speed limit setting tool that is the state of practice for setting urban speed limits. Most speed limits downtown are 25 mph and that’s the baseline residential speed limit in Everett. Regarding Leading Pedestrian Intervals, everything in downtown is on pedestrian recall. The equipment downtown is very old, so many of the controllers are from the mid-80s and do not have leading pedestrian intervals. On major arterials such as Evergreen Way and Broadway all the equipment along that corridor will be/has been updated with leading pedestrian intervals. Not all will be implemented because every second counts regarding signal operations and adding seconds to four different phases adds time to the overall cycle and it decreases efficiency. They will be evaluating them on a case-by-case basis. ➢ Kern asked if leading pedestrian intervals were funded by the City. Corey advised it’s all funded with City forces and City staff, and they are without a Traffic Signal Operations Engineer and are looking to hire one. That will be their first task to look at the corridors and look for opportunities to implement leading pedestrian intervals to improve pedestrian safety. ➢ Christina Strand thanked everyone for the Interurban Trail fix and made a follow up request for light timing and priorities and the updates, as well as the bike signals on California Ave. She questioned if there was a set process for creating detours on construction projects where cyclists and pedestrians were considered, and if not, could 4 |Page  TAC create one. She advised on the Interurban Trail at Alta Drive on the side of the road in a residential area, there’s a no parking sign that’s so faded you can’t read it and people are parking along the trail. It’s creating problems because if people are having to go into the road to avoid the cars parking along the trail, there are limited viewpoints from the driver when they are coming down the hill. ➢ Corey advised they review every traffic control plan that’s set up in the City and have been discussing internally bicycle detours. The internal process is driven by City staff. For the entire City, there are two inspectors, and they inspect everything in the ROW and they check on traffic control, but they are spread incredibly thin. A technician will be sent out to review the faded no parking sign and corrective action will be taken as needed. Red is one of the first colors to fade on signs so anything that faces the sun that’s red lasts half as long than every other color. ➢ Tyler suggested to have a curb put in on the Interurban Trail at Alta Drive to separate traffic from the trail. ENGINEERING REPORT ➢ I-5 US 2 Interchange o Ryan advised contracts are in place and the project will begin soon. ➢ Planning study of the 41st St to West Marine View Drive Phase 2 project. The first phase has been the model of WSDOT’s practical design approach. ➢ ARPA funded grants related to Public Works: o Permit Services will be receiving funding to help make the move to digital permitting. They are currently in the hybrid stage of paper and digital. o Epic Bridge – Everett Avenue Overcrossing. At the east end of Everett Avenue where it intersects with East Grand, the intent is for a bridge to continue over the BNSF rail to the industrial site along the waterfront. ➢ Annual Pavement Maintenance Overlay Project contracts are in place and will begin in June. TRAFFIC ENGINEERING REPORT ➢ Bike Everywhere Day on May 20th o 7am to Noon celebration at Everett Station. Emphasis on bicycle safety and education and encouragement for drivers and cyclists. Bicycle friendly certificates and stickers. Interactive page of bicycle tours that encourage cyclists to explore Everett. Corey expressed his thanks to Christina and Kathleen for putting it together and their efforts toward renewed emphasis on education and safety. ➢ Council passed the speed limit revision on Evergreen Way and Everett Mall Way that was recommended by TAC and it is now in the hands of WSDOT. They have a calendar action that goes before the state engineer, and once it is signed, the signs will immediately be put up to draw attention and will be eligible for enforcement after they go up. POLICE REPORT ➢ No comments to report. Tyler asked if the department was able to hire another traffic officer and Tim advised they have not and it will take time to hire vacancies and get other people trained. Tyler mentioned he read traffic accidents were up significantly nationwide and Tim agreed. ➢ Ryan advised the City is currently down 4 engineers and will be down to three soon, but recruiting is difficult right now and they’re looking to re-staff and fill the vacancies as 5 |Page  soon as possible. TRANSIT REPORT ➢ Michael Schmieder advised the Next Generation Orca rolled out. o All hardware on the buses is being replaced. There are 6,000 units throughout the region. Everything is going well with the technology change of this magnitude. o 6,000 card readers and vending machines across the region are being replaced over the next few months. The old Legacy Orca System and the new Orca System can be used. The new system is updating in real time. o Ridership continues to rebound on Everett Transit. Since January, ridership for fixed route has increased from 67,486 to 80,243 which is a 19% increase of ridership and 67% of pre-pandemic ridership. Paratransit ridership increased from 3,970 to 4,861 which is a 22% increase of ridership and 49% of pre-pandemic ridership. For fixed route, that is the highest restored public transit ridership of any system in our region. o March 2023, they are looking to add several thousand more hours of service, especially in South Everett. AGENDA ITEMS ➢ Richard Tarry discussed the new addition for the 2023 to 2028 Six-year Transportation Improvement Program – Marshland Bridge Replacement. The bridge is on the Lowell Snohomish River Road. Tyler made a motion to recommend the bridge replacement to Council and TAC approved. ➢ Hal questioned if the Fire department reviews these reports to make sure the projects are accessible by emergency support. Richard advised the projects that are pursued go through full review by the City. ➢ Christina Curtis thanked Tyler for organizing the Tour de EFD. ➢ Christina presented on the WSDOT Pedestrian and Bicycle Program. o 23.1 million available for 2021-2023 biennium and 56.7 million available for 2023- 2025 biennium. o The purpose is to eliminate pedestrian and bicyclists fatal and serious injury crashes, increase the availability of connecting pedestrian and bicyclist facilities, and increase the number of people that choose to walk and bike for transportation. o Design Only: Boeing bicycle connector: 75th Street Southwest and California Street pedestrian/bicycle corridor (west of Broadway). o Design and Construction: Boeing bicycle connector: Sievers-Duecy Boulevard and 12th Street pedestrian/bicycle corridor. ➢ Christina mentioned they will be looking at design details for the intersections to see how they can make safe transitions to other bike facilities. ➢ Richard questioned how the money available for the programs impacts opportunities for the future and Christina advised WSDOT controls how much they’ll award. ➢ Danielle asked if this process was something Traffic Engineering designs or if an outside consulting firm is hired. Christina advised the City has done both and it depends on the grant application. Danielle asked how the community outreach portion aligns with the design work. Christina advised WSDOT has been including outreach in their grant application requests. ➢ Steven asked if there are other things that can be done on other streets to make people feel safe on bikes that don’t require large projects. Christina advised there are programs 6 |Page  to fund elements like that, but they are still in the development phase. ➢ Corey advised the City does implement low-cost improvements where possible. ➢ Tyler requested to discuss the Madison St. results at next month’s meeting. Christina advised either next meeting or the following meeting, as they are still analyzing traffic studies. ➢ Tyler mentioned “20 is plenty” on residential streets and Corey advised as speed limits are evaluated on arterials and they work with a consultant who specializes in this type of work, they will ask them to do an analysis and evaluate what Seattle has done to see if they’ve seen improvements on safety on residential streets. Danielle advised she moved from West Seattle and they implemented a lot of traffic calming measures due to the bridge, and she felt they helped. Adjournment: 9:56 a.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: June 16, 2022 7 |Page