Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE Thursday, June 16, 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 Richard Smith Tim Morgan, Police Kern McGee Stephen Fickenscher Tom Hood, Public Works Danielle Wilkins Corey Hert, Public Works Tyler Rourke Jeffrey Marks, Public Works Daniel Evans Kate Low, Public Works Liz Vogeli, City Council Meeting called to order at 8:05 a.m. by Chair Tyler Rourke  M/S/P for May 2022 Minutes ANNOUNCEMENTS & REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS  Hal requested information on the assessment of pavement condition and timing of the overlays. Tom advised it is part his Engineering report.  Tyler stated he’d like to know what streets are upcoming for resurfacing, overlay them with the Bike Master Plan, and think about reconfiguration at the same time to conserve costs. Tom advised the Madison corridor is one that falls in line with the request, and they are hoping to have an agenda item for TAC next month for an update on Madison St bike lanes.   Tyler mentioned the intersection at Holly and Evergreen Way and the crossing to the bus stop is a long crossing. Limited mobility pedestrians struggle to cross the street to catch the bus. Stephen added he thinks more intersections along Evergreen Way need evaluation of pedestrian times.   Hal asked at what point is there sufficient density of residents to put in an overpass to justify the cost. Tom stated to be competitive to get a large bridge grant, you must demonstrate demand in crossings per day.  Corey mentioned Public Works is currently without a Signal Operations Engineer and to re- time a coordinated corridor is a multi-week effort, but it is a priority. The long-range solution is the Evergreen Way Revitalization Plan and evaluating the entire corridor for safety improvements. PUBLIC COMMENTS  Bob stated with the latest rains, a public notice to citizens to clean their gutters is recommended.  1 |Page ENGINEERING REPORT  Pavement Overlay notice to proceed on July 5th and grinding is scheduled to begin.  Major Streets to be worked on this year: o Beverly Lane north of Pecks Drive o Seaway Blvd near Boeing and 75th St SW and 16th Ave W o Federal Avenue between 40th and Edwards Avenue (section South of Jackson High School to Mukilteo Blvd) o 100th St SE from 19th Ave to the East of the City Limits (Silver Lake area) o 23rd St – everything East of Broadway o By change order, Silver Lake Drive between 118th and about the 12000 block in preparation for the upcoming Silver Lake Loop Trail.  The typical overlay budget is around 3.5 million dollars. Request for Proposals for a Pavement Management System is underway. It will allow data to be collected to provide life cycle information and assign need, so Public Works can better prioritize streets. The pavement management system will also provide information if Public Works is falling behind and budget may need to increase. The desire is to have the system up and running by next year.   Tom advised Federal asphalt preservation dollars are difficult to come by. For 2023, the City acquired about $400,000 is Federal funding for the section of Broadway south of Hewitt.   Richard asked if the frequency of the overlays is dependent on the volume of traffic on the given street. Tom indicated it’s not so much volume as it is heavy vehicle volume. Pavement life is dependent on the axle loading and frequency of heavy vehicles. Arterials require preservation overlays lot faster than residential streets.   Richard asked if the overlay activities require the City to completely close the street or is work done in sections and traffic routed through the area. Tom advised it depends on the street itself and how much available width they have. The paving machine can do a 15 ft wide pass, but the seams need to be on the lane lines, and at times there is not enough available width to pave with the roadway open. It is sometimes necessary to close two lanes, the paver will take up one lane and truck staging will take up the next. Night paving will be easier as there will be less traffic.   Liz suggested investigating marble or contrast crosswalks rather than painted crosswalks. Also, on street pavement overlays that school districts use for busses, such as 93 rd St SW, having districts participate with the cost of maintenance. Tom advised marble or another color contrast crosswalks may cost more long term than grinding and overlaying through the crosswalk. To the second point about school funding, Tom advised he is not aware of any private entity that contributes for ongoing maintenance of a City asset but doesn’t mean it is not allowed.   Danielle asked if there’s been any discussion about how to help with the larger personal vehicles that citizens are driving that are causing wear on the streets. Tom advised the AASHTO has design criteria for pavement sections. The damage to pavement from vehicle weight is an exponential increase based on the axle loading. The increase in damage occurs when you get equivalent single axle loads and the axle itself is carrying 10,000 lbs. or more and multiple axle trucks that are 80,000-120,000 pounds cause 10- 15x the damage than an SUV.   Tyler asked about school buses in terms of equivalent single axle loads and Tom advised not as high as buses have 2 rear axles. A normal arterial has a life span design of 20 million equivalent single axle loads and residential streets can be down around 5 million.   Tom advised the 2022 Pavement Marking Contract was just awarded, and a 2 |Page  preconstruction meeting will be set soon with $360,000 of work.   The US 2/I-5 Interchange Study o Tube counters have been out around north Everett. The consultant collecting traffic count data. The Executive and Support Teams are being assembled with elected officials and staff in other local agencies such as WSDOT and Port of Everett. Traffic analysis will begin soon, and the study will move toward completion scheduled for the middle of 2024. Alternatives will be considered for future funding and environmental work.  TRAFFIC ENGINEERING REPORT  Speed limit reduction on Hwy 99 was approved by Council on 06/11/2022 by a vote of 6-0 and is awaiting calendar action signature at WSDOT in Olympia.  Photo Enforcement – Council issued the approval to release the RFP on April 6, 2022. Three proposals are in from vendors, which all were competitive on cost. Interviews have been set up to select a preferred vendor. Anticipate a contract to Council in August. POLICE REPORT  Sergeant Morgan stated a couple more serious collisions in the past month, one involved a pedestrian on the sidewalk when an impaired driver left the roadway.  Tyler mentioned he’s been seeing a lot of people speeding through his neighborhood and he requested to have the issue be a bigger priority for the City. TRANSIT REPORT  Michael Schmieder advised the Move Ahead Washington Legislation was passed earlier this year and 17 billion dollars that was allotted for various construction and transportation projects throughout the next 16 years. As a result, Everett Transit will be eligible for $745,863.00 as of October 1, 2022, and beginning on July 1, 2023, Everett Transit will be reimbursed approximately 2 million every year throughout the Move Ahead Washington Legislation. o To be eligible for these funds, transit systems must establish a fare free policy for all youths 18 and under by October 1, 2022. After public hearings on May 25 th and June 1st, the City Council approved the proposal that makes youth fare 18 and under free on Everett Transit, reduces the Orca Lift from $1.50 to $1.00 and introduces a new zero fare for customers meeting a low-income threshold. o Everett Transit will be the first to implement this on July 1, 2022. Youths 13-18 with an Orca Card or Student ID card will be able to ride for free. o Second phase will begin in the fall, and Council has asked staff to develop a plan for veterans to ride for free on Everett Transit.  Hal mentioned he attended a seminar that discussed transit in the state and how there is an uptick in transit use as people are going back to work and some companies were subsidizing their staff to use transit. Michael said ridership in the last three months increased in February-April and is continuing upward. The ridership is across the entire route system and transit is becoming a better option for a lot of people due to the price of fuel and having to commute after the pandemic.  Danielle asked for an update on the Micro-Transit Project. Michael advised the On- Demand Micro Transit position was posted the past week as a Project Manager position for Transit and Information Technology (IT). 3 |Page AGENDA ITEMS  Corey presented Agenda Item 1: Bike Everywhere Month recap, Bicycle Friendly Community Bronze Award and program, Bicycle Friendly Driver program and Interactive Bike Tours.  Richard asked what is viewed as the biggest impediments to the City to meet the criteria for the Silver Award and how they plan to meet them. Corey advised it would be improving safety for cyclists and improving crash history.  Tyler stated in terms of education, when he saw the videos and tests for drivers and cyclists, he didn’t think people would take the time to do them or they wouldn’t be that interested. There’s no one contacting drivers and letting them know they’re doing things against the law or enforcing the law. He hopes there is a way to get more people to engage with the educational material the City is presenting. Corey agreed that enforcement plays an important role in traffic safety. The data collected since the pandemic shows average speeds are largely unchanged, but the upper end of speed violation has increased.  Tyler pointed to the speed on the Colby and Beverly corridors, as well as E Casino Road and Stephen agreed.  Danielle asked if it was possible to work with the school districts to make it part of the curriculum that children will be receiving before they reach driving age. Corey advised educating people from a young age about the importance of the availability of cycling as a commute option. Bicycle training has been part of the Safe Routes to School curriculum in the past. They have moved most of the funding to a program that goes directly to the districts to encourage younger people to bike to school and work, and educate on safety. With the fuel prices increasing and cycling becoming a more attractive option, e-bikes will make it possible for more people to commute to work and to use the facilities that are being built.  Tyler suggested to have a person from the district attend a future TAC meeting to discuss incorporating the education aspect of the Bronze status that the City has with what the district could incorporate/support. Corey agreed it would be a good future agenda item and someone from the district could present.  Hal mentioned how Oregon has Bicycle Planning Tours and the staff involved in the planning were asked to take it. He asked if Washington State offers anything like that for the City’s Planning Department. Corey advised he is not aware of a program like that in Washington.  Danielle advised the Dutch Government has a great outreach program that they run with municipalities all around the world to help train people on best practices they’ve found. They have a grant to give out to people to come visit.  Corey presented Agenda Item 2: Bird Scooters  Corey presented Agenda Item 3: Traffic Calming Part 1 of 3 o Traffic Circles o Chicanes & Chokers o Speed Cushions o Raised crosswalks and speed tables o Raised intersections o Traffic Diversion o Median Crossing Island o Curb Bulb o Lane Reduction/Lane Narrowing o Gateway Treatments 4 |Page  o Streetscape Improvements  Stephen advised there is a flashing speed sign at 37th and Oakes is not working. Corey advised they are solar and require more maintenance, likely batteries.  Tyler stated he’s heard about calming measures like traffic circles and speed bumps being removed. He stated traffic fatalities are going up nationwide and the decision is going in the wrong direction and is hopeful more traffic calming measures can be implemented.  Corey advised he is working with Delta neighborhood, as they formed their own neighborhood committee to look at neighborhood speed. He presented to them what it would take to implement traffic calming measures. There are tools that are low risk and they’re willing to give it a try.  Richard mentioned he’s looking at other municipalities around us that are implementing traffic calming measures that the City of Everett says they are unable to do. He stated it should be a part of the discussion when they’re looking at toolbox measures for consideration, as to why other cities are able to make these changes but the City of Everett is not. He also suggested the need to look at the budget differently, as some things that are perceived as costs could be considered investments.  Corey advised the next presentation will address budget and why the City is doing certain traffic calming measures and where staff feels the City should be investing. Adjournment: 9:57 a.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: July 21, 2022 5 |Page