Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

CITY OF EVERETT Transportation Advisory Committee TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, June 20th, 2024 8:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Microsoft Teams Virtual Meeting In attendance: Members Staff Guests Stephen Fickenscher Corey Hert, Public Works Kern McGee Christina Strand Tom Hood, Public Works Rowyn Wreggit Danielle Wilkins Kathleen Baxter, Public Works Bryan Partington Karissa Miller, Public Works Daniel Evans Nataya Foss, Public Works Hal Gausman Patrick Mitchell, Public Works Sonja Bodge Dan Enrico, Public Works Vinh Ngo Sarah Krieg, Public Works Thomas McCleave Michael Schmieder, Transit Sabina Araya, Transit Melinda Adams, Transit Robert McFarlane, Transit Matt Coomes, Transit Craig Davis, Police Liz Vogeli, City Council Meeting called to order at 8:03 a.m. by Stephen Fickenscher. ➢ M/S/P: May meeting minutes. ANNOUNCEMENTS & REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ➢ Recommendation to sign up for the Vision Zero Network newsletter and viewing their recorded presentations. ➢ Request to bring plants back to the median on E Marine View Drive to help with traffic calming. ➢ Inquiry regarding city department involvement with the Vizion Zero plan – plan will involve every city department; primarily a transportation safety plan, but discussions will be reviewed by other departments and budgeted for accordingly. ➢ Inquiry regarding the replacement of bicycle and pedestrian coordinator and progress of the multimodal and bicycle master plan implementation – position is advertised but not yet been filled, currently reviewing candidate applications. ➢ Noted that the detour route to relocated bus stop on Broadway (due to medical building construction) is inconvenient for pedestrians – the hope is that the sidewalk will be open again before the end of the year. There have been some safety improvements in the area from a law enforcement standpoint, but there are challenges, a long-term effort. All projects require pedestrian access be maintained. Recommendation to review sight distance issue created by construction signage on 34th St, traffic engineering will investigate. ➢ Downtown Everett Association would like to run another initiative to install bikes racks for interested business – there are still bike racks remaining for this. 1 |Page  CITY OF EVERETT Transportation Advisory Committee ➢ Request for timeline on when the speed limit reduction on Rucker Avenue could be evaluated – a speed limit policy will be included in the Vision Zero contract; the goal is to combine the many speed limit ordinances into one and make speed changes at one time. Expect to bring recommendations to Council by quarter four of next year. ➢ Comment regarding how the improvements made for multimodal transportation are influencing young users; an article reported a recent 8% drop in teen drivers. ENGINEERING REPORT ➢ Reservoir 3: Requesting council award the construction contract for Phase 1, expect a notice to proceed in late July. ➢ Edgewater Bridge: Contract awarded to Granite Construction; preliminary work still to come, road closure of Mukilteo Blvd not expected until November. ➢ Pavement Maintenance Overlay: Pacific completed, 37th east of Colby currently in process, W Casino Rd. expected to begin June 24th. ➢ Fulton Street Bike Project: Design complete, awaiting concurrence form WSDOT to advertise for construction. ➢ W Marine View Drive/Alverson Pedestrian Project: Adding a sidewalk and upgrading existing path; waiting for WSDOT to authorize funds, hopeful to advertise construction in July. TRAFFIC ENGINEERING REPORT ➢ Photo Enforcement: Notices of infraction continue at Horizon School District until June 24th, warnings being issued for red light camera at Broadway and 16th St, next to be commissioned will be red light cameras at Rucker and 41st NB and SB and 112th at Evergreen Way EB. ➢ SS4A Action Plan: 780k plan with 180k City match – Professional Services Agreement goes to Council on June 26th. ➢ WSDOT Projects: SR 529 southbound bridge closure began on June 9th – noticeable impacts include more drivers using I5 northbound instead of traveling through Everett, U-turn issues on Broadway, and local street congestion due to drivers exploring new routes. This will continue all summer – travel times on I-5 and SR 529 are expected to increase. Loop ramp to northbound I-5 is closed, Broadway is the current detour and not truck friendly; currently working with WSDOT to sign a truck specific route. ➢ Zipper Merge: City crews installed signage on Broadway, largely successful; positive media coverage on KIRO 7 morning show and My Everett News. POLICE REPORT ➢ Noteworthy crashes in the last month: o Holly and Evergreen, excessive speed a significant contributing factor, minor injuries. o Teen walking the train tracks and struck by a train, fatality. o 11th and E Marine View Drive – motorcycle and car collision, excessive speed a contributing factor, motorcyclist did not survive. ➢ Everett featured on On Patrol: Live –provides opportunity for positive recruitment results. TRANSIT REPORT ➢ Inductive Charging Stations: 10 coming online. o Eclipse Mill Park: On-route charging, underway with installation, expected to be live in August. o College Station: Two inductive chargers, expected to conclude in July, but due to 2 |Page  CITY OF EVERETT Transportation Advisory Committee infrastructure availability it won’t go live until February 2025. o Seaway Transit Center: Two inductive chargers, construction begins on July 15, concludes in August, and will go live in February 2025. ➢ Monument sign installation at Everett Station currently underway - dynamic high resolution informational displays for real time arrival/departure times and other information; seven signs in total. ➢ Mall Station Relocation: 60% engineering and design complete – relocating about 450 feet west and reversing traffic circulation; anticipating a recovery of about 2000 service hours with the new design. Expect completion in February 2025. ➢ Reconditioned Bus Timeline: Begin arriving on July 8th, one per week, and concluding on August 9th. ➢ Beginning in September, adding service to Route 29 from College to Mall stations. ➢ Overall, pleasantly surprised with the traffic impacts on N Broadway due to construction on 529. Next big challenge will be paving of W Casino Rd –community outreach being done in preparation. A recommendation to reach out to Employee Transit Coordinators at some of the larger businesses as well. AGENDA ITEMS ➢ WSDOT Safe System Executive Order Update: o Collision trends since the pandemic have continued to rise; 810 fatalities in 2023 and we are likely to match that in 2024 – huge economic impact to our communities. o Systemic safety aspect will be incorporated into all State policies. o Climate Commitment act provides funding to make changes to facilities. o Mandated that all projects by Washington State exceeding $500k must use a Complete Streets approach; community outreach to address past safety issues. o Implementation policies include addressing needs of overburdened communities, eliminating active transportation gaps as a baseline need, separating active travelers from drivers where speeds exceed 30mph and providing bicycle and pedestrian facilities that offer a level of traffic stress score of 1 or 2. o WA State Injury Minimization Speed Management Policy and Guidelines include adopting and implementing an injury minimization speed limit approach, using safe systems approach to identify and prioritize improvements and employ thoughtful roadway design treatments to achieve target speed. o Self-enforcing street design shows improvements in speeding behavior. o WSDOT and City can work together to make changes, even on state routes; land use plays a big part in what transportation decisions can be made. ➢ Swift Gold Line Update: o Swift Bus Rapid Transit is a fast transit option; pre-paid, all-door boarding. o Frequent; every 10-12 minutes on weekdays and 15-20 minutes on weekends. o Reliable; lane and signal priority. o Easy; real-time informational displays, accessible, on-board bike racks. o Gold Line will provide frequent service between Everett, Marysville, and Arlington. ▪ Currently in scoping study phase. ▪ Environmental and design phase expected 2025-2027. ▪ Construction phase expected to begin in 2027 and hopeful to launch in 2029. o Three route options: ▪ State Ave – 136th – 51st ▪ State Ave – Shoultes – 51st ▪ State Ave – 72nd/Grove – 51st 3 |Page  CITY OF EVERETT Transportation Advisory Committee o Community Engagement Approach and Timeline: ▪ Phase 1: Consult (July 11 – August 7, 2024) ❖ Seek feedback on route options ❖ Overview, benefits and route options ❖ Project need, benefits and bus travel lane options ▪ Phase 2: Involve (December 2024) ❖ Community feedback on bus travel lane options and potential station locations. ❖ Route and lane options, and station locations. ❖ Share refined route option. ▪ Phase 3: Consult (February 2025) ❖ Seek feedback on draft locally preferred alternative. ❖ Details for proposed station locations and route. ▪ Phase 4: Inform (May 2025) ❖ Share board-approved locally preferred alternative. ❖ Details for proposed station locations and route to move into environmental review and design. Adjournment: 9:50 a.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: July 18, 2024 4 |Page