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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-09-2014 MTC Minutes FINAL CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Elizabeth Thyne called the meeting to order at 2:35 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Elizabeth Thyne, James Thompson, Todd Katz, Sara Sanders, Randol White, and Dominique Bonino, Louise Justice Absent: Jody Frey and Anthony Pinkerton Staff: Gamaliel Anguiano, Dee Lawson, Peggy Mandeville and Jake Hudson OATH: Anthony Mejia, City Clerk, swore in returning Committee members Elizabeth Thyne and Louise Justice. PUBLIC COMMENTS Eliane Guillot, San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), asked to make a presentation at the next MTC meeting on the Transit Performance Audit. MINUTES Approval of March 12, 2014 Regular Meeting Minutes Sara Sanders moved to approve the minutes as submitted. Todd Katz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. ACTION ITEMS FINAL Minutes Mass Transit Committee Council Hearing Room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo Wednesday, July 9, 2014 at 2:30 pm Agenda Item # 1: Officer Elections ACTION: Ms. Thyne nominated Mr. Thompson as Chair. Mr. White seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Justice nominated Mr. Katz as Vice Chair. Ms. Thyne seconded the motion . The motion passed unanimously. Agenda Item # 2: Setting of Meeting Schedule Mr. White requested that the regular meeting start time be switched to 1 p.m. It was determined that the hearing room would be available at that time. The Committee agreed to revise the meeting start time to 1 p.m. DISCUSSION ITEMS Agenda Item # 3: Smoking at Bus Shelters and Transit Center Mr. Anguiano discussed the issue of on site smoking and noted the ordinance banned smoking in public places and that contract employees are not allowed to smoke on duty. He reported that police officer Brent Inglehart sent a letter to staff, reminding them of the ordinance. There was general Committee discussion on the ordinance and its enforcement. Agenda Item # 4A: Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) Update Ms. Mandeville discussed the project’s draft environmental impact report (EIR) and requested that Committee members provide comments pertaining to the EIR. Mr. Hudson discussed transportation forecasts, predicted to be 34% more than 2010 statistics: trip generation, trip distribution; mode choice; route choice; traffic flows; targeted travel and mode predictions. He noted that the Council had approved an increase in bicycle infrastructure improvements, so there was an expectation that bicycle usage will increase more than any other mode). He identified intersections that would require some form of intersection control such as signalization or roundabout. Ms. Mandeville discussed the LOVR interchange construction would start in October 2014. Ms. Thyne noted that it is very difficult to circulate through the roundabouts in Boston. She requested a clarification on Policy 3.1.5 Transit Service Evaluation. There was general Committee/staff discussion on roundabouts. Ms. Mandeville noted the Transit Service Evaluation Policy represents a good business practice of evaluating the services we provide. Ms. Justice was concerned with congestion near a future City/County transit center if upper Higuera Street is converted to a two-way street. She asked about the EIR Class 3 designations. Mr. Hudson explained that the designations were on a conceptual level. The Committee discussed the Regional Transit Center Policy 3.1.7 and the idea of asking Council to consider the possible impacts on a centralized transit center development if Higuera is converted to a two-way street. Mr. Katz distributed a draft proposal regarding creating a citizen-based multi- modal transit committee with a charter to focus on current and future multi -modal transportation issues affecting San Luis Obispo residents and visitors. Mr. Hudson noted that Public Works was working on a department strategic plan and the plan considers consolidating various advisory bodies. Mr. Hudson outlined 2035 Corridor traffic, intersection, and multi-modal conditions, stating there will be a need for new transit services to augment existing routes. Staff is proposing the EIR not recommend corridor widening and instead improve transit service, bicycling and pedestrian circulation to address congestion. Ms. Mandeville discussed multi-level modal level of service regarding transit, e.g. better headways. Public Comment: Eliane Guillot, SLOCOG, asked what assumptions were made for Ca l Poly noting that the university is embarking on an update to their master plan. Mr. Hudson explained the EIR used Cal Poly’s approved master plan which is based on students and faculty/staff data projections. Geoff Straw, San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (RTA), noted that roundabouts in Davis work very well. Additionally, he thinks converting upper Marsh and Higuera to two-way streets will improve transit circulation. Mr. Straw recommended the following wording changes to policies: Policy 3.0.3: Delete “provided”. Policy 3.0.4: Delete reference to “free”. Policy 3.1.4: Delete “cost effectiveness of consolidated service” and replace with “benefits and drawbacks of coordinated and consolidated service”. Eric Meyer, LUCE Task Force Chair, liked Mr. Katz idea to consider forming a committee that would oversee multi-modal transportation issues and projects. The public comment period was closed. No EIR related comments were submitted by the public or the Committee. Ms. Mandeville noted that July 28, 2014 was the deadline for comments. ACTION: Mr. Katz moved to request that Council consider evaluating the merits of creating a citizen-based multi-modal transit committee with a charter to focus on current and future multi-modal transportation issues affecting San Luis Obispo residents and visitors. Mr. Thompson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Agenda Item # 4B: Transit Manager’s Report Mr. Anguiano reported that a ridership count of 1.1 million and noted that there was an increase in student pass usage and Cal Poly passes. He also noted that Wi-Fi was being utilized and that the double-decker bus would be at the July 13 Laguna Lake Car Show. He also reported that the city was partnering with the Max Cure Foundation in a trial weeklong promotion: for every pair of sneakers that were donated, that donor would get a free one-day pass. Agenda Item # 4C: New SLO Transit & RTA Route ID Nomenclature System Mr. Anguiano reported on the nomenclature system proposed for both RTA and SLO Transit to use that would create some consistency and complementing ID system for naming future routes. Namely that RTA could use numbers divisible by 10 and SLO Transit any others in between that are not already used. Mr. Straw commented on the merits of this system but that it would take some work to bring South County Transit into a similar system. The meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m. to the regular meeting of September 10, 2014 to be held at the new time of 1 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lisa Woske, Recording Secretary APPROVED BY THE MASS TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: 09/10/2014